A TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY COMMUNITY
Looking ahead with confidence
Down the years Irish nationalists dreamt that one day Ireland would take
its place amongst the nations of the world. Happily that dream has now
been realised. At the start of a new century we can set ourselves the
goal of taking our rightful place amongst the ethnic communities of
multicultural Britain.
A number of factors help to explain this. Firstly, events in Ireland since the late 60s had provided a significant part of the dynamic for community formation in Britain. Injustices in Ireland were soon followed by measures in Britain like the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the imprisonment of innocent people like the Maguires, the Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four. Over time this had the affect of galvanising the community. Of course, people of goodwill everywhere warmly welcome the peace process.
In terms of moving forward there is a growing realisation that communities like the Manchester Irish need to create their own identity independently of the Irish in Ireland. Clearly we share a common culture base with the Irish in Ireland but that is adapted as a result of different experiences.
Despite the obvious differences there are, undoubtedly, parallels between the experiences of the Irish in the USA and the Irish in Britain. Self-denial has been a response made by many Irish people in Britain. They have chosen the route of assimilation and tried to bury their Irish roots. Self-hatred - ridiculing one's background - has always found a ready audience, particularly when Irishness and Catholicism have been jointly derided. However, there are signs that things may be changing in the direction detected by Greeley in the United States.
Second-generation Irish writer Maude Casey had a novel published which reflected on the experiences of a girl growing up Irish in Britain. It is a work that can be unambiguously classified as sympathetic to, yet critical of, the Irish in this country. Similarly London-born John Walsh, journalist on the Independent newspaper, has published a book, The Falling Angels which is in the same genre. It's an autobiography on growing in the Irish community in London.
POLITICALLY
Politically we need to continue to organise to ensure that anti Irish racism is rooted out; that we receive our fair share of resources and, that there is cultural sensitivity in service delivery. As part of this we need to engage in the development of multicultural Britain and, in particular, to contribute to the adaptation of British culture and symbols so that they are inclusive of the diverse communities of modern Britain - including the Irish.
In a thoughtful article on the second - generation Irish in England, Sean Campbell points out that, "when the second - generation exceed the educational achievements of the English group, they become invisible and are conceived of in terms of their assimilation, yet, when they exceed the mortality rates of the English group, they become visible and are conceived of in terms of their Irishness." Put another way, if there's something negative about you, you'll be perceived as Irish; if there's something positive about you, you'll be perceived as English.
It's interesting to note the way in which English society refuses to reflect the Irishness of those who are successful. To take some Manchester Irish examples from the field of popular entertainment: Oasis brothers, Noel and Liam Gallagher, are second generation Irish from Burnage in Manchester. They attended St. Alban's High school in Burnage and Barlow High school in Didsbury. Noel played Gaelic football with one of Manchester's GAA clubs and Liam has expressed his appreciation of the Wolfe Tones. The Smiths are all Manchester Irish having attended St Mary's school in Stretford. Johnny Marr has explained, "I come from a traditional, very musical Irish background." He was raised among several Irish relatives in two streets in Manchester and spent the summer holidays each year in Ireland. Similarly Morrissey - full name Stephen Patrick Morrissey - has a developed sense of Irish identity which was reflected in his recent recording "Irish Blood, English Heart".
Manchester comics Steve Coogan, Caroline Ahern and Peter Kay are all Irish descent. Indeed, Coogan's grandfather Pierce ran the Astoria Irish club which opened in 1948 - one of Manchester's most famous Irish venues.
The point is that the Irish identity of these Manchester-Irish successes remains almost totally submerged. The same is true for Irish people across all walks of life.
CONFIDENCE
But we can look to the future with confidence as we develop as a settled community, no longer under suspicion because of the political climate. A range of exciting initiatives are emerging currently including an Irish studies project in ten Manchester primary schools and the development of Gaelic football in secondary schools. As in America it may well be the third generation Irish who have the strength and confidence to create a proud, dignified and tolerant Irish community making a full contribution to multi-ethnic Manchester.
The 1980s ended on a high for the Irish in Manchester. By contrast the
1990s can be seen as a decade of consolidation - the promise of 1980s
was not fully realised.
A number of factors help to explain this. Firstly, events in Ireland since the late 60s had provided a significant part of the dynamic for community formation in Britain. Injustices in Ireland were soon followed by measures in Britain like the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the imprisonment of innocent people like the Maguires, the Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four. Over time this had the affect of galvanising the community. Of course, people of goodwill everywhere warmly welcome the peace process.
Nonetheless in the short term, it had the affect of removing the
rationale for a number of dimensions of community activity.
The political climate changed in Britain too. The development of the
Irish community in this country was massively boosted in the 80s by
the engagement of key local authorities with our agenda. Ken
Livingstone's GLC lead the way. At the time the Irish Post pointed out
that in a few short years the GLC had contributed more to the Irish in
Britain than every Irish government put together since the formation
of the state. Other local authorities - like Manchester City Council -
followed London's lead. However with the abolition of the GLC much of
the impetus was lost in terms of local authorities developing Irish -
friendly policies.
YOUNG MANCHESTER
The late 80s and early 90s saw a sudden but short-lived influx of new emigrants from Ireland. This had a negative impact on the development of the settled Irish community in Manchester. Firstly it destabilised community organisations. The GAA is a good example. Young Manchester - born players had been nurtured through the ranks of GAA clubs from Under -10 onwards. Many of them had reached junior or senior level. The newcomers - with greater exposure to Gaelic football in Ireland - had superior skills. They displaced the Manchester - born who were then lost to Gaelic football. When the new arrivals returned to Ireland Gaelic clubs in Manchester were significantly weaker.
IDENTITY
It's natural to expect a degree of tension between different waves of emigrants and their descendants. After all identity is in large measure the product of our experiences.
After the Second World War, for example, the new arrivals favourite entertainment was showbands playing country and western music. This clashed to some degree with the priorities of pre-war emigrants who had worked hard to keep traditional Irish music and dance alive in the city. That great Manchester-Irish stalwart, Kathleen Houldsworth, has written on this topic in the Irish Post.
NEW WAVE
So too in the late 80s and early 90s some new emigrants from Ireland were very hostile to the notion of second and third generation Irish identity - developing the insult 'plastic paddy'. We've seen this tension played out amongst supporters of the Republic of Ireland soccer team and in a very graphic way in the clash between Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy. The key point here is that the short-lived new wave of emigration had the affect of taking the steam out of some community developments in Manchester.
CELTIC TIGER
This reflects a growing divergence between the Irishness of those in the 26 counties and emigrant communities like the Manchester Irish. As the Celtic Tiger continues to roar there is growing consumerism, an increasing acceptance of revisionist views of the past and a great reluctance to develop an inclusive concept of Irishness that would embrace emigrant communities.
YOUNG MANCHESTER
The late 80s and early 90s saw a sudden but short-lived influx of new emigrants from Ireland. This had a negative impact on the development of the settled Irish community in Manchester. Firstly it destabilised community organisations. The GAA is a good example. Young Manchester - born players had been nurtured through the ranks of GAA clubs from Under -10 onwards. Many of them had reached junior or senior level. The newcomers - with greater exposure to Gaelic football in Ireland - had superior skills. They displaced the Manchester - born who were then lost to Gaelic football. When the new arrivals returned to Ireland Gaelic clubs in Manchester were significantly weaker.
IDENTITY
It's natural to expect a degree of tension between different waves of emigrants and their descendants. After all identity is in large measure the product of our experiences.
After the Second World War, for example, the new arrivals favourite entertainment was showbands playing country and western music. This clashed to some degree with the priorities of pre-war emigrants who had worked hard to keep traditional Irish music and dance alive in the city. That great Manchester-Irish stalwart, Kathleen Houldsworth, has written on this topic in the Irish Post.
NEW WAVE
So too in the late 80s and early 90s some new emigrants from Ireland were very hostile to the notion of second and third generation Irish identity - developing the insult 'plastic paddy'. We've seen this tension played out amongst supporters of the Republic of Ireland soccer team and in a very graphic way in the clash between Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy. The key point here is that the short-lived new wave of emigration had the affect of taking the steam out of some community developments in Manchester.
CELTIC TIGER
This reflects a growing divergence between the Irishness of those in the 26 counties and emigrant communities like the Manchester Irish. As the Celtic Tiger continues to roar there is growing consumerism, an increasing acceptance of revisionist views of the past and a great reluctance to develop an inclusive concept of Irishness that would embrace emigrant communities.
In terms of moving forward there is a growing realisation that communities like the Manchester Irish need to create their own identity independently of the Irish in Ireland. Clearly we share a common culture base with the Irish in Ireland but that is adapted as a result of different experiences.
We need to take that cultural base and build upon it. The most
important step is the psychological one - we are who we are; we don't
look for approval from the Irish in Ireland - they are not the
arbiters of Irishness.
NARRATIVES
One of the interesting features of emigrant Irish communities, as Maureen Dezell points out in her book on Irish America, is the absence of an oral tradition: "Sociologists, family therapists, and historians alike have noted that the Irish are unusual among American ethnic groups in failing to pass on family histories or cultural traditions to their children. Branches of family trees, burnished narratives, songs, and legends have been lost in part because so few saw any reason to talk about them or write them down." The historian Thomas O'Connor agrees with this analysis: "There seems to have been a strong element of humility and self abnegation in the typical Irish-Catholic upbringing that discouraged individuals from feeling that they were important enough to record their own stories."
INSPIRATIONAL
In other ethnic communities inspirational stories from the past are transmitted from one generation to another. For a variety of reasons positive images and tales of triumph over adversity were not passed on in this way in our community. It is therefore really encouraging to note the recent publication of two books on the history of the Irish in Manchester. Michael Herbert's, The Wearing of the Green and Alan Keegan's, Irish Manchester. If we are to thrive and prosper, we need to know who we are and where we came from - these books begin the process of giving voice to a community that for much of its past has been denied it.
LITERATURE
So there is progress in developing our history. Literature is also highly significant and there are interesting parallels with Irish America. Andrew M. Greeley has published an impressive sociological work which analyses the position of the Irish in America. One of the most interesting sections of his text deals with Irish American literature. He believes that early Irish-American writers engaged in self-denial, choosing to ignore their Irish roots. F. Scott Fitzgerald is a prime example, he claims, of this syndrome. Later writers went in for "self-hatred and selling out to the enemy".
Works like John Gregory Dunne's "True Confessions" or Jimmy Breslin's "World Without End , Amen", provided grotesque caricatures of Irish-American life which were well received by the WASP establishment.
SELF-HATRED
Greeley explains: "Doubtless part of the problem is the residual self-hatred of Irish Catholic writers. Another part of the problem is the stereotypes on which the editors, publishers, book reviewers and book readers still depend. Bigotry which would be unacceptable about blacks or Jews or Hispanics or native Americans is still eminently acceptable about the Irish".
OPTIMISTIC
However, Greeley is optimistic. He sees a new mood among Irish-American writers - one which moves beyond self-denial and self-hatred towards a sympathetic yet critical analysis of Irish-American life. Young Irish-American writers such as John R. Powers and Elizabeth Cullinhan, he claims, fall into this category.
NARRATIVES
One of the interesting features of emigrant Irish communities, as Maureen Dezell points out in her book on Irish America, is the absence of an oral tradition: "Sociologists, family therapists, and historians alike have noted that the Irish are unusual among American ethnic groups in failing to pass on family histories or cultural traditions to their children. Branches of family trees, burnished narratives, songs, and legends have been lost in part because so few saw any reason to talk about them or write them down." The historian Thomas O'Connor agrees with this analysis: "There seems to have been a strong element of humility and self abnegation in the typical Irish-Catholic upbringing that discouraged individuals from feeling that they were important enough to record their own stories."
INSPIRATIONAL
In other ethnic communities inspirational stories from the past are transmitted from one generation to another. For a variety of reasons positive images and tales of triumph over adversity were not passed on in this way in our community. It is therefore really encouraging to note the recent publication of two books on the history of the Irish in Manchester. Michael Herbert's, The Wearing of the Green and Alan Keegan's, Irish Manchester. If we are to thrive and prosper, we need to know who we are and where we came from - these books begin the process of giving voice to a community that for much of its past has been denied it.
LITERATURE
So there is progress in developing our history. Literature is also highly significant and there are interesting parallels with Irish America. Andrew M. Greeley has published an impressive sociological work which analyses the position of the Irish in America. One of the most interesting sections of his text deals with Irish American literature. He believes that early Irish-American writers engaged in self-denial, choosing to ignore their Irish roots. F. Scott Fitzgerald is a prime example, he claims, of this syndrome. Later writers went in for "self-hatred and selling out to the enemy".
Works like John Gregory Dunne's "True Confessions" or Jimmy Breslin's "World Without End , Amen", provided grotesque caricatures of Irish-American life which were well received by the WASP establishment.
SELF-HATRED
Greeley explains: "Doubtless part of the problem is the residual self-hatred of Irish Catholic writers. Another part of the problem is the stereotypes on which the editors, publishers, book reviewers and book readers still depend. Bigotry which would be unacceptable about blacks or Jews or Hispanics or native Americans is still eminently acceptable about the Irish".
OPTIMISTIC
However, Greeley is optimistic. He sees a new mood among Irish-American writers - one which moves beyond self-denial and self-hatred towards a sympathetic yet critical analysis of Irish-American life. Young Irish-American writers such as John R. Powers and Elizabeth Cullinhan, he claims, fall into this category.
Despite the obvious differences there are, undoubtedly, parallels between the experiences of the Irish in the USA and the Irish in Britain. Self-denial has been a response made by many Irish people in Britain. They have chosen the route of assimilation and tried to bury their Irish roots. Self-hatred - ridiculing one's background - has always found a ready audience, particularly when Irishness and Catholicism have been jointly derided. However, there are signs that things may be changing in the direction detected by Greeley in the United States.
Second-generation Irish writer Maude Casey had a novel published which reflected on the experiences of a girl growing up Irish in Britain. It is a work that can be unambiguously classified as sympathetic to, yet critical of, the Irish in this country. Similarly London-born John Walsh, journalist on the Independent newspaper, has published a book, The Falling Angels which is in the same genre. It's an autobiography on growing in the Irish community in London.
POLITICALLY
Politically we need to continue to organise to ensure that anti Irish racism is rooted out; that we receive our fair share of resources and, that there is cultural sensitivity in service delivery. As part of this we need to engage in the development of multicultural Britain and, in particular, to contribute to the adaptation of British culture and symbols so that they are inclusive of the diverse communities of modern Britain - including the Irish.
In a thoughtful article on the second - generation Irish in England, Sean Campbell points out that, "when the second - generation exceed the educational achievements of the English group, they become invisible and are conceived of in terms of their assimilation, yet, when they exceed the mortality rates of the English group, they become visible and are conceived of in terms of their Irishness." Put another way, if there's something negative about you, you'll be perceived as Irish; if there's something positive about you, you'll be perceived as English.
It's interesting to note the way in which English society refuses to reflect the Irishness of those who are successful. To take some Manchester Irish examples from the field of popular entertainment: Oasis brothers, Noel and Liam Gallagher, are second generation Irish from Burnage in Manchester. They attended St. Alban's High school in Burnage and Barlow High school in Didsbury. Noel played Gaelic football with one of Manchester's GAA clubs and Liam has expressed his appreciation of the Wolfe Tones. The Smiths are all Manchester Irish having attended St Mary's school in Stretford. Johnny Marr has explained, "I come from a traditional, very musical Irish background." He was raised among several Irish relatives in two streets in Manchester and spent the summer holidays each year in Ireland. Similarly Morrissey - full name Stephen Patrick Morrissey - has a developed sense of Irish identity which was reflected in his recent recording "Irish Blood, English Heart".
Manchester comics Steve Coogan, Caroline Ahern and Peter Kay are all Irish descent. Indeed, Coogan's grandfather Pierce ran the Astoria Irish club which opened in 1948 - one of Manchester's most famous Irish venues.
The point is that the Irish identity of these Manchester-Irish successes remains almost totally submerged. The same is true for Irish people across all walks of life.
CONFIDENCE
But we can look to the future with confidence as we develop as a settled community, no longer under suspicion because of the political climate. A range of exciting initiatives are emerging currently including an Irish studies project in ten Manchester primary schools and the development of Gaelic football in secondary schools. As in America it may well be the third generation Irish who have the strength and confidence to create a proud, dignified and tolerant Irish community making a full contribution to multi-ethnic Manchester.