Our discussions in class thus far paired with the reading and conversations with Eamonn McCann has made me realize how truly different Irish Americans are from those who still live in Ireland. Of course, one can expect that when people emigrate from a country, their ideals and habits may change as they find themselves in a new country and a new culture. However, in the case of Irish Americans, there are very stark differences between the two groups. For example, when Eamonn traveled to America to talk about Irish civil liberties, he came into contact with the Black Panthers. This was frowned upon by Irish Americans, and his talks were canceled. The following quotation clearly displays the differences in ideology between the two groups:
“The argument of the Left was that our natural allies in the United States ought surely to be those who, like us, were fighting against oppression. The counter-argument, not just from Irish Americans but from many civil rights ‘moderates’ at home, too, was that it made no sense to alienate powerful US interests, that to gratuitously introduce issues of injustice in the US would, as one prominent Bogside Repiblucan put it to me, ‘split our support’” (McCann 4).
Of course, not every Catholic person in Ireland held the same ideology. There were plenty of those with conservative beliefs who aligned with Irish Americans. After listening to Eamonn talk about his life in Ireland, I think there are distinct differences in people’s everyday lives that created this divide in ideology. In America, the Irish did not experience extreme persecution. They were free to practice their religion, and their ability to speak English enabled them to prosper in the new culture. Catholics in Ireland, on the other hand, faced extreme persecution from the Protestants. Of course, this treatment was not on the same level as the dehumanization that occurred in America with African Americans, but Catholics were definitely treated as belonging to a lower class than the Protestants. Those that were actively persecuted were able to see the connection between their struggles and those of African Americans. To those in Ireland, it made sense to ally themselves with people in America who were able to understand their struggles. Both African Americans and Irish Catholics had the same overall goal: an increase in civil liberties for those who had been oppressed.
Towards the end of class, I began to think about the fight for African American civil liberties that is still ongoing today. I thought to myself, “I wonder if there are parallels in the Irish community today. Surely Catholics in Ireland would support the BLM movement as they had supported the civil rights movement years ago.” However, according to Eamonn, those in Derry who attempted to participate in BLM protests were warned that they could go to jail for their actions. When people attempted to express their solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, police would begin to question them: “Why are you here? What is your name? You could get in trouble for this.” The goal of the police was clearly to disrupt the event. Eamonn told the class that he has seen many protests in Derry and none of them have had the same resistance from the police that occurred for the BLM protest. I found this very interesting, especially since I had thought that Ireland would be more sympathetic to the BLM cause. After doing some research, I found that although there isn’t persecution of Catholics in Ireland today as there was in the 1960s, there is still prejudice present. The peace walls that divided the Protestants and Catholics are not completely torn down. For those of you that read this post, my question to you is this: Why do you think that Derry had such a negative reaction to the BLM movement when plenty of left Irish Catholics supported the civil rights movement? This question is something I’ve been asking myself over the course of the week and I have yet to formulate a satisfying answer.
I don’t think that the Derry police being so against BLM protests is really a reflection of the entire community’s opinion on the matter, but rather a similar reaction to the one they had during all of their own civil rights protests in the 60’s and 70’s. The fact that the Derry police are still trying to suppress protests and threatening punishment for expressing views in such a public way really just shows me that not that much has changed in Northern Ireland. I think talking about 1968 and all of the history around it in a historical context makes it seem so very long ago, when really, in a historical context, not much time has passed.
To answer your question, though, I think that the police either have not changed since the events during “Free Derry,” or they are just so scarred by what happened and want so badly to prevent unrest like that again that they want to suppress movements before they start. It also very well could be a mix of both.
Thank you for the depth of understanding and comprehension shown in this post. As to your question regarding the harsh reaction to the BLM movement in Derry, I turn to the political turmoil currently occurring in Northern Ireland. The Good Friday Agreement of the late 90s allowed for essentially no border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This was challenged in 2016 by the announcement regarding Brexit, or the British exit from the European Union. After a few years of tension created wondering if there would be changes to the free flow of trade and people between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, it was decided that no hard border would be placed there. However, Boris Johnson has decided that there should be a hard border there, and is currently in talks to get one in place.
After years and years of violence in communities such as Derry, the officials, police, and those in authority are most likely wary of any new introduction of movements that could incite violence. Most Catholics who reside in those areas may also be averse to violence currently as well. The turmoil that could be created by a new source of potential fighting in conjunction with the addition of a hard border between Ireland and the UK would be catastrophic.