Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Irish nationalism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries included various currents: the movement for self-government, land agitation, cultural regeneration, and eventually radical separatism. For many years the discourse on nationalism in Ireland was dominated by a teleological perspective that viewed the struggle for, and achievement of, independence as inevitable – the natural result of long-established national consciousness defined by the colonial relationship with Britain. This view has been superseded by a more complex and elaborate picture of the factors shaping Irish nationalism. Nationalism must be seen in the context of growing modernization and development in class relations and social structure. The transformation of the power structure led to the rise of rural and petty bourgeoisies as the main architects of the nationalist identity. Famine and emigration are also now recognized as important influences in preparing the ground for the flourishing of nationalism by making it more amenable to modernization and assimilation. Three variants can be discerned in the development of Irish nationalism: constitutional, cultural, and radical-separatist. Constitutional nationalism was the dominant form, centering on the quest for home rule. The land question, which had dominated Irish politics in the late nineteenth century, had developed into a wider movement initially ... log in or subscribe to read full text