Searching for the Origins of the Irish Nation - Essay Example

Building the Nation of Ireland There have been many definition of a nation, as the world changes the definition changes. The question of when does a community of people become a nation can be answered from two very different perspectives. It can be said that a community that has its own culture of language, values norms and social controls is its own nation. On the other hand, it can be said that a globally recognized government and economy is needed to be a true nation. Ireland is a good example of both. It is this writer’s opinion that Ireland became a nation with national pride long before it finally was recognized as a nation by other nations. Ireland was settled beginning way back in 30,000 BC to 400 AD by primarily Scottish and British heritage settlers. Communities grew up and people worked together to clear the land and establish farming. As temperatures changed, and tools became available communities congregated in the best farming areas. The Celtic culture was based around a system of honor, where worriers gained honor in battle. The aristocracy did the fighting while the peasantry, who worked like slaves for the king remained on the farms. There were hundreds of small kingdoms ruled by kings. The whole system was supported by Brehon Law, a well structured system of justice where most crimes were settled by fines which were relative to the status of the individual. Their religion was pagan until 400s AD. They worshiped natural objects such as trees and rivers. The language was a Celtic language that is the basis for the Irish language spoken today. Ruins and cultural sites from this time remain today. Around 43AD Ireland began a series of shifts caused by numerous invading countries that continued until the early 20th century (www.wesleyjohnson.com). Through it all the basic Irish culture and pride remained. The language, while it has changed a language does over time is still the same language. Values have updated but remain much the same. Ask any Irishman about his strength and he will be very willing to give you a demonstration. The point being, it is not the outside world recognizing a government or not recognizing that government that makes Ireland a nation it is the culture of the people that does it. What is Culture? Culture is s total way of life shared by members of a community (Brinkerhoff, 2005). Carriers of culture are language, values, norms and social control. A society is the population that shares a culture. Culture is passed on and maintained mainly in non-tangible forms such as language, values and symbolic meanings, but it also includes material objects. Material objects would be such things as objects that a society produces such as art, streets, toys and so on. These material items depend on the non-material culture for meaning (Brinkman 2005). So as motorized vehicles are produced roads are needed and therefore the culture begins to value freeway and produces more of them to care for the needs of the people. Is it not this total way of life shared by a people that makes them Irish? To look at culture as problem solving is to understand Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (Brinkman, 2005). Maslow says that people first need food, shelter and safety and belonging before they can move on. Is that not what culture provided to the Irish? At different times in history these needs are met in different ways. It may be necessary today to need the status of being a nation to provide these needs but does that mean before that work had meaning they were not a nation? They worked to gether with a group of norms to produce a life for themselves just as every country does. They maintained their connections to each other and their national pride through invasion after invasion, border change after border change because they all had and valued the same culture which provided for them Maslow’s basic needs. Language as a unifier and a part of culture Language is the most obvious sign that people share a common culture. Language shared by the group symbolizes a group’s separation from other awhile at the same time it shows the groups connection to each other. Groups moving into a new country may try to keep their own language intact, however, within a few generations the language of the surrounding culture takes over. The Irish did not lose their own language. It was not only a binding factor for the culture but it was and is a symbol of their nation ( Brinkman 2005). As we have moved into more recent times we talk more about nation states. This is really a contemporary issue. If asking an elderly Irish person if their grandparents were Irish they most certainly would tell you yes. It would not matter where the country was at that time in its tumultuous history. Nationalism now is defined as a specific kind of social system that really did not apply those years ago ( England ). Does that mean they were different then? Were they not a nation but they just did not have today’s concept for it then? Today, we need to see such things as economic interaction and governmental interaction to see a group of people as a nation. The Soviet Union tried to incorporate multiple nations into the Soviet Union. I did not work as these “nations” had their own culture and as soon as possible they separated again from the Soviet Union. Were they not still that nation that was being governed by the Soviet Union? Were they not just under a new umbrella for a time and they were completely able to pick up again without the umbrella because it was their culture that made them one? Nation building as an abstract concept Nations are something quite new. None of the great powers of the past had the character of nations. For example there were no Chinese citizens as the people would have told you they were subjects of the prince years ago not citizens of China. Nation implies a certain distribution of power, a government. In the past, European aristocracy and related groups bound together and maintained a ruling class culture which intermixed with the peasant culture but it was not a government so to speak. It ruled it did not govern. This was very true in England yet would we say that England was not a nation because it had a ruler. This is just semantics. It was a nation of the times even though it does not fit the term nation today. Today a nation has multiple layers of leadership, we have the industrial age and the technological age and communication amongst leaders has increased. We have parties now rather than clans, populations have grown and become more dependant upon large government so we have become more formal in the definition of a nation but does that mean that the Irish were not the Irish in 400 AD.? No, structure has changed but culture still holds them together. Therefore, Ireland was indeed a nation at the time it formed its own culture and language even thought they just did not know the term nation yet (England) 1916 In 1916, an armed uprising of Irish nationalist prevailed against the British and April 24, 1916 the Irish attempted to attain political freedom. They were successful for a time. There were not , however, proclaimed to be the republic of Ireland until 1949. This allowed then to join the United Nations. They made strides toward economic stability. After the economic stability came greater political stability (www.iol.ie/). Ireland now looks and functions in the world of today and has the status of being a nation but that does not mean that is really when the Irish nation began. That just means the function and terminology changed. A look at the Irish Nation Anthem shows the culture that make them a nation as soon as they had an identity with their culture not when modern times decided they were a notion. A Soldier's Song Author : Paddy Kearney We'll sing a song, a soldier's song, With cheering, rousing chorus, As round our blazing fires we throng, The starry heavens o'er us; Impatient for the coming fight, And as we wait the morning's light, Here in the silence of the night We'll chant a soldier's song. Soldiers are we, whose lives are pledged to Ireland; Some have come from a land beyond the wave. Sworn to be free, no more our ancient sireland Shall shelter the despot or the slave. Tonight we man the 'bhearna bhaoil', In Erin's cause, come woe or weal; 'Mid cannons' roar and rifles' peal We'll chant a soldier's song. In valley green, on towering crag, Our fathers fought before us, And conquered 'neath that same old flag That's proudly floating o'er us. We're children of a fighting race That never yet has known disgrace, And as we march, the foe to face, We'll chant a soldier's song. Soldiers are we, whose lives are pledged to Ireland; Some have come from a land beyond the wave. Sworn to be free, no more our ancient sireland Shall shelter the despot or the slave. Tonight we man the 'bhearna bhaoil', In Erin's cause, come woe or weal; 'Mid cannons' roar and rifles' peal We'll chant a soldier's song. ( www.form-ireland.net/history/origin.htm) We think of culture as something that we have like body parts that are always there, body parts that we have in common with those around us. Culture is dynamic, constantly changing, language, eating, habit, clothing fashions, and much more. You learned it from your parents and you pass on a slightly different version to your children. Culture is an active force that changes people as it changes the world in which we live. It is culture that tells us who we are and where we belong. As the world changes, it helps up to problem solve incorporating the new into who we are. Now Ireland is a nation but it is the same Ireland that it has been since those first farmers were clearing the land in 3000BC. It just has a new name and has learned how to fit into modern times. The culture has evolved and will continue to evolve as will the language and eventually we will call it something other than nation as a new term will come along, but Ireland will still be Ireland and likely will still be fighting for their place in the world as they always have been. References Abott, P. Travel Through the Ireland Story. Retrieved April 9, 2007 from www.wesleyjohnson.com. Brinkman, D., White,L., Ortega, S., Weitz, R. (2005). Essentials of Sociology. New York: Thompson. England, N. Ther process of state Formation and Nation Building. Retrived April 9, 2007 from www.usyd.edu. Hern, V. (2001) ‘Origin of the Irish national Anthem. Retrieved April9, 1007 from www.from-ireland.net/history/origin.htm. Liberation of Ireland. Retrieved April 9, 2007 from www.iol.ie. Read More