cuttlefish, cholesterol and saoirse · 2020. 9. 25. · cuttlefish, cholesterol and saoirse brendan...

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Cuttlefish, Cholesterol and SaoirseBrendan O’Leary

Irish Freedom: The History of Nationalism in Ireland Richard EnglishLondon:Macmillan,2006.625pages.ISBN978-1-4050-4189-8

Hethatusesmanywordsforexplaininganysubject,doth,likethecuttlefish,hidehimselfforthemostpartinhisownink.

JohnRay,seventeenth-centurynaturalist

Insum,ratherlikecholesterol,thereisgoodandbadrevisionism,andwehavehadtoomuchofthelatterinrecentyears.

L.PerryCurtisJr.1

RichardEnglish,byhisownaccount,hastriedtodothreethingsinaquarterofamillionwords:writethestoryofIrishnationalisthistoryforthegeneralreader,provide‘anauthoritativebutaccessibleup-to-date,singlevolumeaccountofwhatscholarsnowthinkandknow(orthinkthattheyknow)aboutIrishnationalism’,and,moreambitiously,‘explain’Irishnationalism.2IrishFreedomispartiallysuccessfulinitsfirstgoal,andmuchmorepartisanthanitpresentsitself.Forthatreasonitismuchlesssuccessfulinachievingitssecondgoal.Itfailsinitslastgoal.

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1 L. Perry Curtis Jr., ‘Comment: The Return of Revisionism’, Journal of British Studies, 44 (�005), 134–45, 145

� Richard English, Irish Freedom: The History of Nationalism in Ireland (London, �006), 4–5

Professor English recently wrote a highly regarded history of the IRA.3 Here his tone is often conciliatory but displays the high-handed conciliation that exasperates. He is widely read, cultured (especially in music), eclectic, and presents as generous and fair-minded in his readings. But he has blind spots. The most significant are linguistic, methodological, and ideological. He has also become garrulous. He, like others who imagine themselves to be radical, swims with the present tide of imperial historiography, which cleanses, and even celebrates, the British Empire, or at least accentuates its

positive dimensions.4 Yet Ireland’s colonial treatment by Great Britain, before and after the Act of Union of 1801, remains a salutary reminder of negative entries in the ledger of Empire. In accounting for some present nationalist passions and arguments, the ‘catastrophic dimension’ of the Irish historical experience in what we may call the ‘far past’ needs to be emphasized — violent conquest, expropriation, religious oppression, famine, immiseration and demographic collapse.5 In the ‘near past’, what demands focus is the long denial of democratic autonomy, followed by an unjust

Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa, prominent Fenian, in New York, 1911. Photograph: Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images.

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3 RichardEnglish,ArmedStruggle:TheHistoryoftheIRA(London,2003).Iwroteafavourablereviewofthisbook,‘LethalMixtureofArmaliteandtheBallotBox’,TimesHigherEducationSupplement,1609(2003),27–28,withsomereservations,recentlyre-expressedin‘MissionAccomplished?LookingBackattheIRA’,FieldDayReview,1(2005),216–46.

4 NiallFerguson,Empire:TheRiseandFalloftheBritishWorldOrderandtheLessonsforGlobalPower(NewYork,2003);StephenHowe,IrelandandEmpire:ColonialLegaciesinIrishHistoryandCulture(Oxford,2000)

5 BrendanBradshaw,‘NationalismandHistoricalScholarshipinModernIreland’,IrishHistoricalStudies,26,104(1989),329–51

6 IanLustickhaswrittenofthedifficultiespoliticalscientists(andhistorians)haveindealingscientificallywithrivalsecondaryreadingsofprimarysources,andtheresultingtypesof‘selectionbias’;seehis‘History,Historiography,andPoliticalScience:MultipleHistoricalRecordsandtheProblemofSelectionBias’,AmericanPoliticalScienceReview,90(1996),605–18.

7 IrishFreedom,388 HughM.Thomas,

TheEnglishandtheNormans:EthnicHostility,AssimilationandIdentity1066–c.1220(Oxford,2003),315

9 BrendanO’LearyandJohnMcGarry,ThePoliticsofAntagonism:UnderstandingNorthernIreland,2ndexpandededn.(LondonandAtlanticHeights,1996)

partition,andtherenewalofdominationinonepoliticalunitbythehistoricbeneficiariesofthecolonialsettlements.Suchemphasesarewarrantednotasabriefforpresentcourtrooms,notforthejoyofsavouringpasthorrors,andnotforwallowinginancientgrievancestotheneglectofourancestors’pastpleasuresandachievements.Quitesimply,thecatastrophiccomponentsofthepastsignificantlyexplainIreland’spresent,bothitsinstitutionaloutcomesandthepresentmentalitiesofitsprincipalagents,collectiveandindividual.RichardEnglish’sbookfailsfullytoappreciatethesematters,buthisfailureisinstructive.

Ofcourse,neitherIreland’snorNorthernIreland’shistoriesareunrelievedcataloguesofdisaster,andonlythelaststrandedplatoonsoftheThirty-TwoCountySovereigntyMovementmightargueotherwise.Infact,theisland’scurrentcircumstancesstem,inpart,fromcatastrophesthatdidnothappen.TheNazisorStalinists,whohomogenizedCentralandEasternEuropeunderthecoverof‘NachtundNebel’,neverconqueredIreland.IntheseventeenthcenturyIrelandwasnotcomprehensively‘cleansed’ofitsnatives,norwasitreligiouslyhomogenized,thoughbothenterpriseswereconceivedandembarkeduponbeforebeingabandonedforlessspectacularformsofsubordination.Inacomparativeperspective,itisthecatastrophicpast,withitslong-termrepercussions,thatexplainstheemotionalandintellectualwellspringsofIrishnationalism.AnditisthecurrentresolutionoftheserepercussionsthatexplainsthediminutionofhostilitytowardtheBritishstateandthepeacefulaccommodationsthatnowprevailinbothofIreland’spoliticalentities.

Whose ancestral voices?

NowhereinPartOne,‘Irelandbefore1800’,doesEnglishadmitincompetenceintheIrish,LatinorFrenchlanguages.Thiswouldseemanecessaryacknowledgementbysomeone

whohastakenuponhimselfthetaskofappraisingtheexistence(ornon-existence)ofnationalconsciousnessinIreland’spre-modernpast.SincenoworksinIrish,LatinorFrencharecitedinthebibliographythereadermayassumethatEnglishlackstheselanguages.Thisobservationisnotadvancedinaspiritofethnicorlinguistictrumping—IhavemostlyforgottenLatinandFrench,andhavebutafewwordsofIrish.Nordoestheobservationimplythatonlythosewiththerelevantlinguisticskillscanhaveworthwhileopinions.Solidhistoricaljudgementscanemergefromreadingsecondaryinterpretationsofprimarysources,providedthereisascholarlyconsensusthatisnotcontestedaspartisanbyreasonablepersons.6ButEnglish’snotesandbibliographyconveynomasteryofthosehistorians,pastorpresent,whohaveafullcommandofIrish,andwhodifferfromtheir‘angloglot’colleagues—andamongthemselves—onquestionspertinenttoIrishnationalconsciousnessbeforethenineteenthcentury.SowemustbescepticalthatEnglishcanachievehisgoalofassessingGaelicIreland’sself-consciousness.

Likemostofus,heisheavilydependentonanglophonesecondarysourcesforreadingsofIreland’sGaelicpast.Soitisincumbentuponhimtoshowwhyweshouldtakehisword,ratherthanthewordofothers,foranyreadingofthatpast,wherethereisnoconsensus.Thiscriticism,moreover,doesnotapplyonlytohistreatmentoftheconsciousnessofthepre-modernGaelicIrish.ConsidertheissueofhowtonamethosewhoinvadedIrelandin1169,or,intheaccountEnglishprefers,whowereinvitedinbyalocallydethronedpretender.Hesaystherewasno‘“English”invasionatall’.Rather,Irelandwascolonized‘byaninternationalgroup’,‘Anglo-Normanlords…andtheirhybridfollowers’.7ButatleastonestudyofhowtheNormansbecameEnglish,notcited,maintainsthat‘theCelticOtherservednotonlytodrawNormansandEnglishtogether[forsecurityreasons],

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10 SeeJohnGillingham’s‘TheBeginningsofEnglishImperialism’,JournalofHistoricalSociology,5,4(1992),392–409;‘TheEnglishInvasionofIreland’,inBrendanBradshaw,AndrewHadfieldandWillyMaley,eds.,RepresentingIreland:LiteratureandtheOriginsofConflict,1534–1660(Cambridge,1992),24–42;andTheEnglishintheTwelfthCentury:Imperialism,NationalIdentityandPoliticalValues(Woodbridge,2003).

11 IrishHistoricalStudies,theprofessionaljournalforsomeoneinEnglish’sfield,containsanelegantlywrittenarticle,whichhedoesnotcite,byamasterofFrench,Latin,IrishandEnglishsources,whichshowsthattheIrishdescribedthesaid‘Anglo-Normans’as‘English’,andnicelysuggestsparallelsbetweentwentieth-centuryUlster’sdividedpeoplesandthoseoflatemedievalIreland;seeArtCosgrove,‘TheWritingofIrishMedievalHistory’,IrishHistoricalStudies,27,106(1990),97–111.

12 IrishFreedom,4313 IrishFreedom,26;my

emphases14 Someofthemore

egregiouserrorsinProfessorElliott’sbookareamatterofrecord,seemyreview‘HistoryofNorth’sCatholicsRiddledwithInaccuracies’,SundayBusinessPost,22October2000.

15 BrianSykes,Saxons,VikingsandCelts:TheGeneticRootsofBritainandIreland(NewYork,2006)

andtoreinforceEnglishnesswhereitalreadyexisted,but…alsohelpedtomaketheformer[theNormans]adopttheidentityofthelatter[theEnglish]’.8HughThomasarguesthattheNormansacculturatedveryquicklyintoanEnglishidentity.Similarly,JohnGillinghamhaspersuadedmethatJohnMcGarryandIwerewrongtowriteinoneofourbooksof‘Anglo-Normans’invadingIreland,eventhoughthatlabelhasbeenstandardinIrishandBritishhistoriography.9Rather,Gillinghaminsists,thenativeIrishwererighttodescribetherelevantevents,thenandlater,asthecomingoftheEnglish.Gillinghamhasdemonstratedthatthe‘incomers’hadnosuchexpressionas‘Anglo-Norman’forthemselves.ThisabsenceissupplementaryevidenceforaveryfastassimilationofNormansintoEnglishidentitybetweenthe1120sand1140s.10WemightcallthistheNoussommeslesanglaisThesis.Sothe(French-speaking)English,nottheNormans,orAnglo-Normans,invadedIreland,or,asEnglishprefers,wereinvitedin—and,ofcourse,itwasboth.11

TheexpertisetoadjudicatetheinterpretationsofmedievaldocumentsisnotamongmyaccomplishmentsbutIamableimmediatelytoobserveasthebookbeginsthatEnglishhasmissedanimportantcontroversyintheethnichistoryoftheseislands,andhasinsteadreplicatedtheoldhistoriography.Hashedonesothroughignorance?Perhaps;noonecanreadeverything,evenonthescholarshiprelevanttoasmallcountry.Hashepreferredtheoldhistoriographyonempiricallydefensiblegrounds?Perhaps;butifso,hedoesnotsupplythem.Thesuspicionarisesthattheoldhistoriographyisinthisinstancecomforting:itenableshimtoemphasize‘hybridity’inIrishhistory,andtodisparagetraditionalnationalistaccountsoflong-standingEnglishandIrishanimosityrootedincolonialrelations.Thatisperhapswhyhecanlaterreferto‘theEnglishinIrelandandtheIrishinIreland(astheymightrespectivelybecalled)’,withoutacknowledgingthatiswhattherespectivegroupscalledthemselves,

accordingtoextantsourcesineachoftheirrespectivelanguages.12

On politically correct cosmopolitanism

IndependentIreland,thankstoprosperityandimmigration,isnowmulti-ethnic,multi-religiousandmulti-lingualinnovelways.NorthernIreland,thankstothepeaceprocess,isalsoincreasinglyattractivetoimmigrants.Excellent.Butitisananachronismtoreadandcelebratethispresentbackintothemistsoftime,whetherthemistsbedeemedCelticorotherwise.WeareconfidentlytoldbyEnglish,withoutsources,that

Differentcivilizationsandpeoplesandgroupswere,fromtheearliesthistoryofoldIreland,writtenintothestoryofitsinhabitants;sonotionsofamonochromerace,ofanysupposedracial‘purity’orhomogeneity,aredeeplymisplaced.SinceancienttimestheIrishgenepoolhasbeenprofoundlymixed…Therewasnosingle,originalGaelicorIrishrace,justastherewerenodiscerniblenativesinthesenseofanoriginalpeoplethanwhomallothersandtheirdescendantsarelesstrulyIrish[sic!]…EvenintheIronAge,thepeopleofIrelandweregeneticallyverymixed…13

Readersmaythenexpecttobetoldthattherereallywere‘blackIrish’,oratleast‘blackandtanIrish’,andanticipatetalesoftheskeletalremainsofpersonswhosereconstructedphenotypesarenotCaucasian.Instead,wegetaquotation,andacitation.Thequotationreads‘PrehistoricIrelandwasaconsiderableracialmix.’ThecitationistoMarianneElliott’sTheCatholicsofUlster.Now,whatevermeritsProfessorElliottmayhaveasanhistorian,sheisnotnotablydistinguishedasageneticist.14

Bycontrast,BrianSykes,professorofHumanGeneticsatOxfordUniversity,arguablyis.15

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16 Sykes,Saxons,VikingsandCelts,279,280,281,282

17 Sykes,Saxons,VikingsandCelts,285

18 ResearchconductedintheSmurfitInstituteofGeneticsatTrinityCollegesuggeststhat8percentofIrishmenpossessaparticularY-chromosome:seeLaoiseT.Moore,BrianMcEvoy,EleanorCape,KatharineSimms,andDanielG.Bradley,‘AY-ChromosomeSignatureofHegemonyinGaelicIreland’,AmericanJournalofHumanGenetics,78,2(2006),334–38.ThisY-chromosomehasaclusterofconcentrationinthenorth-westrunningfromRoscommontoStrabane,where23percentoflocalmalespossessit.GenealogicalevidencehassubsequentlysuggestedthatNialloftheNineHostagesisalsoFatherNiallofnearnumberlessdescendants.TheUíNéill(andtheiraffiliatedfamilies)reallydohaveacommonancestor,thoughtheymaynotyethavemixedtheirbloodorDNAwithRichardEnglishorMarianneElliott.

19 SimonJames,TheAtlanticCelts:AncientPeopleorModernInvention?(London,1999)

20 IrishFreedom,28

InhisrecentlypublishedSaxons,VikingsandCelts(yes,heusesthe‘C’word),hearguesthattheDNAevidenceshowsthatthe‘matrilinealhistoryoftheIslesisbothancientandcontinuous’,andthestrongevidenceof‘exactandclosematchesbetweenthematernalandwesternclansofwesternandnorthernIberiaandthewesternhalfoftheIslesisveryimpressive,muchmoresothanthepoorermatcheswithcontinentalEurope…Onourmaternalside,almostallofus[BritishandIrish]areCelts’.SykesconfirmsthatthegeneticdatafalsifytheoldnotionthattheCeltsofIrelandoriginatefrommiddleEurope.WeHiberniansareIberians:‘TheIrishmythsoftheMilesianswererightinonerespect.ThegeneticevidenceshowsthatalargeproportionofIrishCelts,onboththemaleandthefemaleside,didarrivefromIberia,atoraboutthesametimeasfarmingreachedtheIsles’.16ThepaternalY-chromosomedataalsosuggestIberianoriginsforthemalesoftheIsles,especiallyinIreland.Therecentdiscussionofthe‘UíNéillchromosome’enablesSykestohavesomefun;itissaidtobeanexampleofthe‘Genghiseffect’,thatis,verylargenumbersofmenaredescendedfromonlyafewgeneticallysuccessfulancestors:‘thelongeraclanhasbeeninplaceliketheIsles,themoresimilartheY-chromosomesbecome’.17TheHibernianGenghisinquestionisNialloftheNineHostages.18

BeforepoliticalpanicsetsinamongreadersofFieldDayReviewletmeemphasizethatSykes’suseofDNAdataisnotbeingdeployedtoconfirmsomeprimordialconceptionoftheIrishnation,butmerelytoshowthatEnglish’santi-primordialismispoorlyfounded.Ilackthecompetencetoadjudicatethevalidityofinferencesfromtechnicalgeneticresearch,andwouldwantalotofassurancesabouttherepresentativenessoftherelevantDNAsamplesfromwhichmajorhistoricalconclusionsarebeingdrawn,butwhatcanbesaidwithoutfearofrebuttalisthatneitherProfessorsElliottnorEnglishhave

theauthoritytopronounceconfidentlyonpre-modernIreland’sgeneticmake-up.And,totheextentthatwecanrelyoncurrentscientificevaluations,pre-modernIrelandwasratherethnically(andgenetically)homogeneous.WemaysuspectthatforEnglishtheassertion,anditisnomorethanthat,ofaprofoundlymulti-culturalandmulti-people‘farpast’isintendedtohidethelargelydichotomousrecentpastortosermonizeforthepresent.

Inthecaseof‘theCelts’,Englishalsostraysfromcarefulappraisalofthehistoricalevidence,becauseofakeendeterminationtodebunkIrishnationalistmyths.Hetherebymisleadsthegeneralreader.TheideaofaunifiedCelticpeople—withaheartlandintheformerforestsandmountainsofMitteleuropa—isindeedarecentconstruction,ascertainarchaeologistshaveloudlycomplained.19ButEnglisherrswhenhedeclaresthat‘IfnoracialorethnicgroupinIrelandintheancientormedievalperiod,wasknown,oridentifieditselfasCeltic,thenweshouldnotpretendthattheydidso,and“theCelts”isatitlewhichthereforeshouldberejectedforIrishpeoplefromthesecenturies’.20GeoffreyofMonmouth’sinfluential—iflargelyfictive—TheHistoryoftheKingsofBritainhastheCeltsasoneofthefivenationsofthelargerisland.SosomelabellingofpeopleasCeltsdidoccurinthetwelfthcentury.Moreimportantly,wecanandshouldusetheword‘Celtic’,inagreementwiththecanonicalclassificationsoflinguisticbranches,torefertoGaelicspeakers,andwriters.Suchspeakers,andwriters,precededEnglishspeakers,inhistoryandinresidence,ontheislandofIreland,andontheneighbouringisland.Onecanneitherexplainthepastaccurately,norimprovethepoliticaltemperofthepresent,byseekingtodenyhomogeneityinpre-EnglishIreland,orbytryingtoeffacetheculturalandlinguisticdistinctivenessofIrelandfromeasternandsouthernBritainbeforethetwelfth,andindeedbeforetheseventeenth,century.


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What is your methodological poison?

Twoclassesofcaninesroaminthesocialsciencejungle.Theygatherinpackswhichrarelymix.Onegrowls,‘Sowhat?What’sthestory?Whatdoesittellustheoretically?’Theothertendstobark,‘What’sthemethod?Howdoyouknowwhatyouknow?Giventhatweknowhowdifficultitistoknow,whyshouldweacceptyourconclusions?’Itisfareasiertoanswerthegrowlerthanthebarker.Thebarkers,liketheologians,havemanymonistsamongthem,andwantto

knowwhetheranargumentsurvivestheirtests.Methodologically,IrishFreedomisadisappointingmess,nomatterhowpluralistorlaxoneisonthesematters.Englishdeservescreditasahistorianinapoliticalsciencedepartmentforengagingininterdisciplinaryreading.SuchtrespassingisstilluncommonamongIreland’scohortsofpoliticalhistorians,whohaveremaineduntilrecentlysomewhatdismissiveofthesocialsciences,especiallyifeducatedinCambridgeorDublin.Butonanyone’ssensiblestartingpremises,explainingIrishnationalismrequiresasocial-science-influenced

‘Erin’sValentines’,coloursupplementwithUnitedIreland,16February1884.NationalLibraryofIreland

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21Theexpression‘revisionist’isunfortunatebecauseitstemsfromtheSecondInternational’sdebatebetween‘orthodox’and‘revisionist’Marxists(ledbyKarlKautskyandEduardBernsteinrespectively).ItsuggestsacontrastbetweenacalcifiedorthodoxyofIrishnationalism,andafreethinkingadaptationofdoctrinetoreality.Allhistoriansshould,ofcourse,beopentotherevisionoftheirarguments—forexample,uponthediscoveryoffreshdata,orthedemonstrationthattheirinterpretationshavebeenunrepresentativeofarchivalmaterials,oriftheyareshowntohavecontradictedthemselves,ortohaveoverlookedcriticalmaterials,tolistafewreasonsforwhichrevisionistheappropriateresponse.Revisionisthistorians,so-calledinIreland,are,inthemain,eitheropposedtomoststreamsofIrishnationalism,orregretfulofthesuccesses,politicalorcultural,ofIrishnationalists.Theirintelligentcriticsarenotanti-revisionistperse—thatwouldbetoembracehavingaclosedmind.Rather,theyareeithersupportiveofatleastonestreamofIrishnationalism,orhappytodemonstratethattherevisionistshavemisinterpretedormisrepresentedtheIrishpast.

historiantogenerateexplicithypothesesfromthegeneraltheoreticalliterature,andtousethesetoaccountfortheoriginsanddevelopmentofIrishnationalism,itsexpression,andmobilization,andsuccessesandfailures.Secondarymaterials—andsometimesappropriateprimarymaterials—shouldbeusedtoappraisethemeritsorotherwiseofthesehypotheses.Suchcase-materialsmustbecarefullyselectedtotesttherelevanthypothesesfairly—andaremorecompellingiftreatedthroughcomparativeanalysis.AlongrompthroughthehistoryofIreland,mildlytouchedoverasahistoryofIrishnationalism,withaselectionbiastowardintellectuals,followedbyageneralsurveyofthelargesocialscienceliteraturedevotedtoexplainingnationalism,withasidesonIrishmaterials,andpoliteunionisthomilies,doesnotmeetthestandardsofeithersocialscienceorofrigorousevaluativehistoriography.

Inshort,onecannotsensiblypresentanapparentlydetached‘story’ofIrishnationalismfirst,andthenfollowupwithageneralliteraturesurveyofthesocialscienceofnationalism,andleaveitatthat.Eitherthe‘story’isprofoundlyinfluencedbytheliteraturesurvey,inwhichcaseitistheoretically‘saturated’,astheepistemologistssay.Oritisnot,inwhichcasethesurveymustbedefendedaccordingtosomeotherclearprinciplesofselection.Nosuchclearprinciplesareproffered.Infact,thestoryofIrishnationalisthistorypresentedhereisfarfromadetachedaccount;itisanaccountofIrishhistoryaccordingtothecurrentlyconventionalwisdomofthosewhounfortunatelyarecalled‘revisionists’,marriedtoaseriesofrebuttalsofextremistorfoolishIrishnationalistclaimsthataretoooftenundocumented.21

RepublicanwomenprotestingagainstBritain’sexecutionofpoliticalprisonersinMountjoyJail,1921.Photograph:TopicalPressAgency/HultonArchive/GettyImages.


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22 IrishFreedom,95,10423 IrishFreedom,526,

529,530,519n.2024 DavidGeorgeBoyce

andAlanO’Day,eds.,TheMakingofModernIrishHistory:RevisionismandtheRevisionistControversy(London,1996);CiaranBrady,ed.,InterpretingIrishHistory:TheDebateonHistoricalRevisionism1938–1994(Dublin,1994)

25 IhavewrittendetailedappraisalsofGellnerandKedourie’sexplanationsofnationalism(‘Gellner’sDiagnosesofNationalism:ACriticalOvervieworWhatisLivingandWhatisDeadinGellner’sPhilosophyofNationalism?’,inJ.A.Hall,ed.,TheStateoftheNation:ErnestGellnerandtheTheoryofNationalism[Cambridge,1998],40–90;and‘InPraiseofEmpiresPast:MythsandMethodofKedourie’sNationalism’,NewLeftReview,2ndseries,18[2002],106–30),andplantodothesamewithAnthonySmith’swork;thefirstwasmydoctoralexaminerandfriend,thesecondaformercolleagueandchairofmyformerdepartment,andIco-taughtaninterdisciplinaryseminarwiththethirdformanyyears.

Letmesubmitsomeadjectivalevidenceonthe‘revisionist’bias.WearetoldthatIanMacBrideis‘themostauthoritativehistorianofeighteenthcenturyPresbyterianradicalism’,andthatMarianneElliottisTone’s‘mostaccomplishedbiographer’.22WeareinformedofPaulBew’s‘importantseriesofbooks’,ofRoyFoster’s‘magnificenttwo-volumebiography’,ofSeniaPašeta’s‘fascinatingarticle’and‘finetreatment’,andofStephenHowe’s‘judicious’discussionofwhetherIrelandhadacolonialexperience.23Nosimilarauthoritativeness,accomplishment,importance,magnificence,fascination,finenessorjudiciousnessappeartoattachtotheworksofIrishnationalists,theirsympathizers,orempathizers,orthoseacademicscriticalofrevisionists.Nowletmesubmitsomebibliographicalevidence.ThecollectionontherevisionistcontroversyeditedbyGeorgeBoyceandAlanO’Dayisfrequentlycited,whereasthateditedbyCiaranBradyisnot,period.24Woulditbeunjusttoconcludethatisbecauseanti-revisionistsaremorevigorouslypresentinoneoftheseworks?

Asnoted,Englishhopedtoprovide‘anauthoritativebutaccessibleup-to-date,singlevolumeaccountofwhatscholarsnowthinkandknow(orthinkthattheyknow)aboutIrishnationalism’.Thatwouldleadonetoexpectregularpassages,ifonlyinhisnotes,thatwouldbeofthefollowingtype,‘historiansA,B,andConcearguedpropositionx,buthistoriansD,EandFhavediscreditedtheseargumentsbecauseofthefollowingconsiderations,a1,a2,anda3’.Thatstyleofargumentationhappensfairlyrarely.Instead,wearetypicallyandpresumptuouslyexpectedtobelievethateachprofessionalhistoriandrawninsupportofEnglish’sstoryisanimpartialexpert,and,byinference,thatthosewhomtheycriticizearemission-committed,blinkered,orold-fashionednationalists.Rivalviewsaresimplydismissed,andwhereacontroversyisnoted,Englishhasaconsistenthabitofselectingthepositionofthereasonable

unionistintherelevantquarrel.Thatwouldbefinewereittobeadmitted,butinsteadtheauthorpresentshimselfasanobjectivea-nationalistratherthanananti-nationalist,letaloneaBritishnationalist,thatis,aunionist.

Explanationsareanswerstoquestionsorpuzzles.Surveysofexplanations,whatthepsychologistscallmeta-reviews,canbeextremelyvaluable.ThepuzzleinIrishFreedomistoknowwhatexactlyisbeingexplained.

1. ArethequestionsorpuzzlesbeingansweredorresolvedinEnglish’sbooksetbythegeneralexplanatoryliteratureintheworksofmajortheoristsofnationalism,forexampletheLondonSchoolofEconomics’ElieKedourie,ErnestGellnerandAnthonyD.Smith?25OrCornell’sBenedictAnderson—orBenedictO’GormanAnderson,togivehimhisfullyhybridIrishnames?Apparentlynot,becausethesetheoristsaresurveyedattheend.Theyarenotusedtomarshalthestory,orstories,ortoresolvecontroversies.Atbestthesurveytellsushowimportantthinkershaveexplainedthesalienceofnationalisminthemodernworld.

2. ArethequestionsbeingansweredsetbythepoliticalclaimsmadebyIrishnationalisthistoriansaboutIreland’spast,forexampleEoinMacNeill,whosebooksarenotcitedinthebibliography?Again,apparentlynot,though‘easypickings’aresoughtagainstpopularhistorianssuchasAliceStopfordGreen,ratherthanengagementswithtougherprofessionalspecimenssuchasJ.J.Lee,L.PerryCurtisJr.,EmmetLarkin,orEunanO’Halpin.

3. ArethequestionsbeingsetbytheclaimsofmobilizedIrishnationalistactivists,pastandpresent,abouttheirisland’spast,suchasthoseofIrishLabour’sJamesConnolly,FiannaFáil’sFrankGallagher(someofwhosebooksarecited),SinnFéin’sGerryAdams,orthe

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26 IrishFreedom,49527 IrishFreedom,479

SocialDemocraticandLabourParty’sJohnHume?Yes,inpart.(IndeedEnglishmanagestobegeneroustowardHume).

4. Lastly,dothequestionsflowfromthepoliticalopponentsofIrishnationalism,pastandpresent,whetherunionists,cosmopolitansorself-styledpost-nationalists?

Infact,onecanfindelementsofallfourinterrogativeagendasinIrishFreedom—thesocialscientific,thoseofthe(actualandpresumed)nationalisthistorians,thebeliefsofpopularpoliticians,andthosewemaydeemtheHibernophobes.Buttheyarescatteredratherthangatheredandconsideredinsequence,andthegeneralreaderwillbeasperplexedasme.Englishneverexplicitlypresentshisexplanatoryagenda.Isthequestion,‘WhydoIrishnationalistsholdthebeliefsthattheydo?’,or‘HowvalidarethebeliefsofIrishnationalists?’,or‘WhydothesetypicalnationalistbeliefsresonateamongsomeIrishpeople?’?Hadtheseseparatepuzzlesbeendistinguishedandevaluatedonemightfeelthatsomeworthwhileexplanationhadbeenaccomplished.

Instead,thebookreadslikeafirstdraft,oratranscriptoflectures.Notinthesensethattheproseisuniformlyweak;thoughitiscareless,andwordy.Hereisanexampleofcarelessness.‘FromearliesttimestheinhabitantsofIrelandwereraciallymixedratherthanjoinedbytiesofblood…’26Now,either,themixtureresultedininterbreeding,inwhichcasetheinhabitantswerejoinedbytiesofblood,or,themixturedidnotresultininterbreeding—inwhichcase,inwhatsensewerethey‘mixed’,otherthanbyresidencyofthesameisland?Itisgoodtobeagainstracism,anideology,butitisnotwisetoconfusebloodtiesandkinshipwithracism.Hereisanexampleoftheneedforpruning:

Frequently,nationalisminvolvestheenforcingofattemptedreversalofpowerimbalances(imposinganationalempire,liberatingacolonyfromimperial

control),bymeansoftheuseofpowerasleverage.Muchofthepracticaldefinitionofnationalism—whatitdoes,daytoday;howitaffectspeople’slives;whyitappealssomuchtopeople—involvesquestionsofthedeploymentofpowerasattemptedleverage.27

Everythingitalicizedcouldhavebeenprofitablycut.

Thebook,inshort,hasnotbeenediteddowntoproduceafullycoherentargument.Thecommendableaimingofthetextatthegeneralreaderhasaprice:alotofbasicsociology,anthropologyandindeedevolutionarypsychologyarepresentedclearly,butlaboriously,andoccasionallymisleadingly.PartsTwoandThree,thegeneralhistoryofthenineteenthandtwentiethcentury,donotwork,despitetheirlength,becausetoomuchistakenforgranted,andmorecareisdevotedtotreatingfamousleaders’personalitiesthannarratingthepoliticalhistoryofnationalistorganizations.PartFour,theexplanationofIrishnationalism,turnsouttobeaneighty-pageguidetothegeneralreaderonrecentanglophoneliteratureonnationalism,inwhichaccessibilityleadstothesacrificeofrigouranddepth.Insteadofisolatingarangeoftestablepropositionsonnationalism,andevaluatingthemagainstIrishcase-materials,wearetreatedtoanunobjectionableaccountofwhynationalismhasbeensopersistentlydominantinmanymodernlives.

What might have been done?

Letmeprovideexamplestoillustratemethodologicalunderachievement,lestmycomplaintsseempeevish.IneachofthefiveparagraphsthatfollowItakeanagendafromoneormorethinkers,whoseworksEnglishhasread,ormightreasonablybeexpectedtoknow.Theexerciseprovidesasynopsisoftestablepropositionsandquestionsthatcouldhavebeenthefocusofa


195

28 ErnestGellner,ThoughtandChange(London,1964),andNationsandNationalism(Oxford,1983)

properevaluativehistoriographicalsurveyofIrishnationalism.

ErnestGellner’stheoryofnationalismhasatleasttwotestableimplications:itpredictsnationalismarisinginconditionsofunevenlydevelopedindustrialization;anditpredictsnationalistconflictoverstate-management

ofmodern(generic)primary,secondaryanduniversityeducationalsystems.28Italsohasatypologyof‘nationalism-inducing’and‘nationalism-thwarting’situations,usingthreeindependentvariablesacrosstwogroups(accesstopoliticalpower,accesstomoderneducation,andaccesstoamodernhighculture).Thesetestable

EamondeValeraworkingunderaplaqueofMichaelCollins,1954.Photograph:CarlMydans/TimeLifePictures/GettyImages.

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29 ElieKedourie,Nationalism(London,1960);O’Leary,‘MythsandMethodofKedourie’sNationalism’

30 ElieKedourie,ed.,NationalisminAsiaandAfrica(London,1971)

31 JohnHutchinson,‘CulturalNationalism,EliteMobilityandNation-Building:CommunitarianPoliticsinModernIreland’,BritishJournalofSociology,38,4(1987),482–501;TheDynamicsofCulturalNationalism:TheGaelicRevivalandtheCreationoftheIrishNationState(London,1987);‘MoralInnovatorsandthePoliticsofRegeneration:TheDistinctiveRoleofCulturalNationalistsinNation-Building’,InternationalJournalofComparativeSociology,23,1–2(1992),101–17

32 MichaelHechter,InternalColonialism:TheCelticFringeinBritishNationalDevelopment,1536–1966(London,1975)

implications,andthetypology,couldbeexplicitlyevaluated,modifiedorfalsifiedtoappraisetheirmeritsinconfrontationwithIrishhistoriography.Thatwouldinvolvegrapplingwithdifficultquestions,notablythemeaningof‘highculture’(whichisnotareferencetoatonalmusicandopera).Itwouldsuggest,inparticular,adetailedappraisalofresearchonthedevelopmentofschoolingandtertiaryeducationsystems,andthecontroversiestowhichtheygaverise.Thatisnotattempted.ItissimplynotenoughtorejectGellner’sapproachbysayingthatIrishnationalismdevelopedbeforeindustrializationdevelopedinGreatBritain—oneneedstounderstandwhatGellnermeantby‘industrialization’,whichwasmorethansmeltingfurnacesandsmokingfactories,andtoconsiderGellner’sownresponsestoallegedcasesofnationalismbeforeindustrialization,forexampleintheBalkans.Itisalsoessentialtoconsiderwhatunevendevelopmentmightmean,andtousecensus,demographicandeconomicdatatoevaluatematters.ButnotonetablegracesEnglish’sbook,eventhoughhehasreadmanybookswiththerelevantdataonthesematters.

ElieKedourie’stheoryofnationalismclaims—wrongly—thatnationalismwas‘invented’atthebeginningofthenineteenthcentury,aclaimrefutedbyanydispassionatereadingofthelaterwritingsofWolfeToneandothermembersoftheUnitedIrishmenbefore1798.29Kedourie’smoreinterestingclaim,elaboratedinalaterworkonNationalisminAsiaandAfricaandnotdirectlyconsideredbyEnglish,suggeststhatnationalismisspearheadedby‘marginalmen’,thosesituatedbetweennativeandimperialcultures,athomeinneither,andblockedfromattainingthesocialmobilitytowhichtheythinktheireducationentitlesthem.30The‘blockedsocialmobility’thesisispartlyinvestigatedforlatenineteenth-andearlytwentieth-centuryIreland,notablyinaquicksurveyofJohnHutchinson’ssubsequentlypublisheddoctoralthesis,someofwhichiscitedbyEnglish,butnotthe

censusdata.31Moreover,noconsiderationisgiventoapplyingtheseinsightsexplicitlyandrigorouslytothesituationofNorthernCatholicsafter1921.

MichaelHechter’srecentwork,ContainingNationalism,ismoreinnovativethanhisbetter-knownearlierworkonInternalColonialism—thelatterisnotconsideredbyEnglish,thoughitproducedsomeinterestingdebates.32ContainingNationalismiscited,butsimplyamongthosenumerousbooksthattreatnationalismasamodernbeliefsystem.ContainingNationalismismoreoriginalthanthat,andcouldhavebeenafertilesourceoftestablehypotheses,whichseemtofitwellwithsomeofthematerialsthatEnglishpresents.PartofHechter’sproblematicistoexplainattemptedsecession(thedepartureofanexistingterritoryanditsrespectivepersonsfromastatetocreateanewsovereignnation-state),andthecontainmentofsecession.Secessionispolitical,andhastobeexplainedpolitically,heargues.Hiskeyideaisthatsecessionismisastrategicresponseto‘directrule’,thatis,toapoliticalcentre’sdisplacementoftraditionaléliteswhohaveenjoyedsomedegreeofprovincialautonomy.‘Indirectrule’or‘autonomy’,especiallyifappliedearly,andmaintainedwithflexibility,staunchessecessionistdispositionsthroughtheincorporationofkeypoliticalélites.Anobviousagendasuggestsitself:acomparativeassessmentoftheWelsh,ScottishandIrishdispositiontosecedefromtheUnitedKingdom.Thesuccessful‘containingofnationalism’wasinfactthenorminagrarianempiresinwhichsystemsofindirectruleor‘dualpolities’weretechnologicalnecessities.Bycontrast,themoderncentralizedandpenetrativestate,facilitatedbytheresourcesofindustrializationandmodernmilitarism,disruptsoldermodesofautonomyandisthereforemorelikelytoprovokenationalistresponsesintheperiphery.ThistheoreticallensissuggestiveforIrishhistory.Ittreatsnationalismasadependentvariable,andcentralstateactivityastheindependent


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33 IanS.Lustick,State-BuildingFailureinBritishIrelandandFrenchAlgeria,ResearchSeries,Number63(Berkeley,1985);UnsettledStates,DisputedLands:BritainandIreland,FranceandAlgeria,IsraelandtheWestBank-Gaza(Ithaca,1993)

variable.ItskeyhypothesesarethatattemptstoconquerIrelandandtoaccompanythemwithdirectrulefromLondonprovokenationalistresponses—whetherinthereactionsofGaeliclordsunhappywithmetropolitaneffortstomonopolizepoliticalpatronage,orthoseofeighteenth-centuryAnglo-IrishProtestantPatriotsseekingtogovernIrelandwithoutreferencetoLondon.Hechter’slenssuggeststhataccompanyingcentralizationwithnovelsettlerélites(andtheimportingofmassivelydisruptivewholesettlersocieties)isevenmorelikelytoprovokenationalistresponses.Theapproachsuggeststhatthebreak-upoftheUnionwasthepredictableconsequenceofrefusingahomerulesettlementearlyandflexibly.ItsuggeststhatweshouldreadtheActofUnionasanactofcentralization;andtheGovernmentofIrelandActof1920asabelatedeffortto‘containnationalism’bycreatingtwolocalIrishformsofhomerule.Explainingthefailuretodeliverahomerulesettlementbefore1920inturnrequiresafocusonIrishProtestants(especiallyUlsterProtestants),notasProtestantsperse,butratherintheirhistoricformationasprivilegedsettlers.Hechter,likeGellnerandKedourie,inshort,isnotminedforexplanationinthewayhecouldbe.EventhoughEnglishhasreadallthreeauthors,andsummarizedpartofwhattheysay,hehasnotusedthemforexplanatorypurposes.

Secessionmayalsobeconceivedastheend-pointofarégime’sfailuretorenderaterritory’sstatus‘hegemonic’,thatis,unquestionablypartofthe‘natural’order.PoliticalscientistIanLustick’sUnsettledStates,DisputedLands,notcited,isamajorefforttoexplainwhyBritain,FranceandIsraelrespectivelyfailedtorendertheincorporationofIreland,AlgeriaandtheWestBankandGazaas‘hegemonic’.33Hisanswerliesinrégimeactions,inparticularthefatefuldecisionineachcasetobuildsettlementsdisplacingnativeélitesandsomenativepopulationsbutwithoutentirelyexpellingorexterminatingthe

natives.Theexistenceofcolonialentitieswithinparliamentaryrégimesposedasimpledilemma:democratizationandtheexpansionoffullcitizenshipwouldunwindtherespectiveconquestsanddamagetheinterestsofthedescendantsofsettlers.VariationsonthisthesislieattheheartofmanyrecentaccountsofconflictinNorthernIreland.Englishdoesnotexplorethisthesisdirectly,perhapsbecausehehasnotreadLustick’sversion,orperhapsbecausehehasmadehismindupthatsettlercolonialismhasnoroletoplayinexplainingtheblockageofhomerule,partitionorthedevelopmentandmobilizationof(Northern)Irishnationalism.

AfifthsourceofexplanatoryreviewcouldhavearisenfromconsideringwhyIrishnationalistsecessionistmovementshavefailed(mosthave),andwhyonlyonehas(partly)succeeded.Inthewiderworldthenumberoffailedsecessionsalwaysexceedsthenumberofsuccessfulsecessions,andweneedtoexplorebothfailuresandsuccesses.Thatsecessionsfrequentlyfailtestifiestothestrengthofstates,andthedifficultiesfacedbysecessionists.Shouldweseekuniformexplanationsofallattemptedsecessions(orsuccessfulsecessions,orthefailures?).Isgeopoliticswhatmatters?—thatis,whethertherelevantterritoryiscontrolledorcontestedbygreatpowers.Aregeographyandtopographyimportant?Isthepotentiallysecessionistterritorymountainous,insular,contiguous?Isitthemilitarystrategyofthenationaliststhatisdecisivefortheirchances?Ortherégime’scounter-insurgencystrategy?Doesdemocratization—throughtheformationofnewélitesandfollowings—precipitatetheconditionsforsecessionistsuccess?Domaterialfactorsmatter?Istheregionbackwardoradvanced?Theanalyticalquestionscontinuewithoutpause.Whenaresecessionscontested?Whenaretheyaccepted?Incontestedcases,secessionistsarecalled‘separatists’or‘traitorous’,by‘unionists’(or‘federalists’).Thelanguagesuggestsbetrayalwithinthefamily.Aresuchunionistclaims‘nationalist’?

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34 WalkerConnor,‘Eco-orEthno-Nationalism?’,EthnicandRacialStudies,7(1984),342–59

Materialisttheoriesofsecessionemphasizeexploitation.Thesecessionistsmayclaimtheyarebeingtaxedwithoutrepresentation.Theymayclaimthelandsystemisexploitative,thatitbenefitssettlers,orthatthetariffsystembenefitsthemetropolis.Thesecessionistsmayarguethatsecessionisintheircollectivematerialself-interest.ThereisanabundanceofIrishhistoriographytotestsuchclaims.Materialistexplanationshaveproblems:Howdowejudgetheircomparativeimportance,asmotivations,orascauses?‘Grouppride’and‘groupself-esteem’mayrelatetoeconomicvariablesinnon-linearways—thatis,groupsmayseekself-governmentevenwhenitisneitherobjectivelynorsubjectivelyintheirmaterial

self-interest.‘Ethno-nationalism’maymattermorethan‘eco-nationalism’,asWalkerConnorhascrisplyputit.34TheIrishdata,properlyevaluated,maysustainConnor’sthesis.Culturaltheoriesofsecession,bycontrast,emphasizeculturaldifferences.Thesetheoriesconformwithnationalists’self-conceptionsoftheirmobilizations;andtheyarewhatEnglishtendstoaccept.Yetsecessionistsmayhavesignificantlyacculturatedintothecultureofthedominantgroupbeforetheysecede.IrishnationalistshadbecomemoreliketheEnglishbeforetheWarofIndependence;NorthernIrishnationalists,itiswidelyagreed,hadbecomemoreliketheBritishbeforethecivilrightsmovementandthelaunchoftheProvisional

IvanCooper,chairmanoftheDerryCitizens’ActionCommittee,outsidetheHouseofCommons,23January1969.Cooperledabout70IrishcivilrightscampaignersinamarchtoDowningStreettohandinapetitiondemandinganinquiryintoallegedpoliceterrorismintheBogsideareaofDerryon10January.Photograph:CentralPress/GettyImages.


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35 IrishFreedom,62–63 IRA.Thedispositiontosecedewithinastatemaynotbestronglyrelatedtoculturaldifferencesbetweenpotentialsecessionistsandthedominantculture:WelshspeakersarefarmoreculturallydifferentiatedfromWestminsterthanworking-classBelfastCatholics.Politicaltheoriesofsecession,bycontrast,generallysuggestthatthreevariablesmatterinexplainingnationalistsupportamong(prospective)citizensofasecessioniststate.Theyarefear(fortheirnation/group—whichmayincludeculturalfears,butmayalsobearesponsetopastoranticipatedrepression);expectationsofprospectsforprosperity;and,lastly,recognition(ofidentityorstatus),thatis,isthegroupinquestionrespectedasanequal,ornot?The‘strongdemocracythesis’suggeststhatdemocraciesstopsecessionsbecausetheyreducefear,enhanceprosperityandsettlerecognitiondisputes(asoptimisticCastilianunionistssayofmodernSpain).TheconverseimplicationisthatIrishnationalismbecamesecessionistbecausetheUnitedKingdomwasnotdemocraticintherightways.ExplainingIrishnationalismthereforerequiresarigorousappraisaloftheBritishstateanditspublicpoliciessinceatleast1798.Thatisnotprovidedinthisbook.

On building bridges between one’s eyes

HavingsuggestedthelinguisticandmethodologicalblindspotsofIrishFreedom,letmeturntotheideologicalfailings,whereobjectiveappraisalisnecessarilymoredifficult.EnglishcriticizesGeraldofWalesforseeing‘historywritingasinvolvingamoraldimension’,buthehasmoralsofhisownwhichheregularlyimparts.HewishestoemphasizethepermanentlyhybridcharacterofIreland’spopulation.Hepreferstoemphasizeinteraction,exchangeanddiffusioninBritish–Irishrelationsratherthanconquest,colonizationandcontrol.HeisolatesandmocksweakpointsinIrishnationalisthagiographyandpoliticalpropagandaratherthanproperly

addressingthecatastrophicdimensionsinIrishhistorythatprovidedIrishnationalistswiththeirwell-documentedandnon-mythicalresentmentsagainstBritishrule.HeperhapsconcentratestoomuchonpoliticallyradicalIrishnationalists—theUnitedIrishmen,theFenians,theIRA—andnotenoughonmoderateIrishnationalistorganizations—theRepealmovement,theIrishParliamentaryParty,thepartiesofindependentIrelandandofNorthernnationalists.TheideasofIrishliberalsandnon-socialistrepublicansaretreatedwithlessscrutinythanthoseofleftists,socialists,andfascists—whosetasteshavealwaysbeenthoseofdemographicminorities;andIreland’snationalistfeminists,asalways,areratherneglected.DataonclericsperpersonamongProtestantscomparedwithclericsperpersonamongCatholicsarenotprovided.Personaljibesareoccasionallyodd:ErskineChilders’suseofcocaineisremarkedon;itisnotremarkedthatitdidnotstophimfrombeingafirst-classanalystoflegalmaterials.Andsoon.

Ratherthanengageintediousquestioningofeverynormativejudgementofthework,itisbettertoassessitsideologicalcontentbyconsideringwhatitdealswithbrusquely—orignores.IttreatsOliverCromwell’sconquestofIrelandoveronepage.35Noestimatesareprovidedofthetotaldeathtollsthisdeeplyunpleasantmanandhishenchmenproduced,bothinwarandthroughlayingwastefields.WilliamPetty,apioneeringdemographer,suggestedone-thirdofIreland’spopulationdiedasaresultofmassacre,diseaseanddeliberatelyinducedfamineinCromwell’sreconquestofIreland.NoreferenceismadetoCromwell’spartiallyimplementedexpulsionprogrammes,offeringHellasanalternativecondominiumtoresidencyinConnaught.Astatueofthisman—whomIrishnationaliststypicallyconsideragenocidalmurdereroranethniccleanser,orboth—standsoutsidetheHouseofCommonsoftheWestminsterparliament.NocontrastbetterrepresentstherivalnarrativesofEnglishandIrishnation-

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36 IrishFreedom,44–4537 IrishFreedom,84–8638 IrishFreedom,83;my

emphases39 Thereareoldandnew

guidestoKeating:GeoffreyKeating,ForasFeasaarÉirinn:TheHistoryofIreland,4vols.,ed.D.ComynandP.S.Dineen(London,1902–14);BernadetteCunningham,TheWorldofGeoffreyKeating:History,MythandReligioninSeventeenthCenturyIreland(Dublin,2000).‘FoundationofKnowledgeofIreland’isabettertranslationofForasFeasaarÉirinnthan‘HistoryofIreland’,saythosewhoknow.

40 IrishFreedom,64–65

building.Perhapswecanputmattersinadifferentcomparativeperspective.Whatwouldonethinkofa625-pagehistoryofZionismthatminimallyreferencedexpulsionsandmassslaughterofJewsatthehandsofEuropeanrulers?Ora625-pagehistoryofPalestiniannationalismthatdealtwiththesuppressionoftheArabRevoltandtheexpulsionofthePalestiniansoveronelongparagraph,withoutdata?TheCromwellianmassacresarelocallyandinternationally‘contextualized’byEnglish.Heobservesthattheyoccurredafterthe1641massacresofProtestantsettlersinUlster,forwhichafigureof4,000deadisprovided(butwithnocitation);and,moreobscurely,aftertheslaughterofProtestantsinMagdeburgin1631.Englishdoesnotbelievethattoexplainallistoexcuseall,butthistypeof‘contextualization’veerstowardapologetics.

Theneglectofmajorcolonialsettlementsandmomentsofconquestandtheirlong-termrepercussionsisconsistent.Thereismethodhere.TheStatutesofKilkenny(whicharenotquoted),wearetold,‘saidmuchmorethanjustthattheEnglishnessoftheEnglishinIrelandshouldbepreservedfromcorruptingGaelicinfluences,butitisforthisthattheytendtoberemembered’.36ThePenalLawsaretreatedoverapageandhalf,withmostwordsdeployedtheretosuggesttheirnon-implementation.37OnecanonlyexpectsometwocenturieshencethatanAfrikanerhistorianwillemphasizethattheapartheidlawswereoftennotapplied,andfellintodesuetude.IsaythisinresponsetoEnglish’sunexplainedandunjustifiedasidethat‘comparisonsbetweentheIrishPenalLawsandthetwentiethcenturySouthAfricanapartheidsystemareutterlymisconceived’.38

Hewantstoemphasizethecentralityofreligionintheeighteenthcentury,andherethemethodrevealsitself.Ifreligionratherthancolonialismisanalyticallyprimary,thenIrishnationalismcanbepresentedascollective—heprefers‘communal’

—sectarianism,ratherthanasmovementstoreversetheconquest(s).Theargumentisthis:ProtestantsfoughtanddisplacedCatholicsfrompowerintheseventeenthcentury;theCatholicpopulationwasnotethnicallyhomogeneous,becauseitwasafusionoftheOldEnglishandtheIrish;ergo,itwasnot—then—anethnicconflict,butareligiousconflict.YettheveryfactthatwecantalkoftheNewEnglish,theOldEnglishandtheIrish,andthatEnglishhimselfdoesso,showsthefactofethnicdifferentiation,andconflict.Thatnewsettlersdisplacedprevioussettlersfrompowerdoesnotmeantherewasnodistinctiondrawnbetweencolonizerandcolonized.Rather,thenewconquestandsettlementmeantthattheOldEnglishwhohadacculturatedwiththeIrishwerereclassifiedasIrishCatholics,andaspoliticalinferiors.GeoffreyKeating’swork,notcited,foundationalforIrishnationalism,deliberatelysoughttoincorporatetheOldEnglishintoasharedGaelicnationalpastinoppositiontotheimperialNewEnglish.39Theallegationthatreligionwasthegreatdivide—ratherthanthemajormarkerofthedistinctionbetweencolonizerandthecolonized—issaidbyEnglishtodemolish‘anyneatsensethatIrishnationalism-versus-unionisminvolvedanative-settlerdivision:notonlyweremanymodernIrishunionistsnotdescendedfromthePlantation[sic!],butmanyofthesupposednationalist“natives”werethemselvesdrawnfromcomparativelyrecentwavesofimmigration’.40Thisstatementismostrevealing.Settlersaccompanyingconquestsareconflatedwithvoluntaryeconomicimmigrants.Englishassumes,withoutcitation,that‘many’modernIrishunionistsarenotdescendedfromthePlantationsettlers.Suchstatementsaretypical,butIhaveneverseenthemstatisticallyverified,ordocumented,eitherbydemographersorgeneticists.Theymaybetrue,dependingonwhatwemeanby‘many’.Iftheyaretrue,thatmeanstheremusteitherbeextensiveevidenceofconversion,intermarriageorillicitsex


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acrossthereligiousboundary,orextensiveevidenceofimmigrationofProtestantsintoIrelandsincetheeighteenthcentury,orsomeconjunctionofsuchphenomena,which,peculiarly,escapedtheattentionofcontemporariesandsubsequenthistorians.

AsfortheassimilationoftheOldEnglishandtheGaelicIrish,thisiswellattested,

anddeniedbynone,andwascelebratedbyGeoffreyKeating(c.1569–1644),butthisassimilationoccurredoutsideofUlster,becausethelatterwasconqueredlate.

English’sideologicalperspectiveisplain:letusnotcodetherecentconflictasasettler–nativeconflict.Asheputsit,‘canpeopleborninacountry,andpossessingancestors

JimFitzpatrickBernadettefromHiberniaFortnightlyReview,25April1969courtesyoftheartist

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therewhodatebackverymanyyears,reallybedelegitimizedasinauthenticsettlers?WouldthisbeanargumenttodeployagainstAmericanswithIrish,orPolish,orGerman,orItalianancestry,oragainstPakistanisorWestIndiansincontemporaryEngland?’41Therhetoricisrevealing,butthemoralheatleadstolossofintellectualcontrol.Ifthereisany‘delegitimizing’goingon,itispresumablybecausepeopleareallegedtobeauthenticratherthaninauthenticsettlers—ordescendantsofsuchsettlers.Theargumentconflatesvoluntaryimmigrants(theIrishandPolesinAmericaandthePakistanisandWestIndiansinEngland)withsettlercolonialistswhodispossessednatives.Mostimportantly,theslippagerevealshowpoliticallyimportantitisforhimtocodethekeyconflictsofrecenttimesasreligiousratherthanasrootedinapastsettler–nativeconfrontation.TheformercodingsuggeststhattheCatholicsofIrelandbecomethehistoricalproblem;thelattercodingsuggeststhattheBritishstateanditssettlersbecomethehistoricalfocus.TheserespectivewaysofframingIrishhistoryarenotlikelytoberesolvedbyempiricalevidence,asEnglish’scavalierapproachtoevidenceonthiscrucialmattersuggests.Butbothframingsshouldbeevaluatedproperlyinanylargescaleexplanatoryevaluation.42ItdoesnotoccurtoEnglishthattousesettlercolonialismasakeyfactorinexplainingIrishnationalism’sstrengthhasnonecessaryconsequenceforpoliticalprescription.Itdoesnotfollowthatanysettlers’descendantsshouldbeexpelled.ItdoesnotfollowthattheirpresenceinIrelandisnowpoliticallyillegitimate,evenifsomesayso.Explanationandprescriptionarenotalwaystightlycoupled.

ForEnglish,thekeyquestionofmodernIrishhistoryis‘WhydidtheReformationfailinIreland?’Theassumptionisthathaditnotfailed,therewouldhavebeenalmostnoIrishCatholics,andergo,noIrishnationalism.Hereviewsarangeofexplanationsforthisfailure,including:thelackofroyalwill(includingclosetCatholic

kings);thelackofstatecapacity;thestrengthofreformedCatholicinstitutions;and‘thelackofguile,craftandsubtletyinvolvedintheattemptedProtestantimplementation’.Hesaysthat‘Numerousmistakesweremade.RatherthandealingwiththerelevantIrishelites…asallies,theTudorrégimeincreasinglyreliedinsteadonthepolicyofplantationorsettlement’.43AndtheypreachedProtestantisminEnglishratherthanGaelic.These‘mistakes’,aswearetocallthem,madeProtestantismseemforeign,and‘theReformationcametobeseenasanEnglish,foreignimposition…Incontrast…Catholicismcametobeseenasnativeandindigenous’—eventhough,ashehasspenttimetryingtoestablish,IrishCatholicism(viaSt.Patrick)wasaBritishimport.44TheTudors,likeanyotherpolicymakers,werecapableoferrors,buttheyembarkeduponcolonialsettlementsforareason.TheywantedtosecureIreland.ThefailureofthenewProtestantstopreachextensivelyinIrishmayalsohavebeennomistake:seekingconversionacrossthelinguisticboundarywouldhaveremovedthebarriersbetweenthenewcolonistsandtheIrish.

Alastreflection.NohistoryofIrishnationalismcanavoidevaluationofviolence,includinginsurgentviolence,staterepressionandparamilitarybrutality.Englishhasanentirelycommendabledistasteforviolence.ButheisnotimpartialbetweenhisstateandIrishnationalists.HecitesMichaelDavittfortheviewthat‘England’sruleofIrelandisgovernmentbyphysicalforce,andnotbyconstitutionalmethods’,andobservesthatsuchviewscouldlegitimate‘cruelandawfulacts’.45YethedoesnotdirectlyengageDavitt’sthesiswitharguments.ThereisaconsistentunderemphasisinhisbookontherepressiveandilliberalnatureofBritishruleinIreland—ajudgementthatisnotintendedtojustifyasinglekillingbyanyIrishnationalist,pastorpresent.GeneralLake’scoercionofUlsterbeforethe1798uprising,thepolicesurveillanceofnineteenth-centuryrepublicans,the

41 IrishFreedom,6542 JohnMcGarryand

BrendanO’Leary,ExplainingNorthernIreland:BrokenImages(Oxford,1995)

43 IrishFreedom,5244 IrishFreedom,5345 IrishFreedom,213


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undemocraticnatureoftheUnioninIreland,internmentwithouttrialin1971,tonamebutafewexamples,arenotgiventheirappropriatehistoricalweightandimpact.

HewritesofRobertEmmetthat‘intruththenotionthatIrishfreedomcouldbewonandIrishdifferencesresolvedthroughviolenceremainsasquestionablenowasitwasin1803’.46IndependentIrelandobtaineditsfreedomthroughbothdemocraticandviolentmeans.Itsindependencewasresistedbothbycoercionandundemocraticmeans.Afteraverylongperiodofviolence,NorthernIrelandnowhasanadmirablepoliticalsettlement.ItwouldbepleasanttoconcludethatbothofIreland’scurrentpoliticalrégimescouldhavematerializedwithoutviolencebyIrishnationalists,but,regrettably,nothinginEnglish’sbookcompelsthisconclusion.

Spinoza,thefirstmodernseculardemocraticrepublican,declaredthatthepurposeofthestateispoliticalfreedom.Thetypicalmobilizingpurposeofpoliticalnationalismisfreedomfromanempireorfromastatethatblockscollectiveself-governmentor

otherwisemaltreatsanation.Ireland’snationalistsdidnotwinself-governmentfromtheBritishstatebyexclusivelypeacefulmeans.Itisunclearthattheycouldhavedoneso.Ireland’shistorywithintheUnionofGreatBritainandIreland,andNorthernIreland’ssubsequenthistorywithintheUnionofGreatBritainandNorthernIreland,isareproachtothosewhofavourregulatingnational,ethnicandreligiousdifferencesthroughintegrationistandunitarygovernment.Integrationhasitsplacewithimmigrantminorities;butitcannotsettlenationalminorities.TheprospectiveresolutionoftheNorthernIrelandconflictshowsthemeritsofconsociationalandfederalphilosophies,institutions,policiesandnorms.AmoreflexibleBritishstatemighthavebeenabletodeliverafederalreconstructionoftheIslesinthenineteenthcentury,whichwouldhaveleftIrelandassociatedwithbutnotsubordinatedtotheBritishstate.Itdidnotdosopartlybecauseitwasinthegripofanimperialistunionism—aBritishnationalism.YetRobertEmmet’sepitaphmaybewrittenbecausehiscountryhastakenitsplaceamongthefreenationsoftheearth.

46 IrishFreedom,123

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