Ireland and Irishness.

‘Irishness’ is defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as ‘the fact or quality of being Irish.’ This can be further defined by many elements of the way in which we live our lives. You could say what makes us Irish is our native language and the fact that we still learn it in school today, our sense of humour which is exclusive to Ireland, our traditional sports or holidays such as St. Patrick’s Day. But throughout history, many, many things have contributed to our ‘Irishness’ and to shaping the Ireland of today. Since the 1600’s there have been many events which defined Ireland and Irishness such as The Great Potato Famine, the foundation of the GAA, the formation of the Gaelic League and the Act of Union, the penal laws and also more minor things such as the formation of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. The ones which are going to be discussed in this essay are the ones which I feel have had the biggest effect on the way Ireland is today; the penal laws, The Famine and The Formation of the GAA. These things have all gone into forming the land we live in today and to shaping the Irish people and their Irishness.

Many attempts have been made throughout the years to repress Irishness and the Irish spirit, one of these being the Penal laws which were applied to the Catholics of Ireland in the 1690s. Throughout these attempts, the Irish spirit has never waned and today, we are still a very proud and cultured land and people.

The Penal laws on the Irish people (80% of whom were Catholic) were put into place after 1691 by the Protestant Parliament in England with a view to depriving them of their Catholic faith and ways of life. There were 4 categories of restrictions applied on Irish culture; restrictions on religion, education, proper...

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...n in the catholic faith or practising out religion despite the laws. The Famine was a shocking and horrific event which scarred the history of Ireland. It’s plain to see that the struggle of the Irish people highlights that while the Great Famine killed millions and destroyed a country through starvation and disease, the resilience of the country’s people has resulted pride and strong spirit from the Irish that is still around today.

Works Cited

Brian O Conchubhair, ‘The GAA and the Irish Language’ in The Gaelic Athletic Ascociation 1884-2009, ed. Mike Cronin, William Murphy and Paul Rouse (Dublin, 2009)

Keegan, G., Famine Diary: Journey to a New World (Dublin, 1895).

S. J. Connolly., Religion, Law and Power; The Making of Protestant Ireland, (Oxford, 1992),

Patrick Brantlinger ‘The Famine’ in Victorian Culture and Litrature, vol 32, no. 1, (2003) pp. 193-207