The most extraordinary thing about the Irish is their resilience to cultural conquest. To consider they as a culture
have been under constant struggle to ward of assimilation for over 600 years is no small feat. The ability to resist
the Roman in their quest to dominate the European continent and to thwart the marauding bands of the Germanic
tribes that hurled Europe into the Dark Ages is startling indeed. To think that during these harsh tunes, the Irish
were actually flowering in thew own little renaissance shows a people capable of the greatest of cultural achievements.
In stark contrast is the attempt by the British to characterize them as semian, or less than human, this is
ignorant racism of the highest order. What could have possibly held this culture together so effectively, that it took a
genocidal famine to demoralize them enough, that they be assimilated at the hands of 'Machiavellian diplomats at
their most lethal'?
One of the major differences between the Gaelic culture and the rest of European culture, and one that enabled them
to absorb so many waves of invaders, was the nature of their primal worldview. Instead of the closed either/or
dichotomy which characterized the warfare oriented continental clans, the Gaels had an open ended system where
mutuality was stressed, the connectivity of the community. One of the more apparent effects of this was in their
language, in that even when English was granted a beachhead after the 'great hunger' the syntax still remained
Gaelic. Do be Do be Do be Do. This can be seen in the play Translations, by the British lieutenant's fascination not
only with the language but also by the sense of place as well.
The Radharc documentary, The Two Traditions brought to my mind two thoughts. The first was that
Cromwell = EVIL; and second, the past in the present is preventing the future from coming into being. The cycle of
violence begun in the rampant paranoia and siege mentality of the Ulster Protestants can be seen to turn in time
and find a parallel in the Unionists of today. The great feat of propaganda, which allowed this to continue in
perpetuity, was to turn the battle into a religious confrontation. With the mantle of a holy war about his shoulders,
Cromwell could rationalize the genocide and land theft, which is his lasting scar on the Irish psyche. There seems to
be a close connection between the papists and the residue of the older 'pagan' Irish traditions. The disguise of the
interdicted bishop as a harper/bard, the continued veneration of holy wells/springs which were pre-Christian holy
sites, and the recognition of the Brehon laws, all point to an intimate connection which cannot be simply spelled
away with the idea of Christian usurpation. It seems an irony that the papacy fought against the Stuart pretender
in fear of French power, and would inevitably reap the seeds sown in that betrayal. This betrayal is that much
greater when you consider how the early Irish church was instrumental, not only in preserving the Christian
tradition during the Dark Ages, but more importantly, that the Irish missionaries were the ones to establish
Monasteries throughout the continent and even into Asia. Cromwell has few peers in the realm of genocidal
maniacs, he and Hitler, and Stalin and Cortez all sit around the same butcher's table bathed in blood, the blood of
innocents murdered upon the altar of greed and conquest.
The plays by Brian Friel and Lady Gregory both underscore the nature of a culture turning upon itself. The hedge
school in the play Translations brought to mind the propensity with which there is always someone willing to sell
their inheritance to the conquerors, to believe the propaganda of inferiority What struck me as startling is the
father in this play, who for all intents and purposes was a modern day druid, missing only the 'pagan' magical
associations. He was versed in the Greek and Latin languages as well as their prospective literatures. What
sage-like wisdom, to see the change occurring within one's culture and adapt without selling out that heritage.
What a tremendous loss our world must bear in the death of this oral tradition, this noble history shrouded in the
place names, or Dindsenchas. As great a loss perhaps as the burning of the library at Alexandria. The play,
The Rising of the Moon, shows how Ireland was once a nation united, and that even though the people were divided
by this cultural conquest, it was possible for them to still see their common heritage. By exchanging their perspective
roles, the captain and his would be captive can share a fleeting instance of this commonality or community Using
a folk hero of the past, this shared memory united these brothers on opposite sides of the confrontation, allowing the
latter to escape the former.
The task at hands for both sides of this confrontation of culture is to overcome victimhood, as Patrick pointed out
early on. One of the only ways this can be accomplished is to move from the current form of retributive justice to
one of restorative justice. The wounds of the past will remain open and fresh as long as there is always some
attempt to take what has been taken and give what is given. The Brehon laws are an excellent place for the aspect
of national community to come back into the equation of social justice. When we stop focusing on sacrifice and
slaughter and instead recognize the inherent humanity in all of the world's people, accepting their difference and
honoring it, then we will be able to put the past behind us, and begin to walk into our common future. I don't often
quote Biblical scripture but it applies here, "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, will only leave the world blind
and toothless."