“They will not criminalise us, rob us of our true
identity, steal our individualism, depoliticise us, churn us out as systemised,
institutionalised, decent law-abiding robots. We refuse to lie here in
dishonor! We are not criminals, but Irishmen! This is the crime of which we
stand accused. Never will they label our liberation struggle as criminal . . .
Our revenge will be the laughter of our children.”
I am multi-ethnic. My parents were born in
America; however, my great grandparents emigrated from Ireland and Germany. I closely
identify with my Irish ethnicity, equal with my German ethnicity, because I am
taught about this side of my ancestry. My Mother is 100% Irish and has done
extensive research. My Father did not relay anything to me regarding my German
heritage. It will be up to me to research that on my own.
My Mother’s family originates from Counties
Cork and Clare in Munster, the southernmost province. This is integral when
considering the still present illegal occupation of Northern Ireland by
Britain, and only The Republic of Ireland,
or the South, is free.
I do not support violence or present day Irish Republic
Army, however, in the early 1900’s and before, specifically the Easter
Uprising, Éirà Amach na Cásca,
and the need for the formation of the Irish Republican
Brotherhood, into the IRA, was crucial for the Irish to rise up against
Britain.
There were various groups before the IRA, such as
the Irish Citizen Army, Irish volunteers, and various leaders that contributed
to the uprising, such as Patrick Pearse, Pádraig
Pearse, and Michael Collins, MÃceál
Ó Coileáin.
Bobby
Sands, Roibeárd Gearóid Ó
Seachnasaigh, a poet, writer, and
political prisoner, is an activist I admire because he, along with many,
perished for the betterment for and freedom of Ireland. Bobby Sands was
born in North Belfast in a Nationalist Irish ghetto.
He was a member of the
Provisional Irish Republic Army, and led the 1981 hunger strikes when Irish
Republican prisoners protested against a “special category”, that political
prisoners were granted status similar to a POW, or prisoner of war.
Britain revoked this right in 1976.
The prisoners
endured immense physical beatings, solitary confinement and torture during the
hunger strikes. Bobby, while imprisoned, was elected an independent MP, a nonpartisan Member of Parliament, who supported the prisoners’
cause.
Amnesty International reported in June 1978, that, “Maltreatment of suspected terrorists by
the RUC, [Royal Ulster Constabulary] has taken place with sufficient frequency to
warrant establishment of a public inquiry to investigate it.” (Bobby Sands Trust, 2012).
Ten prisoners
died in the hunger strikes.
Other privileges were restored and over time, the
hunger strikers' demands were met, but the British government never made formal
recognition of the prisoners' right to political status.
Irish history is not only involved with
activism, politics and famine. The nation and people are abundant with
spirituality, folklore, tradition, storytelling, oral history, myth, poetry,
writing, art, music and nature. The reliance on oral history is prevalent in
Ireland via song, music, storytelling, dance and writing.
In regards to the
culture and arts of Ireland, The National
Gallery of Ireland has rare archives of 41 watercolors of West of Ireland pre-Famine
scenes by the artist William Evans. In addition, there is Pathos of
Distance, 42 images relating to Irish migration and diaspora, created
between 1813 and 1912 by Sarah Pierce. Unfortunately, the collections are not
viewable online.
Welsh artist, Jen Delyth, of Celtic Art Studios, promotes the spirituality of
Ireland. Internationally known writers are from Ireland such as Samuel
Beckett, James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, W.B.Yeats,
C.S. Lewis, Frank McCourt, Patrick Pearse, and Jonathan Swift.
Ireland
is adamant on keeping tradition alive, rejecting assimilation, which in one
way, relates to the Irish immigration to America.
The Great Hunger, an Gorta Mór, in 1845, also known
as The Irish Potato Famine,
“occurred” due to a fungus that killed potato crops, “Because the tenant farmers of Ireland—then ruled as a colony of Great
Britain—relied heavily on the potato as a source of food, the infestation had a
catastrophic impact . . . the Potato
Famine resulted in the death of roughly one million Irish from starvation and
related causes, with at least another million forced to leave their homeland as
refugees.” (History.com,
2017).
Ireland had elected representatives that
were Protestant British landowners, of British origin and in 1801; Ireland was
a colony of Britain until the War of
Independence. Both nations were known as the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland. Northern Ireland is still oppressed by Britain. In
relation to the Great Famine, Britain did nothing to help the Irish. Britain
allowed the Irish to starve to death.
“Ireland
continued to export large quantities of food, primarily to Great Britain,
during the blight . . . even as the Great Hunger ravaged the countryside.”
(History.com,
2017). 1 million Irish men, women and children starved to death and
another 1 million emigrated to escape poverty and starvation.
This is the Irish
Diaspora.
Before, during and upon emigration, the Irish endured horrid conditions and were
treated poorly upon arrival. After the blight, seven years of forced famine,
barefoot mothers held dead babies and begged for food. Dogs fed on human
corpses. People tried eating grass to survive and desperate farmers sprinkled
their crops with holy water. Hollow figures roamed Ireland’s countryside searching
for food. Typhus, dysentery, tuberculosis and cholera ravaged Ireland and
horses carted dead bodies to mass graves.
Upon leaving Ireland, 5,000 boats
transported refugees onto converted cargo ships, used in the past to transport
slaves from Africa. The Irish were hungry and sick, spent all their money for
this trip just to be treated like baggage. The air was full of excrement and
vomit. One adult was allocated 18 inches of space, children half. A quarter of
85,000 passengers aboard “coffin ships”, died and the bodies were wrapped in
cloth, weighted with rocks and tossed overboard.
“The
refugees seeking haven in America were poor and disease-ridden. They threatened
to take jobs away from Americans and strain welfare budgets. They practiced an
alien religion and pledged allegiance to a foreign leader. They were bringing
with them crime. They were accused of being rapists. And, worst of all, these
undesirables were Irish.” (Klein, 2017).
Arrival in America fueled hostility and
anger. Not only were the Irish poor and starving, they were Catholic in a
Protestant America. Besides Africans,
Native Indians, and the Spanish, Irish, along with other European immigrants, were
the only non-Protestants.
In regards to my own identity, Irish
history influences my behavior, beliefs and actions immensely. Due to what the
Irish have and still endure, I became an activist and advocate early on and
supported, and still support people under constant persecution such as Native
Indians, African Americans, the LGBTQIA spectrum, Muslim’s, specifically
Palestine, Pakistan and the Rohingya in Myanmar, as well as human rights in general.
Society in general identifies me, Irish
American, as drunken, alcoholic, rowdy, trouble making, loudmouthed,
bigoted, criminal, and uneducated. People say things to me such as: Go eat a potato, Where is the bar? Irish
people are loud, dirty and stupid, Go
have a drink, and You are angry because you are Irish. People
have even asked me if Irish people have orange hair like leprechauns.
Saint Patrick’s Day in America is an
American created celebration. In Ireland, this is a feast day. Patrick was an
indentured servant, a slave, and March 17, St. Patrick's Day, is the
closest believed historical date of his death.
Contrary to popular
belief, this tradition, St. Patrick's Day, [parades, green beer and
shamrocks] did not originate in Ireland. Patrick wrote two short works, the Confessio,
a spiritual autobiography, and his Letter to Coroticus, a denunciation
of British mistreatment of Irish Christians.
During these times in America, I
visit the Irish Famine Memorials.
While researching National Archives, knowing my family originates from Counties Cork and
Clare, along with my family surnames, Kelly and Meaney, I searched births,
marriages and deaths in Ireland.
My search returned, “Birth, marriage and death certificates for Scotland or Ireland cannot
be viewed or ordered at The National Archives” and “Many Irish records have not survived and people
tracing their Irish ancestry may need to refer to local records and archives as
well as national sources.” (National
Archives, 2018).
The National
Archives of Ireland stated that in order for me to search for civil
registrations, go to Family Search
for periods 1845-1958 and that all of Ireland is available from 1845-1922 and
only the Republic of Ireland from 1922 to present.
On Family Search, I searched Migration
and Naturalization records, specifically, United
States Famine Irish Passenger Index, 1846-1851
and Genealogical
Records
that
include counties, spouses and children. I started with Genealogical records. My
great grandmother was Johanna Kennedy; my great grandfather, Joseph Kelly, both
from County Clare on my grandmother’s side.
Although there are numerous records
for my great grandfather, none reverts to my ancestry. I search County Cork, Patrick
Meaney and Ellen Broderick from my grandfather’s side. Again, records do not
relate to my ancestry.
There are numerous records; however, this can be
my great grandfather; Joseph Kelly, emigrated
June 1846, from Ireland to NY, 25 yr. old male, birthplace, Ireland, born 1821.
On the same index, I search for my ancestry from County Cork, great
grandparents, Patrick Meaney and Ellen Broderick. Again, there are numerous
listings, however, Pat Meaney, a 23 yr. old male departing from Limerick in
1851, can be my great grandfather.
In addition to national records, as
suggested by National Archives, local
history for Ireland is available, however, it will take physically visiting places
with details of my ancestry.
My second eldest sister visited Ireland twice
and was able to further conduct research my Mother began. My sister brought
back two family trees from both sides and counties outlining not only both
families, but the coat of arms and what the last names signify.
Researching one’s ethnic history is
imperative in preserving tradition, storytelling and history. In addition, is
it crucial to acknowledge and accept one’s identity, regardless of what history
reports.
In my experience, research that has been accomplished, in addition to
current findings, enhances the desire and need to visit Ireland. The other half
of my ethnicity, German, will be interesting to research as well. Then one day,
I too, will wish to visit Germany.
* * *
For Further Research:
Bobby Sands Trust * Natives and Strangers: A History of Ethnic
Americans * National Gallery of Ireland. From Galway to Leenane: perceptions of landscape * Family Search. (2018) United States Famine Irish Passenger Index, 1846-1851 * Irish Potato Famine. History.com * When America
Despised the Irish: The 19th Century’s Refugee Crisis * National Archives. Births, Marriages and Deaths in Scotland and
Ireland * National Gallery of
Ireland. Pathos of distance.
