Appunti lezioni Inglese II (USA e Irlanda)

In contrast, the Catholic Church was in the process of crumbling for the first time in history, the narration of its abuses facilitated public debate and reportage.

Document "Smyths 2012": Smith claims that this period helped redefine the notion itself of Irish National Identity: the main pillars, Nationalism and Catholicism, would never be the same:

1. 1993: Homosexuality decriminalised
2. 1995: Proposal to legalise divorce (50.5% in favour)
3. 2015: First country to legalise same-sex marriage (62%)
4. 2018: The Eighth Amendment of the Irish Constitution, which protected "the right to life of the unborn" (Art 40.3.3), repealed [abrogato] by referendum (66.9%)

2. Colonial rule and Nationalism

XII Century: the Irish territory was divided in Kingdoms in war one with another, there was no State and no identity.

1169 – Anglo-Norman settlement: the English King Henry II responded to the Kind of Leinster's call for help and established on Irish soil. This event had

both linguistic and social impact: Linguistic impact: English language established on the east coast from Dublin to Waterford, it developed in the cities while Irish was still spoken in the countryside. Social impact: two different Irelands co-existed until the XVI Century: - English natives: spoke English and were loyal to English legal procedures - Irish natives: lived in primitive houses, poor diet, devoted to rudimentary pastoralism XVI Century – Colonial pattern: English King Henry VIII was afraid that Catholic Ireland could be used to overthrow Tudor's Protestant dynasty. For this reason, he applied a Protestant Reformation: - Plantation schemes: British people were brought to Ireland in order to spread Protestantism and were given Irish people's confiscated lands. Since then, Ulster became Protestant. - Irish who lost their lands were forced to move to the West or to be deported in the Caribbean. As a consequence, Protestant religion was associated to the

enemy, rebellions were alimented by despair [disperazione] instead of nationalism. Irish people rebelled because their living conditions were desperate.

XVIII Century – Irish revival: movement that wanted to revive Irish traditions, sports, literature, etc. Key moments:

• 1884 – Gaelic Athletic Association: group that disciplines and deals with Irish sports such as Hurling, a game played over Centuries and rooted in Irish culture. Until 1960 sports like football and rugby weren't allowed in the Association as considered "foreign games".
• 1893 – Gaelic League: the shift from Irish to English language caused by Colonialism pushed the Gaelic League to establish a connection between Irish language and Irish traditions. Their motto was: "A country without a language is a country without a soul."
• 1904 – Abbey Theatre: the Irish National Theatre is the symbol of the revival and of Cultural Nationalism.

Cultural Nationalism: movement of moral

Regeneration through history, culture, and geographical profile of the Nation. The mirror in the entrance of the theatre has Celtic patterns in order to reflect society.

According to Cusack: "The purpose of the National Theatre is to bring on stage thoughts and emotions of Ireland".

Two artists, in particular, believed in the power of culture:

Lady Augusta Gregory: was married to a man that served the British government and lived in London. She came back to Ireland and learnt Irish from her servants, discovered a correlation between Irish myths and English culture, translated Irish myths in English.

W. B. Yeats [jeitz]: claimed that people needed a form of art that could reach everyone, as art occupies a prominent place in all great civilizations, precedes conflicts, and is independent from politics. According to Yates: "Artists have a privileged status as the sources of National identity".

Document "Cathleen nì Houlihan": play by Yates written in 1902.

symbol the Irish Revival project. The settings invokes Nationalist iconography: 1798 - historical specificity: rebellion against the English Colonial rule in order to proclaim an Irish Republic inspired to the French Revolution

Killala - location specificity: the cottage where the Gillane family lives is a symbol of authentic Irish life

Old woman: personification of Ireland that revives the Aisling Tradition. The woman that becomes a young queen refers to Nationalist iconography

Nationalism and Easter Rising: with WW1, the British parliament decided to postpone the adoption of the Home Rule (the reestablishment of the Irish parliament in Dublin proposed by Parnell) until the end of the war.

However, many Irish people decided to follow the United Kingdom in war, as they thought that by sacrificing themselves, Britain would then act as promised. Therefore, around 200.000 people (Protestants from the north and other Irish volunteers) joined the British Army.

On the other hand, many

Irish decided not to follow Britain as they saw the tensions between UK and Germany an opportunity to stage a rising to catch the enemy by surprise. 1916 – Easter rising: a minority of Irish citizens and Citizens Army staged an insurrection, whose headquarter was the General Post Office in O’Connell Street. They occupied buildings across Dublin in order to damage people and properties linked to the British administration in Ireland. On the steps of the porch [portico] of the headquarter, Patrick Pearse read the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. Document “Proclamation 1916”: historical and symbolic document about the principles of sovereignty. However, it remains a symbolic Proclamation as no Republic was established that day. Key points of the document: “Poblacht na h-Eireann” [poblakt nak-eran]: Republic of Ireland “In the name of God”: reconnects religion and the tradition of nationhood. Nationalists that grew during the Revival thought

that even if Ireland was not a State, it was a Nation whose roots had to be rediscovered. "We declare the right of the people": expresses the unlimited sovereignty on Irish soil.

Even nowadays this principle is part of the Constitution: Engaging in Referenda: every treaty signed by the Irish government has to be approved by referendum Act of democracy, popular government turned into practice. "The allegiance [fedeltà] of every Irishman and Irishwoman": women's importance is taken into account. "Cherishing all the children of the nation equally": strong appeal to equality (reference to the North), acceptance of the future of the nation, acknowledgement of children's role and presence.

Consequences of the Rising: The British troupes arrived one week after the beginning of the rising, they regained the control of Dublin, arrested and deported the suspects, executed the leaders of the rising.

However, the rising started a massive

Political mobilization towards a more militant and political nationalism. Transition from cultural to political nationalism.

Moreover: Popular support for the Irish national cause caused by the British overreaction

• 1918: the Sinn Féin won the majority of seats in the British general elections
• Sinn Féin: party founded in 1905 that proposed abstention and the reinstatement of the Irish parliament in Dublin.

Physical-force, political nationalism, cultural nationalism were pillars for the War of Independence in 1919 and for the Irish Free State in 1922.

Yeats's reaction: he made many works that talk about this period. Between them:

• "Easter 1916": poem that immortalizes the Easter Rising
• "The man and the echo": poem in which the author wonders if his play "Cathleen ní Houlihan" contributed to the choice of engaging the Rising and in causing such a bloodshed and violence.

Irish Republican Army: group founded in 1919 by

Michael Collins against the British forces. They launched a guerrilla war fought through raids and ambushes ("guerrilla" instead of "army" as Ireland was not a state). As a consequence, the British, exasperated, asked for a truce. This led to formal negotiations that ended with the subscription of the "Anglo-Irish Treaty" in 1921. 3. Northern Ireland The northern part of Ireland renounced the "Anglo-Irish Treaty" and chose to remain part of the UK. As a consequence, Northern authorities created institutions that promoted Protestant supremacy, Catholics couldn't access to politics or well-paid professions because of gerrymandering [brogli] and sectarian affiliation. Even during the 1960s, any attempt to reduce Catholic discrimination was unsuccessful. The Troubles: insurrections caused by sectarianism and Ulster Unionists, who suspected that the Irish government was insincere about the condemnation of IRA terrorism Ulster Unionists: people who

wanted Ulster (Protestant) to become part of Norther Ireland

1970 – Internments: arrests and convictions of suspects sympathizers of the Irish government.

30 Jan 1972 – Bloody Sunday: in Derry (city in Northern Ireland) a group of activists organized a peaceful march to demand equal rights for the Catholic population. The march was supervised by the British army which, all of a sudden, opened fire against people and killed 13 unarmed civilians.

The accident was followed by many attempts at cover by the British authorities: in a tribunal of enquiry [tribunale d’inchiesta], Lord Chief Justice Widgery decided to ignore 700 witnesses as: “There was no reason for the Army to open fire unless under fire themselves” and released the soldiers.

International concern: as tensions between Ireland and UK grew, Amnesty International expressed concern about the lack of guidelines on police behaviour during interrogations

For example: the Diplock Court was founded by the British

The government in order to try serious IRA crimes, however, 80% of convictions were based on violent confessions alone, without proof.

1972 – 1987: more than 1600 allegations of ill treatment were reported. The European Court of Human Rights described the treatment of prisoners as inhuman and degrading.

Political consequences: after the tensions few attempts of negotiation were made between the Irish and the British governments:

1998 – Good Friday Agreement: agreement signed by Ireland, UK, and Northern Ireland that promoted Power-sharing between Catholics and Protestants. Two institutions were founded:

• Northern Ireland Assembly: local legislature with obligatory Cross-Community voting about major decisions
• Northern Ireland Executive: power-sharing executive with proportional ministerial charges between parties

Ambitious programme that aimed to encourage the disarmament of paramilitary groups.