Trauma and Identity in Contemporary Irish Culture

For individuals as for communities like Northern Ireland, or Ireland as a whole, the nature of trauma is complex and deeply entangled with identity and memory as it grapples with the toxic legacy of, not only political violence, but also of an authoritarian native church happy to turn a blind eye to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Estudios irlandeses 2022-01 (17), p.182-185
Main Author: Markey, Alfred
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
British culture
Children
Cultural identity
Digital archives
Irish culture
Music
Musicians & conductors
Negotiation
Prisons
Social classes
Trauma
Violence
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Summary:For individuals as for communities like Northern Ireland, or Ireland as a whole, the nature of trauma is complex and deeply entangled with identity and memory as it grapples with the toxic legacy of, not only political violence, but also of an authoritarian native church happy to turn a blind eye to multiple abuses; of the systematic neglect and mistreatment of women and children in State institutions; or of the foundational violence of colonial conquest without which, some would claim, it is impossible to fully understand multiple signifiers of transgenerational trauma. With the delicately balanced stability achieved over the years of the Peace Process in jeopardy, amid rising tensions over the fallout from Brexit and the Irish Sea border, as we turn to a long decade of half-century "commemoration" of the worst of the Troubles, how we negotiate our narratives of grievance, our traumas and our identities will determine the future. Focusing respectively on the treatment of trauma in female revolutionaries and on two key male political figures who had seen war action (W. T. Cosgrave and Seán Lemass), taken together they give us fresh insight into this crucial period and show how while trauma was widespread, the nature of its manifestation and its treatment varied greatly, determined especially by gender and social class. Clare highlights the diverse origins of key figures such as Phil Lynott, Bono and Sinead O'Connor and how childhood trauma resulting from race and religious discrimination, violence and addiction influenced significantly the content and form of their work, and hence, given their impact, our understanding of Irish identity in more heterogeneous terms.
ISSN:1699-311X