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Family stories, public silence: Irish identity construction amongst the second-generation Irish in England

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posted on 2023-08-30, 13:28 authored by Bronwen Walter, Sarah Morgan, Mary J. Hickman, Joseph M. Bradley
Formal narratives of history, especially that of colonial oppression, have been central to the construction of national identities in Ireland. But the Irish diasporic community in Britain has been cut off from the reproduction of these narratives, most notably by their absence from the curriculum of Catholic schools, as result of the unofficial 'denationalisation' pact agreed by the Church in the 19th century (Hickman, 1995). The reproduction of Irish identities is largely a private matter, carried out within the home through family accounts of local connections, often reinforced by extended visits to parent/s 'home' areas. Recapturing a public dimension has often become a personal quest in adulthood, 'filling in the gaps'. This paper explores constructions of narratives of nation by a key diasporic population, those with one or two Irish-born parents. It places particular emphasis on varying regional/national contexts within which such constructions take place, drawing on focus group discussions and interviews for the ESRC-funded Irish 2 Project in five locations — London, Glasgow, Manchester, Coventry and Banbury.

History

Refereed

  • Yes

Volume

118

Issue number

3

Page range

201-217

Publication title

Scottish Geographical Journal

ISSN

1751-665X

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

File version

  • Accepted version

Language

  • eng

Legacy posted date

2010-11-04

Legacy creation date

2020-10-06

Legacy Faculty/School/Department

ARCHIVED Faculty of Arts, Law & Social Sciences (until September 2018)

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