Research Guides: ENG 150: National Identity in Modern Irish Literature- Student Curated Display: Irish Identity and Nationalism post-2004 Section FY3

Group 4

Group 4's project is...Irish Identity and Nationalism post-2004

Group 4's members include...Kevin Nederostek, Conlan Wall, Eva Webb, Isabella Greig

Overview

Overview by Conlan Wall and Kevin Nederostek

Ireland post 2004 is riddled by people attempting to enact significant changes in a post-conflict era. There has been intense demand for equality within the society of Ireland. With any large change in society comes conflict from the people who oppose said change. Because of this, the situation regarding equality in Irish identity and nationalism was very unsettled. There was a high demand for the implementation of equality for lesbians, gays and bisexuals, older people, and carers. These progressive ideologies were backed by the forward-thinking Equality Authority, known as the EA. Unlike the EA, the Irish government did not necessarily back these ideas of complete equality. These progressive ideologies disagreed with the long-standing discriminatory laws on which the country of Ireland was built on. But with a new age comes the necessity of new ideas and a younger generation of people who have a massive influence on the identity and nationalism of Ireland. Because of the regional social unrest and disagreement, the power of many authorities was thrown into question. Because of this, the backing for social equality by the government became even more difficult to obtain. Along with social developments, you can also see change within the Irish economy and how it operates. Ireland decides to draw in high-tech industries to replace agriculture as the country’s largest sector. This indicates that Ireland was trying to alter their national identity to promote innovative thought and the ability to compete on the global platform.

The Irish identity we see today is very much different from what we would have seen in previous generations. Today we see a new understanding of equality in regard to all aspects of life. For example, the modification of the law for same-sex marriage is vital to the global image Ireland promotes in terms of equality and national acceptance. Ireland was the first country to legalize same-sex marriage, and this change gives people a better understanding of how Irish identity and nationalism are altering for the betterment of Irish citizens. However, the topic of racial inequality in Ireland remains a serious and topical issue. Discrimination remains notably evident, with there being many physical and verbal accounts of racially charged acts of hatred. Such issues must be addressed for Ireland to progressively promote its identity and nationalism in a positive and accepting way.

Book Chapter Reviews

Defining EventsEvents: Power, Resistance and Identity in Twenty-First-Century Ireland by Rob Kitchin (Series edited by); Fiona Dukelow (Editor); Rosie Meade (Editor)
ISBN: 9781847799913

Publication Date: 2016

Review by Eva Webb

Chapter 5. "'Making ‘race’ an issue in the 2004 Irish Citizenship Referendum" Review

Chapter 5: “Making ‘race’ an issue in the 2004 Irish Citizenship Referendum” centers on the Citizenship referendum on June 11, 2004, when amending the Twenty-seventh Amendment was approved. This amendment limits who has citizenship in Ireland, and it favors people who have at least one parent who is an Irish citizen. According to Dukelow and Meade, this goes against the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act (1935) which “granted Citizenship to all people born on the territory of the Irish Free State” (71, Dukelow and Meade). This got rid of the idea of land making one a citizen; instead it favors blood. There have been many citizenship acts with the main three being the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act of 1935, the Citizenship Act of 2001, the Citizenship Act of 2005. It first started with anyone who was born on the land owned by Ireland as a citizen (the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act of 1935), then it started expanding itself in 2001 by saying a person who was born on the land or who has an Irish citizen grandparent. However, in 2004-2005, it came down to just the bloodline of your parents. The problem with this is that it gives advantages and disadvantages, again favoring those with an Irish bloodline.

Ireland’s identity used to be a country of emigration then as time passed on after the famine and wars, Ireland’s new identity was the country of immigration. This chapter mentions that 4.23 million lived in Ireland in 2011, but now in 2021, there are 4.98 million people. This means that the population is still growing. Between 1990 and 2004, most immigrants were returning emigrants, while the rest were Americans or Europeans. However, the number of Americans and Europeans started to grow, overshadowing the number of returners.
Defining EventsEvents: Power, Resistance and Identity in Twenty-First-Century Ireland by Rob Kitchin (Series edited by); Fiona Dukelow (Editor); Rosie Meade (Editor)
ISBN: 9781847799913

Publication Date: 2016

Review by Isabella Greig

Chapter 11. "Cutting back on equality" Review

When considering Irish identity and nationalism post 2004, it is very interesting to consider Rosie Meade’s and Fiano Dukelow’s ‘Defining Events: Power, Resistance and Identity in Twenty-First-Century Ireland’. In order to share an effective idea for the contents and quality of this book in understanding Irish identity post 2004, I refer to chapter 11 ‘Cutting back on equality’.

Cutting back on equality is a reference to an order of events that took place in October 2008. At this time, the Minister for Finance announced a “43 percent reduction in the budget of the Equality Authority” (known as the EA) (Dukelow and Meade P181). Niall Crowley, the EA authority’s board and CEO rejected the cut, but soon after resigned along with several other nominees of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) and the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC). One must note that several of such resignees “referred to the failure of the Department of Justice to engage with the EA’s revised plans” concerning independence, and the “badly damaged” nature of the equality agenda” (Coulter, 2009) (Dukelow and Meade). The state of events highlights the disconcertingly unstable nature of Irish equality post 2004. In this way, Irish identity and nationalism held a conflicted position concerning equality.
The EA was designed to “combat discrimination and promote equality of opportunity in the areas covered by Ireland’s primary anti-discrimination laws, the Employment Equality Acts… and the Equal Status Acts” (Dukelow and Meade). The EA’s legal services were very much in demand with the Authority assisting with dozens of cases per annum. Notably, the “Authority provided full legal assistance… with a peak of sixty-eight [cases] in 2008” (Dukelow and Meade). The EA’s primary legal work concerned the public sector and worked to develop a mandate that implemented equality for “lesbians, gays and bisexuals, older people, and carers respectively (EA, 2002; 2003a; 2005a)” (Dukelow and Meade). Emerging from the general time of 2004 was a burst of outward Irish expression. With such an increase in the development of Irish expression came the need for authorial assistance and anti-discrimination laws. This was the focus of the EA, to protect and prolong Irish identity and peaceful nationalism.

It is important to consider the reason why the EA was attacked. This helps to describe what the Irish nation had long held as values of Irish society and identity. The EA authority was very opening, and in a forward-thinking manner, supported societal issues against the state. These inquiries, in turn, threatened the power and image of politicians and public officials by producing controversy and societal unrest. The state maintained that the EA’s movements were “characterised as an assault on free speech mounted by ‘a grim and unsmiling priesthood with apparently arbitrary legal powers’ (Myers, 2001)” (Dukelow and Meade). With this, one understands that there was very much a conflict of interest. There is the Irish governance that existed upon construction of well set and unchallenged discriminatory laws. Then, there is the EA authority which studied public cases of state-induced discrimination and personal and career-based inequality.

With this in mind, Irish identity and nationalism post 2004 is a very important period. It characterizes an interval of time in which authorities such as the EA were moved to act as an agent for social change, as opposed to complying as an agent of the state. Post 2004, as expressed in chapter 11 of ‘Defining Events: Power, Resistance and Identity in Twenty-First-Century Ireland’, is an effective indication for Ireland’s growing societal demand for equality and a decrease in state-induced discrimination.
Race in Modern Irish Literature and Culture by John Brannigan
ISBN: 9780748640959

Publication Date: 2009

Review by Isabella Greig

"Conclusion Analysis - Imagining the ‘New Hibernia’" Chapter Review

Irish identity and nationalism post 2004 is a significant topic to consider when regarding John Brannigan’s ‘Race in Modern Irish Literature and Culture’. In keeping with the topic of our research, the conclusion titled ‘Imagining the ‘New Hibernia’’ is very informative.

Race in Modern Irish Literature and Culture is an informative academic text that looks to provide the reader an in-depth account of Ireland as a multicultural society. However, in ‘Imagining the ‘New Hibernia’’, the reader is made aware of the multi-cultural difficulties faced during the post 2004 period. The reader learns that before the citizenship referendum on 7 June 2004, “two men wearing balaclavas hung a life-sized black doll from a railway bridge in Longford town. A bag was placed over the doll’s head, and a sign hung around its neck which read ‘Niggers go home – you’ll never be Irish’” (Brannigan and Ebrary). This unmistakable act of racially charged hatred is a reflection of racist undertones evident in Irish society at this time. The Race in Modern Irish Literature and Culture text also helps the reader to understand the events which led to what became an established prejudice against black Irish citizens.

Interestingly, the Irish citizenship referendum became a symbolic representation of “prosperity, independence, and human rights'', able to be enjoyed by all white Europeans. However, the remaining consensus seems to be that there was a widespread societal belief that “black Africans [were] seemingly undeserving of any of these things” (Brannigan and Ebrary). The text shares that journalist John Waters was “compelled to face up to the hard truth of racism in Irish society” after meeting a man who stated “This is about keeping the niggers out” (Brannigan and Ebrary). It is frightening to think that a general school of thought concerning segregation was accepted during a time that we now consider as fairly modern and forward-thinking.

Ultimately, during this ‘post-nationalist’ 2004 (and onwards) period of Irish identity and nationalism, there appears to be a misalignment between a “newly cosmopolitan, global brand of Irishness” and racist social attitudes towards one another (Brannigan and Ebrary). This text highlights the unavoidable fact that for Ireland to truly have a “dynamic liberal economy”, one must argue the reality that “racism and anti-cosmopolitanism in Irish society, especially as expressed in the referendum, are inseparable” (Brannigan and Ebrary).

To study Irish identity and nationalism post 2004 means to study what appeared to be Ireland’s set of societal values. ‘Imagining the ‘New Hibernia’’ and its reference to the racially charged ‘Niggers go home – you’ll never be Irish’ act, is one example of an Irish cultural dilemma. It causes one to furthermore consider the necessity of “attending to figures of race in Irish literature, culture and politics'', to understand obstacles the nation faced in their attempts to become a “genuinely cosmopolitan Ireland” (Brannigan and Ebrary). Imagining the ‘New Hibernia’ helps to understand Irish identity and nationalism post 2004 in the sense that one begins to understand the dismantled concept of community at the time, and evidence of racially charged acts of Irish hatred.

Literary Examples

Suggestions for novels/plays/poetry collections that have been studied in the context of this theory by Eva Webb and Isabella Greig

In keeping with the topic of Irish identity and nationalism post 2004, it would be interesting to consider the following novels/plays/poetry collections that concern topics of race, and the necessity for equality.

It would be very interesting to study Roddy Doyle’s collaborations with Bisi Adigun and Metro Éireann. Roddy Doyle is a Dubliner whose writing usually takes place in the city. He is the writer of a short story collection named The Deportees (2008). This was originally written for Metro Éireann, an immigrant magazine. It is considered a historical account describing the influx of incoming migrants during the late 1990s. Importantly, “these stories trace the acculturation of African and Eastern European immigrants to Ireland, while presenting the Irish in their new role of hosts to uninvited guests.” (Roddy Doyle Dublin) This effectively references John Brannigan’s account in ‘Race in Modern Irish Literature and Culture’, describing Ireland’s multi-cultural difficulties.
Perhaps it would also be interesting to study “Ferguson” the controversial staged reading of events that surround the death of Micheal Brown. Despite being unarmed, Brown was an 18-year-old black man shot dead by Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, St Louis, Missouri in August 2014. It is claimed that the playwright produced by Irish writer Phelim McAleer “was a one-sided take on the shooting in the St. Louis suburb” (Passy). For this reason, many cast members left the production. It could be interesting to consider an Irish perspective regarding racial disputation and investigate why the playwright evoked such a controversial reaction.
It would be very fascinating to research and follow the literal and activist movements of the group known as Fried Plantains Collective (FPC). They are a current “community development project that aims to organize LGBT, feminist and African related social events in Dublin” (“About Fried Plantains Collective”). Their mission is to encourage people to come together and celebrate all Irish voices. They were moved to create this collective after noticing a lack of “LGBT African friendly” spaces in Dublin (“About Fried Plantains Collective”). Their collective uses “music gigs, film screens, talks, field trips and spoken word” to form connections with other artists and/or viewers (“About Fried Plantains Collective”). It is interesting to consider the similarities between this collective’s mission and the EA’s mission to combat discrimination and promote equality and opportunity for self-expression for all Irish citizens, as discussed in Book One, Chapter 11: Cutting back on equality.

Works Cited

“About Fried Plantains Collective.” Fried Plantains Collective, 25 Oct. 2016, friedplantainscollective.wordpress.com/home/#:~:text=Fried%20Plantains%20Collective%20is%20a. Accessed 25 Apr. 2021.
Brannigan, John, and Inc Ebrary. Race in Modern Irish Literature and Culture. Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2009.
Dukelow, Fiona, and Rosie Meade. Defining Events Power, Resistance and Identity in Twenty-First-Century Ireland. Oxford Univ Pr, 2015.
Passy, Charles. “‘Ferguson,’ Play That Prompted Cast Walkouts in Los Angeles, Comes to New York.” Wall Street Journal, 19 Oct. 2017, www.wsj.com/articles/ferguson-play-that-prompted-cast-walkouts-in-los-angeles-comes-to-new-york-1508446991. Accessed 25 Apr. 2021.
“Roddy Doyle’s Dublin: An Interview // Articles // Breac // University of Notre Dame.” Breac.nd.edu, breac.nd.edu/articles/roddy-doyles-dublin/. Accessed 25 Apr. 2021.

ENG 150: National Identity in Modern Irish Literature- Student Curated Display