Irish History & Culture: From Molly Malone to Nobel Laureates

Irish History and Culture: Irish History and Culture: From Molly Malone to Nobel LaureatesFrom Molly Malone to Nobel Laureates

Christopher S. LaRoche

Northeastern UniversityCollege of Professional Studies (CPS)

Copyright © 2011 - Christopher S. LaRoche

Welcome

• Irish history is a controversial subject in many ways. The goal of this class is to try and present the facts as well as we known them and let you draw your own conclusions.

• Simple stereotypes and simplistic “right and wrong” answers do not often lead to understanding of the actual events – since they often are more complicated and nuanced than often perceived.

• This is ESPECIALLY TRUE of the history of Ireland.

“Ireland 101”

• Small island on fringes of Western Europe• Been an independent nation since early 1920s, the

southern part Republic since 1948• Joined EC/EEC/EU in 1973 • Was largely rural economy until 35 years ago, then rapid

growth and expansion, now constricting quickly• Contrary to stereotypes and myths – has been an

internationalized country and culture for millennia• Real bridge between America and Europe – culturally,

socially, economically…

“Ireland 101”

• The Basics– 32 counties– 4 provinces

• Leinster• Munster• Connacht• Ulster

• Ulster is actually 9 counties: 6 counties in Northern Ireland and 3 in the Republic, the term Ulster is often used incorrectly when referring to Northern Ireland.

“Ireland 101”

• Governed by Great Britain as one entity until 1920/1921 – 26 counties were given self governance (South, Free State and

later the Republic)– 6 counties within Ulster (in the northeast became Northern

Ireland)

• Creation of Northern Ireland was to build ensure a Unionist majority for this new entity. Viewed as temporary by most

Mythology and Romanticism

Mythology and Romanticism in Understanding History

• Often history is made more romantic and borders on mythology more than the actual fact of what happened.

• Particularly acute issue regarding Irish history.

• THE “poster child” for this view of romantic notions of history. The next two slides give reasons and examples of why this might have happened in Ireland.


• Lethal and combustible mix of literature and history. Sometimes literature being passed off as history. Very different viewpoints/objectivity.

• Massive emigration – so the “romantic there” is always perfect from a distance and “rose-tinted glasses.”

• Ruled by another country for a long period of time – a certain victim culture and identity against “Big Bad Britain.”

• Irish culture often perpetuated the myth of Ireland as an agrarian world of farmers trying to live off a harsh and bad land.


• The myth of the kingdom of “Saints and Scholars” who were always persecuted by non natives was prevalent.

• Generally a pleasant culture and friendly people. The pub and music culture is disarming and attractive to many.

• Especially in the Northeast US (and Chicago and San Francisco), the culture is influenced by a romanticized ideal of Ireland. Usually passed down from relatives or stories over the generations.

• With fighting in the North until recently – the idea of the IRA fighter was overly romanticized and legitimized.


• In your own view, think of your own views and initial thoughts about Ireland. Does it involve any of the issues mentioned above?

• Think of the stereotypes inherent regarding Irish culture

– “Fighting Irish” of Notre Dame– The stereotype of the drunk Irish – St. Patrick’s day– Term “Paddy Wagon”

These are powerful forces that regrettably helped shape a particular view of Irish culture and history until recently – and still exist.

Internationalization

• Examples of all the international connections and how they related to Ireland.

Trinity College Dublin (TCD)

Ireland 1600-1691

• Plantation of Ireland – and particularly Northeastern Ulster

• Think just like Jamestown

• Flight of the Earls

• Religious turmoil between England and Catholic/Rome

• 1641 massacre – response to plantation

• Charles I & English Civil War

Ireland 1691-1801

Oliver Cromwell

Not really liked in Ireland

Ireland 1600 - 1691

• Eventually James II took over the crown of England – a Catholic! Not really liked by the powers that be

• Glorious Revolution – a proxy European war between James II and the chosen “Protestant” enemy -- Enter William of Orange (from the Netherlands)

• A European war between James II and William of Orange commenced on Irish soil.

• Siege of Derry & Battle of the Boyne - July 12, 1690 –James II lost and fled

Ireland 1691-1801

William of Orange (King Billy)

Foundational change

Protestant Crown permanent

Catholics disenfranchised…

Flight of the Wild Geese

Ireland 1691-1801

• Long Eighteenth Century of Peace and Expansion in Ireland

• Penal laws

• Bad famines in first half of century

• Commerce – and growth of Atlantic world – huge emigration from Ireland to North America

• Emergence of middle class Catholic merchants

Ireland 1691-1801

• Irish Parliament – growth and emergence (Anglican only)

• ‘Colonial Nationalism’ emerges

• Swift - ‘grandfather of an embryonic Irish nationalism’

• As an Anglican in Ireland, he was torn between being English or Irishand ‘middle nation’

Ireland 1691-1801

• American and French revolution – PROFOUND impact

• Huge connections between America and Ulster - Emigration

• Irish Parliament – growth and ‘legislative independence’

• Growing radicalization in middle class society – particularly with Ulster Presbyterians and Dublin Anglicans – and some middle class Catholics.

Ireland 1691-1801

• United Irishman

• 1798 Uprising

• Horrific Bloodshed

• Non sectarian turnedinto sectarian

Ireland 1691-1801

• Importance of 1798 CANNOT be underestimated.

• 1798 set the context and stage for the next 200 years of Irish history.

• The lens of Ireland and who was who (particularly the Northeastern Presbyterian part of Ireland) started a distinct and different path from this time one…

• Scared the hell out of the other Irish non-Catholics

• Sectarian nature of Ireland really emerges from this time…

Ireland 1801-1903

• Reaction to the 1798 Uprising - Act of Union in 1801

• Economic Constriction

• O’Connell and Catholic Emancipation

• Young Ireland

Ireland 1801-1903

• Great Emancipatoror Liberator

• Monster MeetingsHUGE!

• VERY Catholic

• Non Violent

Ireland 1801-1903

• Young Ireland – Thomas Davis, John Mitchel (Confederacy), Charles Gavan Duffy (Oz), and D’Arcy McGee (Canada)

• Huge long term impact on Ireland – both in fight with O’Connell and also with 1848 Uprising/Physical Force

• All backdrop to an unprecedented event…

Ireland 1801-1903

• 1840s Famine -- ‘The Great Hunger’ (an Gorta Mór)

– 1845/1846 – Government assistance early in the crisis– 1847 – Help fatigue set in and crop was decent– 1848/1849 – Crop failed utterly and famine’s worst instance here – and

European revolutions slowed response– 1850/1851 – Emigration peak

• Total deaths was between 750k – 1.5 million – the true number will likely never be fully known

Famine - Introduction

• The Irish Famine of the 1840s is well-known as one of the most horrific events in modern Irish history. It is generally agreed that it was poorly handled by the government.

• Although that is no doubt true, the reasons for the severity and issues of the famine were quite complicated. Also this famine was used a political weapon by later nationalists to demonize Britain and help various Irish causes (such as trying to achieve Irish home rule and independence).

• Ireland actually suffered several famines throughout the past few hundred years – and ones in the 1720s and 1740s were actually statistically more devastating per capita. These happened when an Irish Parliament existed and was less politically charged than the Famine of the 1840s.

Famine High-Level Issues

• Famine was awful real and affected millions. (The potato crop failed in 3 of 4 seasons from 1846-1849)

• Food was in very short supply in certain areas.

• Closing ports would not have solved the famine.

• Charges of genocide not sustainable – must understand the social/cultural/economic views of time. Even if we today see as very wrong – we must understand those views.

• British response was inadequate due to many domestic political issues (such as the Corn Laws, recession, and new British governments taking control).


• Rate of Population growth peaked between 1791-1800.

• Emigration was rising rapidly (a constant in Irish society) and famine did not change the pattern - just accelerated it.

• Many potato blights earlier, but always smaller and handled by the government relief measures of the day (specifically from the Irish Parliament of the day).

• Ulster – thought cotton and linen declined, a growth of power looms existed and an economic diversity and vibrancy existed here unlike in other parts of the country. Ulster had a relatively vibrant economy at this time.


• The famine was acute in certain geographic areas where social structure was changing.

• Ireland was an unequal distribution of income and resources for its people. A very uneven economy that was more obvious by the mid 1820s onward. – Certain areas were economically stagnant – Seasonal workers were a large part of the economy


• View of the famine through the political perspective has lessened only in the last few decades. More recently, a more comprehensive view of the famine has emerged – including understanding the political, economic, social, and cultural view of the time of the famine has appeared.

• “Perfect storm situation” – the combination of economic conditions, poor harvest, poor weather, over dependence on the potato, and poor government response helped make this situation explode as it did.

• The Katrina metaphor is somewhat useful there. Thinking of how that happened and the response has some parallels – obviously not as horrific but useful comparison.


• Providentialism was a small but existing issue

• Irish politicians were more concerned with political matters than the famine until the realized how bad it was. Young Ireland and O’Connell were very much at odds during this time

• Certain ambivalence in Irish culture about discussing this topic until recently

• Only within the last fifteen years have famine memorials in Boston been built (Boston and Cambridge)

Famine of the 1840s - Timeframe

• 1845– Sept – first wide scale potato blight– November– PM Peel secretly orders $100,000 of Indian corn from the

United States to help avert famine. Various relief groups and organizations set up

• 1846– Continue with relief acts– June – Corn laws repealed and Peel government falls– June – Lord John Russell replaced as PM– July – O’Connell and Young Ireland in full breach– Aug-Sept –complete destruction of potato crop. The government

response did not respond proportionally– Nov – Quakers set up Central Relief Committee to respond to crisis

The winter of 1846-1847 was deadly


• 1847– Feb –Soup kitchens established – May – O’Connell dies– June – Poor Law Extensions/Temporary Relief Act/Soup Kitchen Act updated –

allows boards to grant outdoor relief only if own less than ¼ acre “Quarter Acre Clause”. Started gov. subsidized soup kitchens

– July-Sept – potato crop is small, but ok this year. – Government slows down response as crop is decent and compassion fatigue

sets in – this proves to be a DEADLY LULL

• 1848– Entire year of revolution in Europe (especially France) – July- Sept – spud crop totally fails – The worst of famine starts again – July/Aug - Young Ireland starts uprising and quickly crushed– Cholera and other diseases start and takes huge toll on population


• 1849– Cholera and other diseases continue to spread quickly and widely – July-Sept - Crop fails again– Famine and disease still rampant and government response minimal– At this point, it is awful, but many have died, emigrated, and relief

efforts in force just not sufficient and stretched beyond limits

• 1851– Emigration hits peak – Between the emigration and massive death – the famine subsides with

improving crop and much less population

Ireland 1801-1903

• Huge emigration to the United States and Canada – led to huge radicalization of folks outside Ireland – IRB

• Started the process of land re distribution in Ireland• Started the concept and re emergence of Home Rule talk• Only with economic growth the last 15 years it the topic

discussed more freely and openly now

Ireland 1801-1903

• Charles StuartParnell ‘King of Ireland’

• Michael Davitt

• Land League

• Three Fs

• Gladstone and Home Rule

Ireland 1903-1998

• Final land acts in 1903 (Wyndham Act)

• “Killing Home Rule with Kindness”

• Home Rule agitation continued within Ireland

• STRONG opposition in Northeastern Ireland to Home Rule

Ireland 1903-1998

• 1903 Onwards – Northeastern Ireland prepared to avoid being part of Irish Home Rule from this time….

• 1912 – Home Rule passed (‘Third time the charm’)NO PROVISIONS FOR “ULSTER”

• 1912 - Solemn League and Covenant

• Planned armed resistance against Britain ‘to show loyalty’

• Imported Guns to “Ulster” and ‘Curragh Affair”

Ireland 1903-1998

• Literary Renaissance this time – Yeats, Gregory, and Hyde

• Arthur Griffin – founded Sinn Fein in 1905 “Dual Monarchy”

• Nationalists aggravated by ‘special treatment’ of “Ulster”

• Started arming and many groups here wanting some type of insurrection unless Home Rule – or more – came to be

• Home Rule delayed due to World War I

• ALL SIDES pulled back with the war – ‘cooling off’

Ireland 1903-1998

• World War I

• Huge Volunteers

• Somme

• Conscription

• 1916 Uprising – IRB – not Sinn Fein!

Ireland 1903-1998

• World War I ends. World away from the Home Rule of 1912.

• Election in 1918 – Sinn Fein wins overwhelming majority

• Refuse to go to Westminster and meet at their own parliament in Dublin – Dáil Éireann (shadow government)

• British refused to grant home rule – and send in troops to Ireland.

• Led to the “Black and Tans” and “Irregulars”

Ireland 1903-1998

• Guerilla war ensued throughout the country for almost two years – neither side could win outright, but the Irish perfected the art of guerilla war fare in this time.

• Government of Ireland Act 1920 – partitioned the island between the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland.

• Allowed “Northern Ireland” to opt out of the Irish free state.

Ireland 1903-1998

Ireland 1903-1998

• Part of the agreement contained a clause about the “Boundary Commission” to decide later (mid 1920s)

• Many in the south opposed this idea and concept – not the partition of the island which was a less concern, but that Ireland could not be a REPUBLIC – that it was still tied to the British imperial system.

• An Irish Civil war started in June 22, 1922 – by former comrades fighting against the British that splinted upon the creation of the Irish Free State.

• Bloody and awful, and lasted a year until the new Irish govt crushed them – including executing ‘their own’

Ireland 1903-1998

Ireland 1903-1998

• The Irish Free State – become isolated and conservative

• Northern Ireland – became provincial backwater and rigged Unionist state

• World War II – profound effects on both states

• Bombings in each state during World War II

• Each state solidified itself by its own mythology in this time

Ireland 1903-1998

• Post War – Ireland is isolated from World until allowed to join UN in 1955

– Ireland declares itself a Republic in 1948

• Post War – Northern Ireland becomes more tightly connected with Britain – and enjoys the fruits of the Welfare State – with unintended consequences.

– The Unionist rigging of the state continues, but with the welfare state there is more allocation – and EXPECTATION – of a fair society by the young generation

Ireland 1903-1998

• The birth of the 1960s was optimistic and world economic growth – including within Ireland

• JFK visit to Ireland week’s before his death in 1963 – a landmark event within Ireland

• Growing number of Catholics in Northern Ireland who would go to University (Welfare state) and demanded equal rights within the society.

• Geriatric ruling class in Northern Ireland only responded with force – enter Capt Terence O’Neill

Ireland 1903-1998

• Northern Ireland exploded in 1968-1969 – real fear of civil war

• British troops arrived in Derry in August 1969 – initially welcomed by Irish nationalists in the North as ‘protectors’ and that soon soured

• All the demands of protesters were met eventually (British govt demanded it), but too little too late.

• Northern Ireland was a police state.

• IRA re-emerged as a potent force - was (I Ran Away)

Ireland 1903-1998

• Bloody Sunday was one of the most awful episodes - Jan 30, 1972. 26 injured and 14 killed – innocent civilians protesting

• Cyclical Violence continued throughout the 1970s as IRA continued to grow in strength and the British and RUC continued to brutalize the local nationalist population

• Britain instituted “Direct Rule” in 1972

• Contemplation of many issues by the British through the 1970s, including outright withdrawal – but status quo

Ireland 1903-1998

Margaret Thatcher

Not as hated as Cromwell, but close at times!

British PM from 1979

Ireland 1903-1998

Bobby Sands

Born in Belfast

Ended up as the face of the ‘1982 Hunger Strikers’

Elected MP of British Parliament

Died 66 days into a hunger strike

Ireland 1903-1998

• Cyclical Violence continued throughout the 1980s, thought secret negotiations continued.

• Several attempts to reach accommodations, but all were derailed.

• Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985 (Ulster says No & Irish Civil Servants)

• End of Cold war helped move sides toward peace– No ‘good terrorists’– ‘No strategic interest’

Ireland 1998-2010

• Enter Bill Clinton & Tony Blair

• Unionists were convinced they were not being ‘pushed into a United Ireland’

• Belfast/Good Friday agreement in April 1998 – finally settled the issue of the North for generations

• Today the two most extreme parties in the North are in govt together (DUP and Sinn Fein)

Ireland 1998-2010

• During this time, the Republic was building a strong economy.

• By the mid 1990s, Ireland had one of the strongest economies in the world – and the number 2 supplier of software worldwide (after the US).

• Economic growth (real) continued through 2001 or so

• Housing prices went up 300-400% from mid 1990s until 2007

Ireland 1998-2010

• By 2007 – the overheating economy and housing prices were cresting – and the fall started.

• Just before the world economy crashed in 2008, Ireland’s banks were all insolvent

• Irish govt guaranteed the banks loans – the state was on the hook for trillions of dollars potentially – that is did not have!

• Economy constricted last 4 years unlike in any other recent time.

Ireland 1998-2010

• As Ireland in the Euro, the EU forced Ireland to take loans last year and basically the country is in receivership.

• Many of the gains of the last 20 years are lost, huge unemployment, emigration is skyrocketing, and one or two lost generations.

• What is the future?

Ireland 1998-2010

• Northern Ireland’s economy grew after the 1998 agreement, but no where near the level of the Republic.

• Housing prices are more modest, some growth, but still lots of subsidies from Great Britain

• One concern is the life of many working class Unionists have not really improved since 1998 – warning signs!

Language

• Part stereotypes, but much more word play - euphemisms galore - circular and no direct - “I don’t disagree” - “feeling unwell” - “The Great Hunger”

• Northern Ireland – North, Six Counties– Ulster, Northern Ireland

– Belfast/Good Friday Agreement

Questions

• Please contact me if you have any questions about the lecture or questions about modern Ireland or Irish history.

• Please either email me ([email protected]).

mailto:[email protected]

Irish History & Culture: From Molly Malone to Nobel Laureates

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