Iris History: Selfless Sacrifice

This culminated in the Rebellion of 1798, lead by Wolfe Tone and the Society of United Irishmen, in which Hugh and Jimmy participated: “The road to Sligo. A spring morning. 1798. Going into battle” (445). But, as these characters soon discovered, the rebellion failed resulting in large executions and the passing of the Act of Union in 1800. This piece of legislation, effective from 1 January 1801, brought Ireland under the direct rule of the British Crown.

In Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America’s Independence the author, Carol Berken, revisits the Revolutionary War exploring the many diverse roles that the women of all ethnicities, cultures, and classes were called upon to assume during the eight year struggle for independence. Most often when we address the Revolution the focus is on the notable men of the era such as George Washington, Paul Revere, John Adams, and Patrick Henry; or on strategic battles like Valley Forge; or the other famous events such as the Boston Tea Party that resulted from Parliaments’ effort to gain revenue from

Throughout history, cultures’ perceptions of women have dramatically shifted, which has lead to movements such as the American feminist wave of the 1960s or the Irish feminist movement of recent years (Huth). These perceptual shifts in Irish culture were not organically created, but manufactured due to British involvement, choking the female empowerment movement before it could even begin. Irish feminism, particularly in terms of marriage, has, like much of Ireland’s infrastructure and modern advances, been choked by the antiquated nature of Ireland pre-Celtic Tiger, and this has led to a history of oppression in marriage that is sharply contrasted with the marriage laws and practices of mythology as well as the pre-British society based off these legends.

After a strenuous day of work, I advocate for treating one's self. Occasionally, I will treat [or gift?] myself by watching Netflix. While scrolling through endless action, comedy, and horror movies, I stumbled upon a documentary titled, Iris. Iris initially intrigued me when I caught sight of the cover photo, which featured an older woman in funky glasses in front of a vintage floral print background. I began watching the film, clueless to what was forthcoming.

Violence, terror, suffering and death. The conflict that has been burning in Northern Ireland seems to be an unstoppable battle and it has flooded over the land of Northern Ireland. The struggle for power and the persistence of greed have fueled the raging fires of the opposing groups. The conflict in Northern Ireland has been discussed continually over the past few decades. Ever since the beginning of the “Troubles,” organizations have been scavenging to find a plan that will cease the violence. Throughout my research for this project, the questions of what are the main sources of conflict in Northern Ireland and why have they continued today guided me to many fascinating pieces of evidence that

Ireland is not the only country to have its identity split by outside imperialism. Similar stories have played out in Sri Lanka, Iraq, and Rwanda. It is worth looking at these conflicts in order to understand that Ireland's struggles were not unique to the Island. Rwanda is especially relevant to Ireland as events transpired in a very similar order with very similar results, with one notable difference. “In Rwanda... Religious affiliation is not a significant organizer of group identity” (Longman, 2001). This shows that non-religious factors can lead to fractures in post-colonial societies.

Irish independence has been fought for a long time ever since the British occupied Ireland in 1172. The King of England invaded and controlled Ireland. The invasion led to religious and territorial conflicts. There was an effort to create a church comparable to the Church of England in the 1500s. Catholics who live in Ireland were against the idea and a conflict for independence has emerged (Arena & Arrigo, 2004). The suppression of Irish nationalism by the British in the 20th century led to the creation of martyrs for the cause led by the Irish Republican Army (Combs, 2011).

The Effectiveness of Irish Catholic and Nationalist Leaders in Advancing Their Cause in the Years 1801 and On

Following nearly 600 years of varying English rule the Irish people in the late 1800s experienced a voracious onset of nationalist sentiment, influenced by European enlightenment thinkers. The Irish under an initially moderate national leadership pushed for the policy of “home rule,” which would grant the Irish autonomy, self-rule and economic freedom in return for maintaining their position within the United Kingdom. The home rule issue would dominate Irish politics for nearly 50 years until 1919, when extremist nationals would attain control of local governments and officially declare the Irish Republic (Campbell 624-630.) The Irish revolution is commonly attributed to pre nationalistic revolutionary ideas of intolerance, economic propensity towards independence and foreign oppressment creating unity, this is a misplaced assumption though as the war and preceding conflict was fought and won almost

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) will remain a threat to the regional stability of Ireland and England. Ireland’s significance to the United States can be seen through Irish immigration, the role of Irish Americans in politics, and their military contributions throughout the history of the country. Additionally, the conflict in Ireland is of great concern to England. England is a key ally of the United States with strong economic and military ties. According to the United States Census Bureau, 36.9 million Americans claimed Irish ancestry in 2009 (Bureau, 2011). This has the potential to have the American public sympathize with the IRA which could lead to friction between both the United States and Great Britain.

Women made a substantial influence to The Irish War of Independence even if the war is seen as a male dominated. Organisations like Cumann na mBan and Inghinidhe na hÉireann were very important to the War. While not out on the front lines, women’s medical contributions kept men alive and ready to fight again and their ability to go unnoticed as potential threats by the opposition made them useful. Women did a great deal of fundraising, without it arms and ammunition could not be purchased. Countess Markievicz and Maud Gonne were hugely influential to the success of the War of Independence. Markievicz’s disregard for gender norms were also a positive point for suffrage movements as she proved women had military standing the same as men. Her

Ireland has many famous pieces of poetry that reflect the rich history of the country. Many of these classic poems were written during the period known as, “The Troubles” and during the events leading up to this period. Most notably, the several failed uprisings against the British and World War I. Ireland has a history of being divided about who should rule the country. The division can be divided into two groups, one group being the Unionists and, the other being the Nationalists. These two groups are extremely different in viewpoints regarding religion and most notably opposing views on government issues. In fact, the two groups views on government issues is what gives each group its name. The Unionists believe in having a union with Great Britain while, the Nationalists believe in one united Ireland without British interference. These two viewpoints have representation in classic Irish poetry as well as the events which brought this division amongst the people.

Since the application of the Act of Union at the turn of the nineteenth century until 1923 the whole of Ireland was an integral part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. For a vast majority of this period Ireland was rule by Parliament in Westminster. According to Allen and Unwin the Irish Question was the greatest problem facing the British government in the late ninetieth and early twentieth century, yet the nature of the problem of Ireland meant that it was almost an impossible political issue to resolve as, no one solution would satisfy both the British electorate and the Irish population. Prior to the Irish War of Independence there had been mounting tensions

“The Best of Decades” is a somewhat accurate description of the 1960’s in Ireland. Significant social change took place in the areas of politics, the media, education and culture in Ireland during this period. A new generation emerged who had limited tolerance for the conditions suffered by those heretofore. Ireland had been engulfed in an economic depression during the previous decade. Emigration and poverty were widespread setting a tone of misery and exasperation. (1) But this new decade brought with it the idea of freedom: freedom to challenge previous ideals and to break through the boundaries that had previously been set. 1960’s Ireland was characterised by this atmosphere of optimism and prosperity. (2) However what was perceived by many to be the “golden era” was undermined by several bleak issues. Irish society was still very much subservient to the Catholic Church during this period, while the late 1960’s also marked the beginnings of “The Troubles” as we know them today, a period of major civil unrest in Northern Ireland which lasted for many years following and claimed the lives of many innocent people. (3)

In the book Irish Peasants Violence and Political Unrest 1780 – 1914 editors Samuel Clark and James S. Donnelly Jr. suggest, in the opening paragraph, that poverty related rebellion in Ireland became commonplace during the late 18th and early 19th century that led to the ideas of a separatist republic. These events gave rise to, at first, a constitutional nationalist party called The Society of United Irishmen that sought parliamentary reform and to make this change they worked through parliament before later becoming an armed revolutionary group. Focusing on this time period and going on the writings of Clark and Donnelly it could be argued that the relationship between constitutional and physical force nationalism was, at this time, a unified one