Ireland and Irishness: The Contextuality of Postcolonial Identity

Abstract

The porous boundaries of postcolonial studies are put to the test in examining the Irish question and its position in postcolonial studies. Scholars have explored Ireland through the themes of decolonization, diaspora, and religion, but we propose indigenous studies as a way forward to push the boundaries and apply an appropriate context to view the 1916 Commemorations, a likely focus of Irish studies for years to come. To set the stage for Ireland, we explore the existing literature on postcolonialism and Ireland’s place within it first by reexamining the historical narrative, moving into a postcolonial critique of indigenous articulations presented in the context of the 1916 Commemorations. We ultimately look to embrace a discussion about indigenous studies and its offerings to the Irish question. By analyzing the 1916 Commemorations as a celebration of indigenous culture in a postcolonial state, the tensions of reclaiming within certain geopolitical realities reveal an unexplored space for the Irish question. These tensions are smoothed over by a reclaiming of the diaspora, uniting the mobile indigenous to their homeland as part of the ongoing reimaging of the Irish postcolonial identity. Key Words: decolonization, diaspora, Easter Rising 1916, indigeneity, residuality.

在检视爱尔兰问题及其在后殖民研究中的位置中, 后殖民研究的渗透性边界得到试验。学者们已通过去殖民、离散、以及信仰之概念探讨爱尔兰, 但我们提出本土研究作为进一步推进边界的方法, 并应用合适的脉络来检视1916年的纪念节, 该节日很可能是未来爱尔兰研究的焦点。为了为爱尔兰搭建舞台, 我们首先通过重新检视历史叙事, 探讨既有的后殖民主义文献以及爱尔兰在其中的位置, 并进入对于1916年纪念节脉络中呈现的本土论述之后殖民批判。我们最终希望拥抱有关本土研究及其对爱尔兰问题的贡献之探讨。通过分析1916纪念节作为后殖民国家对本土文化的庆祝, 在特定地缘政治现实中重新恢復的张力, 揭露了爱尔兰问题尚未被探讨的空间。这些张力通过恢復离散得到缓解, 重新团结流动的本土至其故乡, 作为持续重新想像爱尔兰后殖民身份认同的一部分。 关键词： 去殖民， 离散， 1916年復活节起义， 本土性， 剩馀。

Los límites porosos de los estudios poscoloniales son puestos a prueba en el examen del problema irlandés y su posición en esos estudios. Los eruditos han explorado Irlanda a través de temas como la descolonización, la diáspora y la religión, pero nosotros proponemos los estudios indígenas como manera avanzada de presionar confines y aplicar un contexto apropiado para mirar las Conmemoraciones de 1916, un foco probable de los estudios irlandeses del futuro. Para poner a Irlanda en escena, exploramos la literatura existente sobre poscolonialismo y la ubicación de Irlanda dentro del mismo, re-examinando primero la narrativa histórica, con desplazamiento a una crítica poscolonial de articulaciones indígenas presentada en el contexto de las Conmemoraciones de 1916. Al final, buscamos acoger una discusión acerca de los estudios indígenas y sobre lo que pueden contribuir al problema irlandés. Analizando las Conmemoraciones de1916 a manera de una celebración de la cultura indígena en un estado poscolonial, las tensiones por reclamar dentro de ciertas realidades geopolíticas revelan un espacio inexplorado del problema irlandés. Esas tensiones son suavizadas por un reclamo de la diáspora, uniendo lo indígena móvil con la madre patria como parte de la actual re-personificación de la identidad poscolonial irlandesa. Palabras clave: descolonización, diáspora, indigeneidad, residualidad, Revuelta de Pascua de 1916.

Notes

1 During the period of famine, agricultural resources were traded in unequal terms. Today there is a well-established mutual trading in place, which reinforces the comparative advantage between the nation-states. In fact, it is estimated that the volume of trade between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom far exceeds that between the EU and either Britain or Ireland.

2 For discussions of this exceptionalism, see Sidaway (2002) and Cleary (2003).

3 Discussions of the Irish diaspora can be found in Coogan (2002) and Foster (1989, chapter 15).

4 Indigenous articulation being influenced by, as Spivak (1988) proposed, indigenous articulation is influenced by who is listening which shifted with Ireland's admittance to the EU in 1973 to the international stage.

5 With the approaching Centennial of Partition in 2021, their indigenous identity ties to the land will likely return to the spotlight.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lauren A. Scanlon

LAUREN A. SCANLON is an Irish Studies MA graduate from Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include postcolonial representation politically and culturally, with emphasis on the Irish Island.

M. Satish Kumar

M. SATISH KUMAR is in the School of Natural and Built Environment in the Department of Geography at Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK. E-mail: [email protected]. His key research interests are in the field of colonial and postcolonial studies working across critical areas of social sciences and humanities. He has recently completed key research on the role of cultural heritage and its relevance to United Nations sustainable development goals in India, South Asia, and Mozambique.