THE TROUBLE WITH IGNORING IRISH HISTORY
A look at Irish history and Britains education (or lack there of) on it
By Enya McIntyre
Featuring one of the most outrageous lines to come out of Sex and the City and television as a whole.
St. Patricks Day is one of those days everyone wants to be Irish. And regardless, of whether you are or not, you’re gonna make sure your green clothes are washed, dried and ready for pints.
But how much do people really know about Ireland?
In my experience, not much.
Over the years, I’ve worked with and met people of countless different nationalities and I’m continuously astounded by the lack of knowledge they have of Irish history, particularly and most shockingly, our neighbours and oppressors, the British.
Conversations on Irish history often lead to the Provisional IRA and the crimes they committed during The Troubles which of course deserve to be looked at critically and justice served but justice is a right for all and this is only a fraction of the full story.
It saddens me that most people’s understanding of the Ireland/ England saga starts with The Troubles and centres around the IRA, when really in many respects, this marked what we now like to consider, the end.
A simple way of describing an extremely complicated relationship and conflict can be found in Patrick Radden Keefe’s best-selling book, Say Nothing and reads as follows:
“While you could blame a man for hitting someone, you could not blame a man for hitting back”
There are no discrepancies about how Ireland and England’s feud began. It was simple: England began the Ulster Plantations in Ireland in the 17th century and so the battle began.
Irish land was now English; people were uprooted from their homes, forbidden to speak their native language or practise their religion, forced to hand over their livestock and swear loyalty to The Crown - everything that it meant to be Irish was taken away.
Despite five centuries of this entanglement with one another and multiple major blow-ups, British education has almost entirely erased us from their official narrative.
At 12 years of age, my classmates and I were left dumbstruck after reading ‘Under the Hawthorn Tree’ and the reality of what our ancestors faced during An Gorta Mor (The Great Hunger).
Songs of fighting for old Ireland and emigration to America form part of the soundtrack of my upbringing.
The phrase, “Ba mhaith liom uachtair reoite más é do thoil é” would leave an unknowing stranger scratching their head but uttered from the mouth of a toddler to her proud Irish granny, it was like music to ears. “I would like an icecream please” was one of the first things I learned as Gaeilge as a child and with it, I seem to remember always understanding why it is that Gaeilge isn’t our first language.
My whole life, whether at home or in school I have been educated on the history of Ireland, a history only made possible by the actions of Britain.
That is why it is very difficult to understand how Britain can justify overlooking this significant chunk of their nations past when teaching their own history.
I was not educated in Britain so I will not pretend to know everything about the system but from what I have gathered from those who were schooled there and research I have conducted, British history appears to be taught through the lens of what can only be described as it’s “best moments”; ones that reflect well on The Crown.
Discussing Britain as an Empire and the reality of what this meant for those colonised does not appear to be a priority in English schooling.
And why would it be? Some may argue it’s best to let by gones be by gones; perhaps drudging up details of our violent past will only reignite the hatred.
The issue with this, in my opinion, is that history cannot be rewritten, it is a matter of fact. What the British schooling system is doing is tip toeing around the unsavoury actions of their country in the hope it will be forgotten when in reality it will always be remembered and their unwillingness to acknowledge it only drives our people further apart.
When we use the word “history”, it’s easy to become disillusioned with how much time has passed; events may seem ions away when in actuality it was only mere decades.
The truth is much of this history we speak about, is only a stones throw away from today.
The infamous 1916 Rising, when Irish patriots staged a rebellion against the English, was just over 100 years ago; that was a reality that our great grandparents lived through.
The Good Friday Agreement, officially ending The Troubles, was signed in 1998 making it the same age as me.
The point is this isn’t the dinosaur age, this just happened and for many the effects are fresh as ever. Lives were lost for a battle that was never totally won; six counties on the island of Ireland still remain in possession by Britain; a pill that’s tough to swallow for even the most neutral of Irishmen.
That being said, I would not dare and deny Britain of their losses from this. We have all experienced grief and suffering as a result of this ongoing battle.
The Troubles are still a thing of living memory and I believe all parties deserve a degree of respect and sympathy for what they have went through.
I hope this can be seen as more than just a British bashing session as that is not at all my intention.
My only hope is that maybe this piece will inspire my British friends or anyone out there who knows little about the history between Ireland and England, to dig deeper and take the time to learn the details.
“Ní neart go cur le chéile”; there is strength in unity so let’s make the effort to unite as human beings and understand our shared past so that we can look forward to a bright future together.
HOW CAN I LEARN MORE?
MICHAEL COLLINS (1996)
Once you get past Julia Roberts' terrible Irish accent, this is actually a really good work of cinema and tells the story of one of our countri’s most prized patriots and leaders of the Irish Rebellion, Michael Collins (played by Liam Neeson). What a lot of people don’t realise is the war against Britain eventually splintered into a civil war between the Irish; one side were happy to settle with giving over 6 counties and remain part of England whilst the other wanted all or nothing. In this film, you really get a feel for just how much this tore the Irish apart.
THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY (2006)
Starring a young Cillian Murphy, The Wind that Shakes the Barley is another classic Irish Rebel movie and focuses on a group of friends from rural Ireland that decide to get involved in the fight for a free Eire. Similarly to Michael Collins, in this we see the implications of the Free State ruling and what it meant for people.
say nothing by patrick radden keefe
Say Nothing is the New York Times Best Selling book by Patrick Radden Keefe. The book centers around The Boston tapes; a series of tape recordings consisting of classified confessions by leading IRA participants from the time of The Troubles. At the time these recordings were made, the participants were assured the contents would not be released until after their death. Due to legal issues, this did not end up happening and within the tapes lay the answer to the death of a woman named Jean McConville. From start to finish, this book is so gripping. I learned so much about The Troubles from this and it’s definitely something I will return to speak about at a later date.