It is a truism to state that Irish nationalism emerged in opposition both to the behaviour of British authorities and to an imagined and real distinction within the United Kingdom as a separate nation. I write ‘imagined’ because nations are imagined communities of interest, but also because the histories of Ireland and Britain, before, during, and after the Union of 1800 are deeply entwined. They are not the history of the same entity, but large numbers of Irish people, including most nationalists at most times, were royalists, spoke English, worshipped as Protestants, and reacted differently to each other as a collective compared to individuals. As is evident even in the twenty first century in the surnames of British trades unionists, the Irish and British working classes outside of Dublin were and are intimately connected. The lyrics of the anthem of the Labour Party, which for a long time was a party of working people rather than the professional classes, was written by an Iris...
This is a collection of personal and largely unedited observations covering the years from 2006 to now; I assert my copyright but am fine with links and footnotes. Some posts are obviously much more researched than others, and any errors are wholly mine except where I have innocently disseminated or linked to other bloggers or commentators.