How and why Irish nationalists strive to establish continuity with a suitable historic past? Discuss with examples from before and after independence (1922)
Inventing tradition as described by Eric Hobsbawn is a set of practices governed by overtly or tacitly accepted rules and of a ritual of symbolic nature which seek to inculcate certain values and normal of behaviour by repetition which implies continuity with the past. – Hobsbawn 5.1 P176 tradition and dissent.
The British conquest of Ireland began in 1169, by 1603 the whd of Ireland was under British rule. It was the belief of the Irish nationalists that Ireland should rule itself. After many years the Irish nationalists won independence in 1922. Reviving and inventing tradition was important for the Irish nationalists before and after gaining the independence. They were united in the goal to establish the country’s rich and ancient culture.
Thomas Paris was an Irish nationalist who lived from 1814 – 1845. He gave and dedicated most his life to Irish nationalists. Also him and other young Irish nationalists promoted, encouraged and preserved Irish folk culture. An important part of Ireland’s culture is the Architecture. The architecture of Ireland is one of the most visible features in the Irish countryside with remains from all eras since the stone age. Ireland is famous for it’s intact ruins, Irish castles, cathedrals, buildings and many more.
If we take a look at the way the country was rebuilt after the civil war. Many British buildings were left alone and they simply to deteriorate overtime. The idea of respect specifically for Irish buildings was reflected in the restoration of the general post office in Dublin. The general post office was the head quarters of the Irish postal services, Dublin O’Connell street and also was one of three of Dublin’s landmark.
The building hoisting the flag of the Republic of Ireland, it was later destroyed in the fighting that followed Easter Monday 1916 but after Ireland won their independence it was subject to the Irish restoration. In commemoration of the uprising that began there, they place a statue of chulainn, the man who bound himself to a tree to hold and show his courage in the face of death. There were many buildings however, that was not the subject and were simply abandoned. It is widely thought that buildings such as Dublin’s castle and the royal hospital in kilmainham were abandoned due to their links to British rule,
The Dublin castle was the seat of the British rule in Ireland until 1922 and the royal hospital in kilmainham acted as a refuge for the Irish soldiers who had fought in Britain’s colonial wars.
The Irish architecture is one of the oldest man-made landscapes in the world, it is also particually rich in these monuments, such as newgrange. It’s a large round stone of various sizes surrounded by curbstones, there is a narrow passage head across a shaped chamber. Newgrange has also been dated back to as far as 3200BC. The Neolithic people who built the monument were native agriculturalists growing crops and raising animals. They had not yet development properly, their tools would have been made out of strong wood and bone.
Between 1961-1970 Michael O’Kelly who was in charge of excavations of newgrange made careful observations which make the sunlight enter the passage and chamber through the roofbox. Archaeologists found a number of holes and craters as a result of removal of stone. O’Kelly was aware of the precise and delicate alignment and was careful to retain these features in the reconstituted monument.
Gaelic Ireland refers to the period when a Gaelic political and social order existed in Ireland, and to the culture associated with it. It emerged in the prehistoric era and lasted until the 17th century. For most of this period, Ireland was a set of politically partitioned kingdoms ruled by a hierarchy of kings. Each king was elected by a system known as tanistry. Warfare between these