Criticism of Irish Nationalism
Irish nationalism has been criticised as failing to take into account the diversity and complexity of the cultural and religious identities of people living on the island of Ireland, and in particular those of the people of Northern Ireland.
The most obvious challenge to traditional conceptions of Irish nationalism is posed by the Protestant population of Northern Ireland. While Irish nationalists consider this community as composed of fellow Irishmen and Irishwomen, most (but not all) Northern Ireland Protestants consider themselves to be primarily or exclusively Britons, or identify as neither but as Ulstermen instead:
- A 1971 study found that only 20% of Protestants named "Irish" as the way they thought of themselves.
- The 1984 report of the nationalist New Ireland Forum recognised that Unionists generally regard themselves as being British (but also stated that they generally regard themselves as Irish).
- Four polls taken between 1989 and 1994 revealed that when asked to state their national identity, over 79% of Northern Ireland Protestants replied "British" or "Ulster" with 3% or less replying "Irish".
- A 1999 survey revealed that 78% of Protestants felt "Strongly British", while 51% felt "Not at all Irish" and 41% only "weakly Irish".
- Data from other studies up to 2006 confirms the predominantly British identity of Protestants.
The polls also show that not all Northern Ireland Catholics consider themselves to be Irish, and some consider themselves British to a certain degree.
The 1998 Belfast Agreement, which is endorsed by the Northern Ireland nationalist parties (the SDLP and Sinn Féin) and the main parties in the Republic of Ireland, recognises the validity of alternative loyalties, containing a commitment to "recognise the birthright of all the people of Northern Ireland to identify themselves and be accepted as Irish or British, or both, as they may so choose, and accordingly confirm that their right to hold both British and Irish citizenship is accepted by both Governments and would not be affected by any future change in the status of Northern Ireland.".
Official declarations of this sort, however, do not necessarily reflect the practical outlook or conduct of the nationalist community in Northern Ireland. A 1997 publication by Democratic Dialogue stated that "It is clear that many in Northern Ireland are willing to tolerate the Other's cultural identity only within the confines of their own core ideology... most nationalists have extreme difficulty in accepting unionists' Britishness or, even if they do, the idea that unionists do not constitute an Irish ethnic minority which can ultimately be accommodated within the Irish nation...." The publication also stated that "Irishness is a highly contested identity, subject to fundamentally different nationalist and unionist perceptions which profoundly affect notions of allegiance and group membership".
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