Founding fathers of ‘civic’ nationalism

I AGREE with the view expressed by Dr Gerald Morgan (‘Why Irish nationalism failed the stress test, Letters, March 1) that we must look further back from 1916 in order to appreciate fully the divisions that existed within Irish nationalism.

The death of Charles Stewart Parnell in October 1891 removed one such character capable of unifying all branches of Irish nationalism.

The efforts of two of his erstwhile lieutenants in the Irish Party, William O’Brien and John Redmond, to construct what the historian Hugh Kearney refers to as a ‘civic’ nationalism (ie, encompassing all inhabitants of the

island of Ireland) were tragically stymied by extremists in the constitutional nationalist body, the more extreme nationalists and the hardline unionists who saw any further development of the model of the Land Conference of 1902 as inherently destabilising to their hegemonies.

The efforts of these men, however, were not totally in vain, as the templates offered have been modified and utilised by those seeking to bring about a lasting resolution to the conflict in Northern Ireland.

William O’Brien, in particular — despite his extreme attitudes towards members of the southern unionist community in the decades before, and indeed after, the death of Parnell — was one of the first moderate nationalists to recognise the need (and desirability) for an inclusive community within the island of Ireland.

Whether this inclusive community would have been established under the aegis of Britain, Ireland or a combination of both — which is the kernel of the Home Rule debates of 1912-’14 — is a matter that still has resonance to this day, and as such should be a matter for continuous debate and scrutiny.

There should be no ‘last word’ on the topic — it is a matter for all civic-minded Irishmen to discover, debate and discuss.

John O’Donovan

(MPhil student)

Department of History

University College Cork