Most things we in Ireland allege to be products of England really are British. Contrast with the visuals of Biden’s grand tour: shamrocks, Irish dancers, green drapery
Most English people will go their whole life without encountering a Morris dancer. Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA WireSince 2016, English nationalism has been cited as the source of the country’s travails. It has gripped the psyche of the public intellectual; been seen as the genesis of Brexit; cast aside as an oafish impulse. All a bit strange for a place that is not particularly nationalist at all.
April’s confluence of events – Joe Biden’s visit to Ireland and St George’s Day – should have forced us to reconsider the narrative. Ireland’s civic nationalism, meanwhile, is confident and unembarrassed. Plenty has been said about the optics of Biden’s tour of the island. It was an excellent display of Irish soft power, but verged on caricature . In this newspaper alone several have– a kind of mawkish paddywhackery that no longer befits a cosmopolitan Europhile state.
And if Biden would rather listen to The Chieftains than tour Grand Canal Docks, then who are we to say no? The point is that Ireland has a distinct national identity, both modern and rooted in old-fashioned symbology. That identity may have undulated over the past century: at times asserted too aggressively; at others taking on the hues of civic nationalism. In any case, it has long been present, and unwavering. Very few nations care as much about their patron saint as we do about St Patrick.
Meanwhile, St George’s Day – last Sunday – passed by in England with no bang, not even a whimper, no parade and certainly no day off. On this basis alone it is hard to see why the idea of rampant English nationalism has taken such deep hold. Peering across the Irish Sea it seems there is one country more deserving of the allegation.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Newton Emerson: Now Ireland is rolling in cash, who should pay for a united Ireland?What could Mary Lou McDonald reply if Britain was to say ‘take out your cheque book, you can afford it?’
Read more »
Return on investment in Irish property declines for third quarter in a rowA new JLL commercial property report has shown that overall returns decreased by 3 per cent
Read more »
Irish tech firm CWSI to create 50 jobs as it seeks new European acquisitionsThe cloud security business currently has 130 staff and aims to have 1 million users on its platform, double its current number, by 2025
Read more »
Ireland has one of the lowest rates of measles immunisation in EuropeIreland has one of the lowest rates in Europe of immunisation against measles, according to a new report from the European Centre for Disease Control
Read more »
Irish workers real wages drop 3.3% as inflation erodes pay increases- OECDIrish workers also ended up paying more tax on lower real income, body says
Read more »
New Arcturus Covid variant has landed in Ireland and it has an unusual symptomA new Covid variant has been detected in Ireland after a surge in other places in the world - however there is a new symptom that people should keep an eye out for
Read more »