On a trip two years ago to Ireland I came upon the wonderful Anglican Cathedral in Cork. Being Scottish the volunteers there wanted any information I had on Susan Boyle. My celebrity status was enhanced when they found out I lived in West Lothian. The reason this visit came back to me was that, this morning, on Radio Scotland thee was a discussion, mild mannered I assure you, on the implications for Northern Ireland of our Independence debate. The guests were a Sinn Fein MLA and a Unionist, Lord Laird. He kept trying to identify himself with lots of descriptions- British, Ulsterman and , given the visit: Ulster-Scot; everthing it seems save Irish which is how anyone in Great Britain would describe him.. However what I thought would be a diatribe about the potential for reigniting the conflict over there did not happen; he actually had some interesting things to say about Britishness. Although the prescription of the Republic of Ireland rejoining the UK was far fetched he was, this seal feels, spot on with regards to a redefinition of Britishness (which I hope follows Scottish independence). The people of these isles have so much history and are intertwined which I , as a supporter of independence, have no hesitation in asserting. The Cork holiday allowed a day trip from my base( Skibereen, a place redolent in Irish Nationalist mythology) to Cork and what immediately stuck me were the monuments the most prominent one to me displaying the harp and crown with the hubristic motto "Quis Separabit"(ironically for Ireland's tortured history, a quote from the Bible, the separation being a referance to Christ(Romans 8:35). The irony of this in an independent Ireland raised a smile but the people behind such sentiments were an integral part of Ireland and remain so (despite Lord Laird's risible contention that the Republic had been involved in "genetic cleansing". So what next? How do we reclaim our common inheritance post independence. The term "British" is perhaps too toxic for The Republic and, increasingly also in Scotland, as the debate polarises. So what to use? The Ciscertian Order simply calls the monasteries here as the region of "The Isles". A bit lacking in description. How about the Anglo-Celtic Isles, NW European Isles? Why not go back to the Greeks though and I suggest the Pretanic Isles. Rule Pretania...Tuesday 31 January 2012
Rule Pretania
On a trip two years ago to Ireland I came upon the wonderful Anglican Cathedral in Cork. Being Scottish the volunteers there wanted any information I had on Susan Boyle. My celebrity status was enhanced when they found out I lived in West Lothian. The reason this visit came back to me was that, this morning, on Radio Scotland thee was a discussion, mild mannered I assure you, on the implications for Northern Ireland of our Independence debate. The guests were a Sinn Fein MLA and a Unionist, Lord Laird. He kept trying to identify himself with lots of descriptions- British, Ulsterman and , given the visit: Ulster-Scot; everthing it seems save Irish which is how anyone in Great Britain would describe him.. However what I thought would be a diatribe about the potential for reigniting the conflict over there did not happen; he actually had some interesting things to say about Britishness. Although the prescription of the Republic of Ireland rejoining the UK was far fetched he was, this seal feels, spot on with regards to a redefinition of Britishness (which I hope follows Scottish independence). The people of these isles have so much history and are intertwined which I , as a supporter of independence, have no hesitation in asserting. The Cork holiday allowed a day trip from my base( Skibereen, a place redolent in Irish Nationalist mythology) to Cork and what immediately stuck me were the monuments the most prominent one to me displaying the harp and crown with the hubristic motto "Quis Separabit"(ironically for Ireland's tortured history, a quote from the Bible, the separation being a referance to Christ(Romans 8:35). The irony of this in an independent Ireland raised a smile but the people behind such sentiments were an integral part of Ireland and remain so (despite Lord Laird's risible contention that the Republic had been involved in "genetic cleansing". So what next? How do we reclaim our common inheritance post independence. The term "British" is perhaps too toxic for The Republic and, increasingly also in Scotland, as the debate polarises. So what to use? The Ciscertian Order simply calls the monasteries here as the region of "The Isles". A bit lacking in description. How about the Anglo-Celtic Isles, NW European Isles? Why not go back to the Greeks though and I suggest the Pretanic Isles. Rule Pretania...
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Good post Steven, your best yet! The concept of a multiple identity is quite common of course as many people who emigrated to Britain in the 20th century will know. 'English' is often used to refer to 'white indigenous' Britons for example, whilst 'British' is used more generally to include people of 'Afro-Caribbean' origin. America uses it more explicitly e.g. 'Chinese American', 'African American'. Trouble is, as with the latter term, these identities are bound up with a history of political strife, as you say, and are not devoid of political meaning. Interesting to hear what the term 'British' may mean to others, especially those living in geographical proximity to England. Me? I'm not particularly bothered about what to call these islands, so more than happy with Pretania (my mum would agree as she thinks everything is Greek one way or another, as Greeks often do). I wonder though whether trying to consolidate a common inheritance is too bound up with overly romantic notions. After all, we were allies with the French in two world wars, why not include them? And I find aspects of Dutch society similar to here, so why encompass the Low Countries?. Since you raise the notion of the Celts, why not focus on a common culture across the so-called 'celtic fringe', taking in bits of Normandy and Galicia? I'd support the preservation of such traditional cultures, all too readily lost in a globalised world. Anyway, whatever we call 'here', first and foremost I'm a Brummie, albeit an expat one, and then a 'Sarf Londoner'.
ReplyDeleteI see a crown on the picture you post. I haven't followed the independence debate closely but one thing I haven't heard is the status of the monarchy in an independent Scotland. In theory, the Queen could still be head of state of an independent Scotland, but I suspect that may be too redolent of the Union, and is the kind of thing Australia and Jamaica have been talking about recently. Whether we should have a monarchy at all is another matter, which I'll leave for another day.
Thanks Philip, there will be no change post independence with the monarchy.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how some migrants to England do not identify as English but will identify as British- perhaps as the latter has less mmeaning. The difference up here is stark, in my experience immigrants are far more likely to identify as Scots rather than British as the latter is seen as identifying with England or even with right wing groups. It is no accident up here that the extreme right identifies with Britishness rather than Scottishness. Must admit no fan of hyphenated identities, although can understand the reasoning in the USA, as can imply second class citizenship. Think though in gemneral you are mixing up culture, especially ethnic culture with nationality- I have more in common with a person in Leith who has immigrated from Pakistan than anyone from Brittany or indeed an "American-Scot" !