Underlying issue in treaty debate for Ireland is its place in history

THIS shouty noisefest of a referendum campaign on the European Stability Treaty is part of a hugely important cultural debate, or it should be.

In the row about whether voting yes or no will mean more or less austerity, something profound is at risk of being missed. Certainly, economics are important and this strictly limited treaty is all about economics. But beyond where our next bowl of subsidy is coming from is another undeclared struggle, about what kind of country we will become. For some, this debate is their political cue to curl up in a foetal ball. For others it is a chance to clench their fist in protest. The security of insularity has a long and deep appeal for the Irish mind.

Cultural and intellectual isolation was historically the norm for Ireland to an extent unusual in Western Europe. Perhaps Spain until the 20th century is a parallel. But if it was cut off from the European mainstream, it was umbilically connected to the wider Hispanic world in the Americas. Ireland certainly has long strands of connection to the continent. But for us, an island in a maritime empire, the main horizon was London, and seldom much further. The underlying issue for Ireland in Europe is of our place in the world. Wouldn’t it be a great irony of Irish history if the ultimate legacy of the British Empire was its success in permanently downsizing the Irish mind?