Why Ideas About The Past Were Used By Irish Nationalist?

This essay illustrates how and why ideas about the past were used by Irish nationalists between 1800 and 1915 to justify their political cause. In examples of political nationalism, the Catholic emancipation campaign, the repeal of the Act of Union, and Daniel O’Connell’s memorial at Glasnevin are analysed. Concerning cultural nationalism, the essay examines Thomas Davis and the Young Ireland movement, the Neolithic site of Newgrange, George Petrie, and finally, the language and literary revivals of the Gaelic League. In addition, these examples are demonstrated to be inventions of tradition conforming to Eric Hobsbawm’s three types of tradition.

Known as the ‘the Liberator’, Daniel O’Connell (1775–1847) campaigned for Catholic emancipation,

B. Yeats, a movement centred around the interpretation of Ireland’s Gaelic culture, which was then written into the English language. The movement had a special interest in mythology and the legend of Cú Chulainn in particular, ‘the mythical Irish hero…. who bound himself to a tree to hold his courage in the face of death’ (Narrator, speaking in ‘Ireland’, 2008). Cú Chulainn was a heroic figure to Catholics and Protestants alike and a pertinent symbol of cultural nationalism.

For Irish nationalists, the literature and theatre productions of the literary revival were ostensibly propaganda, ‘to re-create, traditional Irish culture: a culture that was Gaelic, Catholic, morally pure and rural’ (Laurence, 2008, pg. 164). Notably, plays written by middle-class and upper-class revivalists, such as The Countess Cathleen by W. B. Yeats, In the Shadow of the Glen and The Playboy of the Western World by J.M. Synge, offended Catholic sensibilities by creating narratives at odds with the values of Irish Catholics, signifying moral divisions within the nationalist

(Hobsbawm, 1983)

Daniel O’Connell’s political nationalism and the cultural nationalism of Thomas Davis and George Petrie were bound by the Gaelic language and a prehistoric and early Christian past. These conform to type a) and type b) of Hobsbawm’s three types of tradition. Finally, the education policies that stemmed from the Gaelic League’s language and literary revivals exemplify type c). In conclusion, the examples of political and cultural nationalism discussed created an Irish nationalist ideology. A vision of Ireland’s glorious ancient past, predating the Anglo-Normans, was carefully constructed to inspire Ireland’s campaign for independence. This was achieved by utilising the invention of tradition and the examples given, conform to Hobsbawm’s three types of tradition. In addition, the cycle of tradition and dissent was observed in the example Irish