Seminar:
Irish Studies,
535
Meeting
Date: September
10, 2004
Chair:
Mary McGlynn
Speaker:
Dr. Feargal
Cochrane
Senior
Lecturer in
Politics and International Relations, Lancaster University, U.K.
Title of Talk: "Re-Imagining
Ireland: the construction of identity within the Irish
diaspora in the
21st Century."
Rapporteur:
Cóilín
Parsons
Attendees: Martin J. Burke (Lehman College
& CUNY
Graduate Center); Terry Byrne (The College of New Jersey); Maria
McGarrity
(Long Island University); Barbara Young (Molloy College); Patrick
McNierney
(Columbia University); Peter M. Leahy (CUNY Graduate Center); Rita
Loughlin
(American Irish Teachers Federation); Frank Naughton (Kean University);
Alice
Naughton; Diane Menagh (Fairfield University); Rosaleen Duffy
(Lancaster
University); Dermot Ryan (Columbia University); Bill McGimpsey;
Gertrude
Hamilton (Marymount College of Fordham University); Ken Monteith
(Fordham
University).
The
following is a
synopsis of the paper that Dr. Cochrane gave.
Dr. Cochrane stressed at the
outset the fact that his paper was very
much a work in progress, and drew on his own ideas and on the
interviews he had
conducted in New York. The main
theme he wished to stress was that political or cultural identity is
malleable
and may vary depending on the environment. Dr.
Cochrane opened the talk with his personal history
growing up in Northern Ireland with a clear sense of his identity as
Irish. He was politicised by the hunger
strikes of 1981, and by the miners' strikes, both of which set him on
the path
to studying politics. He moved to
Britain 6 years ago thinking that he would only be there for 6 months,
but he
is no longer thinking of moving back to Northern Ireland.
The irony of his situation was that he
felt liberated in the very country that had played the role of the
oppressor
for most of his life, for in Britain no one questioned or doubted his
Irishness.
The question that has exercised
Dr. Cochrane in recent years is whether
he has emigrated from
Ireland, whether he has become a member of the diaspora, and how he can
claim a
cultural identity without living in the area from which that identity
comes. The processes of
globalisation have resulted in the loosening of the ties between the
state and
national identity. Notions if
identity are no longer constrained by the geographical space of the
state, but
have overflowed into what has been described as an "international place
polygamy," where identity is mobile rather than fixed, where those who
live
outside the state inhabit a "Diaspora Space." The
global circulation of capital, culture, and people
challenge the earlier twentieth-century notions of nation, community,
and
tradition. Emigration has become a
lifestyle choice rather than an economic necessity for many Irish
people in the
twenty-first century. Travel is
often undertaken not in search of employment, but before, after, or in
between
periods of employment.
Dr. Cochrane explained his
interest in studying the nature of Irish
identity in the U.S.--he wishes to determine where the balance lies in
the
hyphenated identity of Irish-Americans, and whether it shifts depending
on the
context. He is also interested in
the impact that the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the war on terror
have had
on the Irish-American community.
The tightening of immigration regulations after September 11,
2001 led
to the detention and deportation of many who came to attention of the
Department of Homeland Security.
The changed incentive for coming to the U.S.--seeking adventure
and
temporary employment--has had an impact on the nature of the
Irish-American
community. The fact that few see
themselves as being unable to return to Ireland seems to give them less
reason
to hang onto home through cultural organisations such as the Ancient
Order of
Hibernians. The key distinction in
the group of Irish-born living in the U.S. is between those who are
legal and
those who are illegalÑthe latter group is insecure and afraid,
and unable to
leave the country for fear of being permanently barred.
Dr. Cochrane spoke about the
phenomenon of patriotism in the U.S. after
September 11, 2001. He is
interested in his studies to investigate whether the necessity to be
patriotic
squeezed Irish-Americans into identifying as American-American, to drop
their
cultural identity in favour of their state identity.
To add to this difficult position, many Irish-Americans
spoke to him of having been victims of "anti-American abuse" while
visiting Ireland.
Finally, Dr. Cochrane observed
that perhaps the fluidity of national
identity that comes from both the global economy and the technological
revolution allows diaspora communities to get the best of both worlds,
and not
feel that they have been forced to make a choice between the two.
Discussion:
Q. What is your definition of Irish
for the
purposes of your study?
A. When I say Irish I mean those
born in
Ireland who have emigrated to the U.S., those born in Ireland who work
in the
U.S. but who have not emigrated, and those who were born in the U.S.
but
identify as Irish.
Q. You have spoken much about
growing up in
Northern Ireland. Were there at
the time British-state-sponsored forms of Irish cultural identity? Was this a tactic of the British state
in the 1970s and 1980s? Were there
other forms of nationalist identity in Northern Ireland that eschewed
the
Republic? How is the U.S. "war on
terror" viewed in Northern Ireland?
You have given an example of an Irish-born emigrant raising
children in
New York, politically engaged, and taking part in Irish cultural
activities in
New York, but whose brother in Dublin questions has no interest in the
question
of Irish identity. It seems to me
that certain types of identity are given authority and legitimated. The person in Ireland can dismiss the cultural
authority of the Irish in AmericaÑwhere does this authority come
from?
A. I met someone a few days ago who
was
engaged in a debate on the war in Iraq when he was told that because he
was not
a citizen of the U.S. it didn't matter to him. This
seems to be the same idea of legitimacy as you just
mentioned. I definitely intend to
study this phenomenon. The issue
arises in Northern Ireland tooÑthe change in articles 2 and 3 of
the Irish
constitution water down the idea of Irishness, and this is an important
question in Northern Ireland, which ties into the concept of legitimacy
to
claim Irishness. The Secretary of
the Ancient Order of Hibernians found out that he was only
one-sixteenth Irish,
and yet no one could say that he had no right to claim to be Irish. Regarding your first question, very
little in this regard went on in the 1970s--there was little funding of
the
language, no G.A.A. sports on television, no funding for St. Patrick's
Day
festivals. In the 1980s community
relations projects started, which some say was a sign of British
maturity, and
others say was a sign of successful lobbying. No
republican group ever refused any British money for
projects--they were never at risk of being accused of selling out. The middle-of-the-road organisations
were more likely to be accused.
Regarding your second question, I think it is a very good point. Many would have said that the Dáil was
illegitimate. But pretty much
everyone looked to Dublin and the Republic culturally, and understood
that
Dublin would be the centre of a new state. To
answer your third question, no one in Northern Ireland
supports George Bush on Iraq. Bush
came to Northern Ireland to ask Sinn Féin to disarm, and now
Sinn Féin is using
this against him.
Q. I think your analysis of
Northern Ireland
is jaundiced--you are missing an important dimension.
You have tied the first part of your discussion to the
constitutional idea that the Republic and Irishness are wedded. If you are British and Irish is the
idea of diaspora different? The
idea of devolved government has developed the notion of Irishness. Are those who consider themselves
British and Irish less Irish when they go away, or just as Irish?
A. I agree that this is an
important
dimension. It is harder to find
this group outside of Canada. I
wonder if they have assimilated more, or have become simply a part of
the Irish
diaspora.
Q. The British connection to the
U.S. seems to
be as strong as ever--David Trimble and Ken Maginnis supported the war
in
Iraq. While Britain appears to
have maintained its ties to the U.S., Ireland has turned to Europe. Many Irish-Americans are angry at Irish
anti-Americanism.
A. I met an Irish-American who was
pro-Bush
and very anti-Ireland because of its anti-Bush stance.
These questions are no longer as clear
now as a result of the war in Iraq.
Q. I have noticed that in Queens,
where I
live, there has been a population shift, with many more new illegal
immigrants
coming from Northern Ireland, not from the Republic.
They are not seen by the U.S. government as Irish, and so
they are not eligible for Morrison visas.
Most seem to be from Tyrone!
A. Yes, people from the Republic
are now more
likely to leave the country for transient reasons, so there is less
long-term
emigration. It is liberating for
many people from Northern Ireland to leave the country and be seen as
Irish, if
they want to be. Of course, this
is not the case for those who consider themselves British.
Q. Many Americans going to Ireland
are finding
that people say that the U.S. used to be much more tolerant. The Irish are very strongly
pro-Palestinian, and this affects the way they see the U.S. Some Americans feel insulted in Ireland
now.
Q. I travel to Ireland every year,
and I
certainly encountered a different atmosphere this year.
Anti-Americanism is common. At
other times I have almost felt like
I was in just another American state, but not this year.
Q. Irish identity is not longer as
clear as it
has been in the past, thanks to the constitutional amendment this
year--now identity
is about race and citizenship.
Q. Is there much of a conversation
in Ireland
on the question of terrorism? Is
there sympathy, for example, for Palestinian terrorists?
I stayed with a group of nuns in 1995,
when Belfast was burning, and the nuns sought sympathy for terrorism.
A. It is interesting that the Sinn
Féin
manifesto is no longer all about armed struggle, victims, war, and
prisoners
rights. Sinn Féin and New Labour
are no longer clearly separated.
Both activists in Sinn Féin and their supporters have
moved away from
paramilitary activity. Now Gerry
Adams can say to George Bush that he (Adams) is a peacemonger and
George Bush
is a warmonger. Some Unionists
came to the Republican Party convention in New York, but their position
does
not enjoy popular support.
Q. To what extent can the model of
diaspora
work? The forced migration idea
might give way to a more fluid global identity, to one that allows
people to
switch political allegiances.
Q. I know many Northern Irish
Protestants who
hate to be called Irish. About the
Ancient Order of Hibernians, it is a generational issueÑthe
older generation of
my family is heavily involved in the Order, but the younger generation
wouldn't
even think of joining.
A. The Order says that numbers of
members are
not falling, but the number of members turning up is falling.
Q. Technology allows people to
dislocate, and
identity is usually place-centred.
Is your model of technology as liberation not a problem? I would question the idea of liberation. Irish identity is performative and
periodic--I, for example, was American at school and Irish at home.
Q. I think you need to open up the
idea of
what Irishness is to notions of hybridities and créolités.
A. I agree.