Last night at dinner, I was asked a question: why do Irish-Americans still care so much about Northern Ireland? Why do people two or more generations removed from Ireland still give money to the IRA?
My family never has given money to the IRA--in fact, we may be the only Irish Americans who donate to the SDLP. Nonetheless, I offered an opinion.
For Americans, I said, the Troubles never ended. Their families never experienced building their own, Irish state; they never lived in an Ireland that wasn't ruled by the British. And so the last thing they had of Ireland was the terrible memories of whatever forced them to leave. And in many cases, the memories were terrible; I have met people who had relatives killed at Croke Park or were otherwise terribly victimised by the Black and Tans. Their other memories were of being terribly poor--a friend's grandmother actually grew up cooking on an open fire that vented through a hole in the ceiling--and rightly or wrongly, they blamed the British for this.
Moreover, the ones who stayed on the coasts, in Boston and New York and Philadelphia, felt herded into ghettoes by Protestants only marginally less bigoted than the ones they'd left behind in Ireland. I'm not sure that my friends who have rechristened themselves progressives understand just how much of that movement was an explicit revulsion against Catholic immigrants, and the political power and structures that they had built.
My great-grandfather's generation was economically, politically, and socially quite constrained by this discrimination; my father's generation experienced it regularly; and even I occasionally stumble into its echos. The St. Patrick's Day party I attended in the Main Line, where the expert eye of the fifty-something hostess immediately picked me out as the only Irish person present, and introduced me to the guests accordingly. Or the seventy-something woman at a hotel I worked at who rechristened me "Millie" after some Irish maid they'd had in the twenties, and when her companion corrected her, grandly declared (I swear, I'm not making this up) that "The Irish don't care about things like that." Obviously, I do not feel that my life has been in any way affected, much less blighted, by anti-Irish discrimination. But when I run into things like that, I think I can understand how I would feel, if that sort of thing were a feature of my everday life, rather than a thrillingly anachronistic hint of a forgotten past.
All of this is true, but I think it is too kind. There is another reason that Irish Americans give to Gerry Adams and his merry band of Marxist maniacs, which is that it is all very far away. Irish Americans can, at relatively cheap monetary cost, purchase social status, solidarity, and the exciting feeling of striking a blow for Ireland! They suffer not one whit from the cycle of violence that they help sustain.
Yeah, but isn't there also an element of this which involves identity politics -- the construction of ethnic solidarity within the US political field through the mechanism of giving money to combat oppression (real or fictive) in the homeland? American Jews still mobilize around the Holocaust and defending Israel; when I was growing up in the '80s I already found the false histrionics around the Holocaust by spoiled young American Jews rather ludicrous and ugly, and one could see how Israeli nationalism when embraced by Americans had morphed into something rather ugly and racist. These days I see young Vietnamese-Americans being drawn into anti-Hanoi politics on issues they have no experience or understanding of, making absurd claims that the Communist government colludes with trafficking in women and so forth, because those claims allow them to establish an ethnic position within American politics. Isn't it at least partly similar for the Irish, with regard to the IRA?
"...making absurd claims that the Communist government colludes with trafficking in women and so forth, because those claims allow them to establish an ethnic position within American politics."
An alternate explanation: they hold these views because the communist government is an easy target to blame for their parents' refugee status. These politics also become family sacred cows, as well.
I agree with brooksfoe, but there needs to be an explanation of why some Americans don't engage in identity politics and/or don't engage in a form of identity politics that includes continued involvement in the politics of their ountry of ethnic origin. Examples would be (sort of in chronological order) the Huguenots, the Pennsylvania Dutch, the Scandinavians, the Finns, etc. It can't be discrimination: it would be implausible to claim that Vietnamese-Americans today face more discrimination than the Huguenots in the 18th century or the Swedes in the late 19th and early 20th.
Yeah, that's a good question, y81, but one whose answer is probably extremely case-specific and dependent on lots of research. In the Vietnamese-American case, there are very clear social, financial and political stakes involved in anti-Communist politics. Congressional politics in Orange County, for instance, are pitting a large Vietnamese-American community against a large Mexican-American community, and whoever wants to be the Vietnamese candidate in a congressional race has to be vetted by the existing power structure; and most of those groups are led by ex-South Vietnamese government or army figures, who constitute and reproduce their groups through symbolic anti-Communist actions. I'm not sure how this would compare with Scandinavians. One possible line of inquiry would be whether the consensus-based model of Scandinavian democratic politics simply leads to less of that divisive kind of ethnic politicking. (Though such an argument has a whiff of Garrison Keillor about it.)
The disappearance of German-American ethnic politics, though, would probably trace pretty directly to the World Wars. It certainly seems as though there was as much German-American as Italian-American or Irish-American political identification in New York politics, until the World Wars made that untenable.
I think you may be right about having stayed on the east coast having something to do with it. I grew up in a mid-western town founded by Irish (led by an actually Fenian). I never saw any fund raising for Northern Ireland until I moved east.
I always figured it was the music.
Do you really think the IRA are a bunch of Marxists? I always assumed that they adopted the pose for political expediency. S. Ireland was poor, N. Ireland was poor and the UK was rich. Also, the USSR had lots of aid for bad causes the world over. Now that the Republic of Ireland has a GDP/capita about 50% higher than the UK, and the Soviet Union is long gone, that Marxist stuff is politically worthless.
when I was growing up in the '80s I already found the false histrionics around the Holocaust by spoiled young American Jews rather ludicrous and ugly,
I'm curious what you mean by "false histrionics," given that a couple of my friends had grandparents who had been in camps following Kristallnacht and were lucky to have escaped to the U.S. in 1939, and all of us from an earlier generation had extended families in Poland and the Soviet Union that had been wiped out. Holocaust survivors are traumatized, so their children grow up with that trauma, and it continues to endure in certain ways from generation to generation.
My parents were not directly affected by the Holocaust, but they were born in the year of the greatest deaths (1942) and grew up watching the newsreels. Some of those feelings and fears are passed onto children, who may reexamine them when they get older. My mother won't go to Germany, but she accepts that I will; it surely matters that the Germany of her 20s was full of people who'd lived through and participated in the Nazi era, while for me it's a country full of their children.
Tiocfaidh ar la! Brits out!
It must be a big city thing. I never saw any fundrasing for Irish causes upstate. My mother's side is solidly ethnically Irish, but I know of no one giving money for any Irish causes. Knowing what it would be used for, I can't believe they would.
My Dad's mother spoke German as a child, but as brooksfoe mentioned, WWI put an end to that.
I'll disagree with the "false histrionics" with regards to calamities that strike close to home. My wife's parents and sister survived the bombing of Hiroshima and lived a very hard existence for quite some time after the war ended. Someone is sure to jump in with "they started/deserved it" so I'll point out that Japan was a military dictatorship in which they had no vote.
Millie,
I do think that IRA fundraising thang is largely an east coast phenomena. It hardly happened(s) in Chicago. Andrew Greeley, University of Chicago Trained Sociologist and Priest, would claim that is because the East coast Irish felt more discriminated against by the Protestant elite.
My maternal grandparents were born in Ireland and always referred to it as the "old country". My dad was born there to and never really looked back. Outside mere words I think they looked on the IRA as an embarrassment and really didn't spend much time thinking about "The Emerald Isle".
Yet, I've met Americans with much more distant Irish ancestry who protest at the British embassy regularly. I think they are looking for a "connection" that really doesn't exist. Outside my oversized head, sarcastic nature, and screen name I am no more "Irish" than a black guy from the south side of Chicago is African. Unless, of course his name is Obama. Then again, he ain't really African is he? Nope. Just another Yank, searching for a "connection" to something.
As far as I'm concerned Gerry Adams is a terrorist scumbag. Along with many of his Protestant adversaries the world would be a better place if he were to depart this world.
Don't discount the attempt of "Yanks" to find a connection to something not American.
Unless, of course his name is Obama.
And the comment was going along so nicely, too.
I am really glad that someone is willing to admit that the meddling of the American Irish in affairs back home is helping to sustain the violence because then it is much more plausible to say that the American Jewish lobby is feeding the violence in Palestine to a much greater extent.
Megan,
Your essay sounds like it could have been written 15-25 years ago, and as such seems woefully irrelevant today. I live in Boston and am not aware of any people in the Irish-American community 'giving money to the IRA' - besides, that group has largely been made redundant by the Easter Agreement of 1998 and now by the newly formed Government of Northern Ireland.
There was a time, as you state, when Irish-Americans felt connected to the troubles in Northern Ireland as an extension of their own family experiences with famine, immigration, etc. This connection is not unlike the way Jews, Armenians, Chinese, etc living in American feel about their own ancestral homelands. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
But today, with the Celtic Tiger in full flight, and the people of Northern Ireland now in the process of governing themselves -- Irish Americans no longer have the sense of Ireland being an underdog that they once had.
Your article makes it sound like people are still watching old John Wayne movies and singing rebel songs as they toss coins into the cap being passed around the pub.
In fact, most Irish-Americans who have followed the Troubles over the past 30 years are supportive of the peace agreement and want to see it succeed.
As to your flip remark about "Gerry Adams and his merry band of Marxist maniacs" I find it dis-ingenuous at best. Ireland, UK and USA spent the last 30 years trying to convince the physical force elements on both sides in NI to put down their arms. They have done that, and are hopefully building a positive future.
And here you are, introducing an outdated opinion about striking a blow for Ireland. To answer the question posed about Americans giving money to the IRA, I would answer: Please, get real.
I'd guess that American contributions to the IRA via groups like NORAID have decreased significantly since 9/11. President Bush helped by barring Sinn Fein from fundraising in the US (something SF was allowed to do under the Clinton administration).
Contributions and support of the IRA also went down when Ireland's economy improved. An apartment in Dublin costs more than an apartment in New York, and Belfast's prices aren't much lower.
It's hard to pass around the hat for the 'widders 'n orphans in the old country' when the widows and orphans are jetting to NYC for some cheap shopping.
btw I'd agree with Gabriel that the post seems oddly anachronistic: the high-tide of NORAID and all that was the late 70s and into the 80s, but Ireland and the composition of its expats have changed a lot since then. A more interesting question is the degree to which Sinn Fein have successfully mainstreamed themselves in the Republic, and whether it will continue or not.
What you didn't like my Obama comment?
I could have said "Barry O'Bama, south side Irish politician, and before 2004 some folks woulda been fooled.
I actually voted for him in both the 2004 primary and general election. We south side Irish gotta stick together.
The post does seem "out of time" though. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the violence seems largely to be a thing of the past. I hope that continues.
If this site is accurate the violence is now largely among the scumbags themselves. I believe the last major bombing was Omagh in 1998. Unfortunately, the breakaway IRA heroes responsible for that still breathe.
http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/sutton/chron/
With any luck they will gather in a large circle and blow themselves up. Then we can all gather round, drink Guinness, and sing badly and dance even more badly.
It's the singing badly that's the important thing. I wonder if Megan knows "Skibbereen."
I've known Irish-Americans who (foolishly) sympathized with the IRA, but I've had little experience with active IRA fundraising.
The title was funny, however.
I am really glad that someone is willing to admit that the meddling of the American Irish in affairs back home is helping to sustain the violence because then it is much more plausible to say that the American Jewish lobby is feeding the violence in Palestine to a much greater extent.
Yes. Because American Jews are strapping bombs to themselves and blowing up buses. No, wait. American Jews are kidnapping Israeli soldiers. No, wait, that's not it, either. American Jews are sending large sums of money to Hamas. No, that's not quite it. American Jews are rejecting peace treaties with Israel. Er, no, still don't quite have that right.
Wait, I have it: American Jews are protesting the existence of the fence that serves to keeps the violence from occurring. Well, you've got a point there; some left-wing American Jews are helping to feed the violence that way.
Gabriel is 100% correct.
Americans donating to the Repiglican Party are responsible for more "terror" than anyone donating to Gerry Adams' interests are today. Unless there is some huge reversal, terror in Ireland is a thing of the past. Protestant terror is more likely than IRA-related action at this point. Heretofore it has been 50-50, which generally surprises Americans who have been fed a steady diet of "IRA, IRA," while the other side of the conflict got little attention.
Boy David Nieporent, that's a perfectly accurate view without any bias at all.
The "fence" is a gigantic concrete wall that would put the one in Berlin to shame. It doesn't hew to the border but encroaches on Palestinian land, sometimes dividing villages in half or separating farmers from their fields.
It's like New Jersey erecting a defensive fence against Manhattan... right down Fifth Avenue.
The wall's path extends far beyond where it needs to for protection, effectively stealing more of Palestine for Israel. If it was about stopping violence, the wall could follow the border and none of the rest would be necessary.
But hey, it sounds better your way.
I am a protestant born an still living in Northern Ireland. I read Megan's article with great interest. I always believed that the Irish-Americans looked at the 'troubles' with rose-tinted glasses, because of their romantic ideals of their Irish linage. I am glad we have finally peace in our wee country. We can not be held responsible for the wrong-doings (on/by both sides) by our fore bearers, and i am glad the donations have dried up from America. Every country has a history of which we are not pleased about, i.e. the native Americans and the African Americans. I used to wonder why America was so interested in the injustices here in N.I.(even with their connections), when they had, their own injustices, to the above mentioned people's. The old saying comes into my head 'people in glass houses shouldn't through stones'!But now all I'm concerned about is that we all, in this wee country of ours can strive for peace and understanding of each others traditions and live together in this great wee country.One thing i have to say, from a young boy to now i lived through the 'troubles', and have been caught up in bombings, saw people shot and experienced the grieve of victims families. I believe passionately in N.l. but never lifted a gun in pursuing these beliefs. There is never any justification for taking a life no matter what the cause. So please would these fund raisers in America think of the consequences of their donations .
"Your essay sounds like it could have been written 15-25 years ago, and as such seems woefully irrelevant today. I live in Boston and am not aware of any people in the Irish-American community 'giving money to the IRA' - besides, that group has largely been made redundant by the Easter Agreement of 1998 and now by the newly formed Government of Northern Ireland."
Growing up partly Irish Catholic in Boston, I always found that there was an unspoken, swept under the rug ethos regarding discussing issues of the IRA and the Irish mob. I know people who grew up with some of the real ugly members of the Irish Catholic Boston community and really only seem to discuss it today with non-Irish friends that they trust.
Posts like this point to something that annoys the hell out of me about neocons. They point to the British Empire of a model of their preferred form of liberal hegemony/empire, yet they ignore what life was like on the other side of these conflicts. It's a bit surprising, considering how many Americans can knowingly trace their lineage back to Irish Catholics, Jews and Arabs in British Palestine, Indians, several parts of Africa (immigration from Africa today is higher than the rate of importation of slaves during the slave trade's heyday), etc.
Reality Man, I know you are trying to make some profound point, but difficult to see it is.(Yoda)
Change your posting name to "Rambling Man".
"So endeth the lesson".(Malone:"The Untouchables")
Gabriel is right when he argues that the giving to the IRA per se is over,but there is still a substantial enterprise in raising funds and support for Sinn Fein here in the United States. And that fund raising is not just from among people who were born in Ireland and/or who have any expectation of returning to Ireland.And it is reasonable to suspect that the Continuity IRA and the other splinter factions still have supporters and funders here in the United States. There are still those captivated by physical force republicanism.
Sinn Fein,as the political face of the provos, still raises money in the United States. And while Gerry Adams may be barred from fund raising,the effort still goes on. And that fund raising here is much better than its competitors north and south. None of the other parties, North or South, have really mounted fund raising efforts here. Sinn Fein has really had the turf to themselves. And that is part of the explanation why they have been able to soft peddle their party dogma and wrap themselves in the flag of Irishness.
It is unclear to what purpose the funds are put, but one suspects that they are used to fund constituent services intended to attract voters. Sinn Fein never really says what they do with the money once it gets to the island of Ireland.
The interesting point to be made about Sinn Fein fund raising, and that of the Provisional IRA, is that the money is generally raised from people who would never support the Sinn Fein political agenda when set in the American context.Most of its fund raising is done among people who are moderates in America and who would never think to give a vote to,give money to or buy a newspaper from the Socialist Worker party when they met them on the street in New York City or Boston.
While it may have moved somewhat away from the dogmatics of the Official IRA, the 'stickies' of the 70s, the Sinn Fein of Gerry Adams is still a hard left party in both the North and the Republic. It's ability to move beyond that ideology in the Republic will be the test of its political future. As was clear from the last election, Sinn Fein in the Republic will be a heritage party unless it finds a way to move to the center. It has taken over some of the Labor Party mantle with its younger leadership, but it hasn't been able to break through in any of the middle class constituencies. The votes that it garners in Kerry and in the Northwest may never amount to much more unless it abandons its current leadership positions and moves forward.
The last election also revealed Gerry Adams as a campaigner for the first time. He chose to participate in the leaders' debates and his inability to think on his feet startled many. But,when you think of it, he has never held an elected office in which he served and mastered his debating skills. In fact, he has rarely put himself in situations where there would be hostile or persistent questioning.So the party will also have to find a new leader who can debate and do television or else Gerry will have to develop those skills that he lacked just a few months ago.
It will be fun to watch.
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