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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

citizens, Irish state, primary schools, identity ambiguity, national identity

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Anthropology

Abstract

In Europe, notions about national identity are being called into question as historical state-sponsored conceptions encounter new forces present in current affairs—including, relative economic prosperity, mass immigration, conflicting ideas about religion, and desired assimilation into a collective European identity. Ireland provides a case study largely reflective of these broader European issues, while simultaneously being distinct as the only free European state which was formerly under colonial control by another European power. Thus, in its post-colonial context, Ireland currently struggles to accommodate these competing forces—both old and new—to form a cogent national identity which the state can disseminate to its constituents. Some of these forces are grounded firmly in Irish history: lingering effects from colonialism still present in the nation’s infrastructure and psyche; Celtic Revivalism, which continues to be vital to Ireland’s efforts to define itself; and the continued influence of the Catholic Church. Other significant factors are relatively new, including membership in the EU, the nation’s recent wealth, massive immigration to the island, and increasing secularization.

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