What’s in a – Nation?

Seán Ó Ríordáin, the great Cork poet, once advised Irish people to forget about the likes of ‘Shelley, Keats agus Shakespeare’, and to look towards our own literary geniuses for inspiration. Though I agree with the sentiment, the likes of Shakespeare have something to offer to the questions of nationhood. Two of the most famous questions ever asked were by Shakespeare, one of which was, of course, ‘What’s in a name?’. Now, I am by no means an expert. But what this question is trying to get at is whether someone’s name affects who they are. Does your name shape you? If I had a different name, would my character be that different? Whether the answer is yes or no, we can all agree that our names play a big part in our identity.

The same is true of nations. Each country has a name that means something. Some ‘nations’, like the US (‘America’), are named after colonizers, who are responsible for the near extinction of the native American nations. Other nations, like Ireland, have names coming from ancient legends – scéalta ársa. ‘Ireland’ comes from ‘Éiru’, a Celtic Godess. She is thought to have been a goddess of sovereignty.

Now, the very giving of a name to this island – Éire – is a recognition of a fundamental truth, that we often take for granted. That is that Ireland is a nation. If Ireland was two or three nations we would have two or three names in different parts of the country. So the name is extremely important – the name both recognises and feeds the idea that the island we inhabit, the community of which we are members, and the heritage which we continue to shape, combine to form the Irish Nation – náisiún na hÉireann.

Only when we understand the significance of our nation having a name can we truly understand why words, language and names are so controversial in Ireland. An obvious example is ‘Derry/Londonderry’. I hope we have gotten to a point that nationalists respect that unionists have a different name for that city, and that unionists respect nationalists’ name. This really shouldn’t be an issue. But a deeper issue is the use of the following words, which I hope to explain below: Ireland, island, the North, and ‘Northern Ireland’.

Why is it that something so basic as what we call the northern state divides republican/nationalists from northern and southern unionists? The first thing I’ll say is that it’s never worth getting into an argument with unionists or those who aren’t nationalist/unionist over this – we should spend our energy on other things. But when it comes to nationalists speaking about ‘Northern Ireland’ there’s a problem. For a nationalist to say ‘Northern Ireland’ is a recognition that England had a right to draw a line on a map in Ireland, thus dividing the country and its people. Speaking about ‘Northern Ireland’ is a recognition that this part of our country is somehow not Ireland – if not, then why not just call it ‘Ireland’? Nationalists who say ‘the north’, however, are treating that part of the country in the same way was they would the south, west or east.

And here comes the important and frightening part. Many southerners from the FFG party talk about ‘Ireland and Northern Ireland’. Ireland and Northern Ireland.

This is a denial of Ireland’s nationhood. The 26 counties do not constitute a nation, nor do the 6. Ireland is a nation, and to dispute that is to dispute her nationhood, which is to dispute the very reason we have to claim independence. Denying Ireland’s nationhood is nothing new – it has been a policy of English rule in Ireland for centuries, and has been adopted by her agents in Ireland. The guilt associated with speaking Irish was an attack on nationhood. The embarrassment Irish generations have felt for their culture and who they are is an assault by England on our nationhood. And that shame is continued today by those who fear to speak of Ireland.

Another issue concerns ‘island’. Think about this – Ireland is not an island. Ireland inhabits an island. Nations are different from countries in that a country refers to the land the nation inhabits. A nation, however, is the people, culture, heritage, history, land, language and the generations before who formed the nation. So if we continue to speak about the ‘island’, we are in some sense saying that the only reason we should be co-operating north/south, or that we should be united, is because we share an island. The reason we should be re-unified, a chairde, is because we are a country.

This was seen recently by FFG’s new ‘Shared Island Unit’. Too frightened to use the ‘U-‘ word,  they were ashamed, or afraid perhaps, of offending others by speaking of ‘Ireland’. And this goes to the very heart of FFG’s vision. They claim to support Irish Unity, but this is because they believe we are two neighbouring countries who should join together and make a new country. All we have in common is that we share an island.

So, let us return to William Shakespeare, or Liam, let’s call him. Names are important because it reveals our understanding of a concept. To call Ireland an island or ‘NI/RoI’ first, is to dispute her name, which is to dispute her character. By disputing her character, you are calling into question her claim to nationhood. And it is her claim to nationhood that is the base of our politics – if Ireland is not a nation, then shouldn’t we all just go home and abandon national liberation struggles? But Ireland is a nation, and it has a name. That name is Éire first, then Ireland. Let us not be afraid to speak that name, as others are. Who fears to speak of Éire? Those who have something to lose by her nationhood being realised –through her political, cultural and economic freedom.