From: "Patrick O'Sullivan"

Forwarded for information...

Reached us a bit late - but whenever was a deadline rigidly enforced...

P.O'S.

Call For Papers

The Long Way Home
Mobility, Narratives, and Journeys in Twentieth Century Australia.

In conjunction with the History Council of NSW annual History Week, and in
keeping with the broad theme of Changing Landscapes we now invite abstracts
for
the conference, The Long Way Home, to be held on Friday the 13th of
September
2002.

The conference seeks to investigate the changing representations,
understanding
and experience of mobility, space and place, identity, travel writing and
journeys in twentieth century Australia, and to create a forum for
researchers
working within related areas.

Themes for papers could include but are not limited to:
- - Studies of specific journeys or travel narratives
- - The affect of developing mobile culture on leisure
- - Reconstruction of Australia as travelled space
- - Motivations and desires of the traveller
- - Mapping the landscape through discourse
- - The relationship between iconography, expectations and reality

Abstracts should be limited to 300 words and the final paper to twenty
minutes.
Please indicate a possible title and institutional affiliation.
The deadline for submissions is the 1st of July 2002
Email: laina.hall[at]history.usyd.edu.au [Laina Hall]

From: "Patrick O'Sullivan"

Forwarded for information...

Might be an interesting take on the history of nationalisms and fereedom
movements, and their opponents - there is always an element of
utopia/dystopia in such polemics... And of course the British Empire DID
collapse...

P.O'S.



The International Association for Media and History invites proposals for
presentations, papers, panels and workshops for its bi-annual conference:

IAMHIST XX

The History of
The Future:
Visions from the Past

At the University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

From 16th to 20th July 2003

Subjects to include:
· Depictions of the future in film, radio, television, and the new media.
· Depictions of utopias, dystopias, and unfulfilled prophecies.
· How the future has been marketed by the media.
· The future of media history in the digital age.
· Audience and reception studies for future visions.
· The Future as seen from the Former Eastern Bloc and the Third World.

PLEASE SEND A 250-WORD ABSTRACT AND A ONE-PAGE C.V. BY JANUARY 15, 2003 TO:

Professor Nick Cull,
Department of History,
University of Leicester,
University Rd.
Leicester, LE1 7RH
UK
Email: njc14[at]le.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)116-252-2861
Fax: +44 (0)116-252-5213

From: "Patrick O'Sullivan"

For those who were intrigued by Charles Orser's admiring review in the Irish
Studies Review and who want to know more... And for those who simply want
to know more...

It looks a very useful book, and further reviews are now appearing on the
web.

Philip Freeman, Ireland and the Classical World, Austin: University of
Texas Press, 2001, Pp. xvi + 148. ISBN 0-292-72518-3. $35.00.

Reviewed by Richard Jones, Stephen F. Austin State University
(rjones[at]sfasu.edu)
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2002/2002-06-31.html

Barry Cunliffe's review can be found at...
http://www.ajaonline.org/issues/i_toc.html

Rumble, rumble...
http://www.fiu.edu/~eltonh/syllabi/ireland.html

P.O'S.


- --
Patrick O'Sullivan
Head of the Irish Diaspora Research Unit

Email Patrick O'Sullivan
Email Patrick O'Sullivan
Personal Fax 0044 (0) 709 236 9050

Irish-Diaspora list
Irish Diaspora Studies http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/diaspora/
Irish Diaspora Net Archive http://www.irishdiaspora.net

Irish Diaspora Research Unit
Department of Interdisciplinary Human Studies
University of Bradford
Bradford BD7 1DP
Yorkshire
England

From: "Patrick O'Sullivan"

It might be recalled that we gave some feedback to this project last year -
the online Bibliography on the History of International Exhibitions,
1851-1951.

Cumulatively it is becoming a useful resource, a way of collecting the
scholarship on representations of Ireland and 'Irishness' over this 100 year
period. But I find the Bibliography curiously difficult to search - am I
missing something obvious?

Alexander Geppert is very approachable - but it would be nice if anyone with
suggestions for entries or improvements share them with the Ir-D list, and
we will forward them.

P.O'S.


- -----Original Message-----
Subject: Bibliography on the History of International Exhibitions,
1851-1951


Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 15:13:19 +0200
From: "Alexander CT Geppert"

[Apologies for Cross-Posting]

Bibliography on the History of International Exhibitions, 1851-1951

Dear Colleagues,

We would like to announce that "International Exhibitions, Expositions
Universelles and World's Fairs, 1851-1951: A Bibliography," a comprehensive,
web-based bibliography of secondary sources on the history of world's fairs,
has been updated and expanded. With almost 1500 items, the bibliography now
includes 375 more entries, covering several newly added expositions, from
Australia, Brazil, Germany, Italy, and the USA, among others. There is also
an Internet Resources section, with 58 web sites on numerous world's fairs,
hyperlinked for the user's convenience.

The bibliography is accessible through the "Theory of Architecture" web site
of Brandenburgische Technische Universität (Cottbus, Germany) as part of the
journal "Wolkenkuckucksheim: Internationale Zeitschrift für Theorie und
Wissenschaft der Architektur" at
http://www.theo.tu-cottbus.de/Wolke/eng/Bibliography/ExpoBibliography.htm.
It can also be viewed on the web site of the Donald G. Larson Collection on
International Expositions and Fairs, 1851-1940, Special Collections Library,
California State University, Fresno,
http://www.lib.csufresno.edu/SubjectResources/SpecialCollections/WorldFairs/
Secondarybiblio.pdf.

From the time when the bibliography was first launched in February 2001,
reactions from the scholarly community have been very positive and
encouraging. The list is actively updated and augmented on an ongoing
basis. We see this as an interactive, participative process. How can we
improve the bibliography and make it more useful? All comments, suggestions
and additions are much appreciated. URLs for any world's fair-related web
site are especially welcome. Please send them to Alexander Geppert at
geppert[at]iue.it or to Jean Coffey at jeanc[at]csufresno.edu.

We extend our gratitude to all those who have offered their comments and
provided us with new sources. Special thanks, in particular, to Serge
Noiret, Moritz Staemmler and Stephen Wildman for their suggestions and
advice during the updating process, and to David Fisher for his extensive
list of sources.

Yours sincerely,

Alexander C.T. Geppert
The European University Institute
Florence, Italy

Jean Coffey and Tammy Lau
California State University, Fresno
Fresno, California

From: Steve McCabe
To: "'irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk'"
Subject: RE: Ir-D Burchill article, Guardian, 3

I also agree that this issues should be taken up with the Guardian; remember
how sales of the Sun went down in Liverpool after what the wrote about fans
at Hillsborough.

Let's be fair, Burchill has never held high esteem with the journalistic
community. She happened to be on the fringes of the punk movement (music
which she now claims she never liked), and made her name. Why the Guardian
pay good money to someone like her to pontificate on matters which she
hasn't the faintest idea I will never know.

Incidentally, an academic who I work with, and who was born in Dublin,
Ireland in 1940s (he describes his background as Catholic Unionist) - he is
not a "plastic" like myself - expressed amazement when I told him of
Irishmen and women going to Spain to fight against Franco. I don't know what
he was taught, but he had only heard of the poor deluded fools who joined
Duffy's Blueshirts.

Dr. Steve McCabe
University of Central England

- -----Original Message-----
From: irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk
[mailto:irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk]
Sent: Thursday, July 04, 2002 7:00 AM
To: irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk
Subject: Ir-D Burchill article, Guardian, 3




From: McCaffrey
Organization: Johns Hopkins University
Subject: Re: Ir-D Burchill article, Guardian, 2

Piaras,
Thank you very much for this. I was trying to organize my thoughts around a
similar response. I would suggest, plead[?] that you send this to the
Guardian. This kind of ignorant yellow journalism ought to be rebuffed at
source.
Carmel

From: McCaffrey
Organization: Johns Hopkins University
Subject: Re: Ir-D Burchill article, Guardian, 2

Piaras,
Thank you very much for this. I was trying to organize my thoughts around a
similar response. I would suggest, plead[?] that you send this to the
Guardian. This kind of ignorant yellow journalism ought to be rebuffed at
source.
Carmel

irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk wrote:

> From: "MacEinri, Piaras"
> To: "'irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk'"
> Subject: RE: Ir-D Burchill article, Guardian, June 29
>
> This article really plumbs the depths. Apart from being racist (which I
> think it is) it's laughably inaccurate.
>
> Just a few points.
>
> We don't have a 'national church' in Ireland - there is one in England and
> the head of it is the Queen. The clause in the Irish constitution which
> recognised the 'special position' of the Roman Catholic Church as that
> representing the majority of Irish people was removed from the
constitution
> many years ago. All of the evidence now points to very rapid
secularisation
> in Ireland.
>
> Women priests: the Church of Ireland had them before the Church of
England,
> and those Irish Protestants who are members of that congregation are very
> bit as Irish as the Irish Catholics who are presumably Ms Burchill's
> intended target. Anyway it's a rule set by the Pope, not the Roman
Catholics
> of Ireland, and surveys have constitently shown that substantial numbers
of
> ordinary Catholics favour its abolition.
>
> Divorce: we introduced it several years ago. The sky hasn't fallen.
>
> Hitler's hour of need. Good one, this! There may be an echo here of De
> Valera's famous (and stupid) call upon Herr Hempel, the German Ambassador,
> to express his condoleances on the death of Hitler. Hitler was the head of
> the German state, Ireland was neutral and Dev was following diplomatic
> protocol. He should have used his head, ignored diplomatic protocol, and
not
> made the call. But it has been well established that Ireland's
'neutrality'
> was very definitely neutral on the side of the Allies - weather reports,
> policy towards POWs, intelligence information and the simple fact that
> neutral Ireland supplied tens of thousands of men to the British armed
> forces as well as many more tens of thousands of women, many of whom
worked
> in the munitions factories of Britain during the war.
>
> Fascism: there was a Blueshirt movement (a fraction the size of Mosley's
> crowd) led by a buffoon called Eoin O'Duffy, who eventually do discredited
> himself that the politicians very quickly put some blue water between
> themselves and O'Duffy. O'Duffy led some of his supporters, most of them
> young men, boys really, from rural Ireland who thought they were fighting
> godless communism (and probably couldn't have spelled the word fascist),
to
> Spain, where their only action in Civil War was an incident involving
other
> troops on Franco's side. By contrast a (admittedly smaller) number of
trade
> unionists, communists and republicans played a very distinguished role in
a
> number of Spanish Republican units, notably the International Brigades.
>
> Piaras Mac Einri

From: "MacEinri, Piaras"
To: "'irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk'"
Subject: RE: Ir-D Burchill article, Guardian, June 29

This article really plumbs the depths. Apart from being racist (which I
think it is) it's laughably inaccurate.

Just a few points.

We don't have a 'national church' in Ireland - there is one in England and
the head of it is the Queen. The clause in the Irish constitution which
recognised the 'special position' of the Roman Catholic Church as that
representing the majority of Irish people was removed from the constitution
many years ago. All of the evidence now points to very rapid secularisation
in Ireland.

Women priests: the Church of Ireland had them before the Church of England,
and those Irish Protestants who are members of that congregation are very
bit as Irish as the Irish Catholics who are presumably Ms Burchill's
intended target. Anyway it's a rule set by the Pope, not the Roman Catholics
of Ireland, and surveys have constitently shown that substantial numbers of
ordinary Catholics favour its abolition.

Divorce: we introduced it several years ago. The sky hasn't fallen.

Hitler's hour of need. Good one, this! There may be an echo here of De
Valera's famous (and stupid) call upon Herr Hempel, the German Ambassador,
to express his condoleances on the death of Hitler. Hitler was the head of
the German state, Ireland was neutral and Dev was following diplomatic
protocol. He should have used his head, ignored diplomatic protocol, and not
made the call. But it has been well established that Ireland's 'neutrality'
was very definitely neutral on the side of the Allies - weather reports,
policy towards POWs, intelligence information and the simple fact that
neutral Ireland supplied tens of thousands of men to the British armed
forces as well as many more tens of thousands of women, many of whom worked
in the munitions factories of Britain during the war.

Fascism: there was a Blueshirt movement (a fraction the size of Mosley's
crowd) led by a buffoon called Eoin O'Duffy, who eventually do discredited
himself that the politicians very quickly put some blue water between
themselves and O'Duffy. O'Duffy led some of his supporters, most of them
young men, boys really, from rural Ireland who thought they were fighting
godless communism (and probably couldn't have spelled the word fascist), to
Spain, where their only action in Civil War was an incident involving other
troops on Franco's side. By contrast a (admittedly smaller) number of trade
unionists, communists and republicans played a very distinguished role in a
number of Spanish Republican units, notably the International Brigades.

Piaras Mac Einri

From: "Maria Power"
Subject: Fw: Burchill article- anti-irish or just xenophobic?


This was on one of the other Irish email discussion lists and I thought that
it might be of interest.

Maria
>
> Re: J. Burchill's article, Guardian Saturday June 29, 2002
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4449532,00.html
>
> Was Julie Burchill's article last Saturday in the Guardian anti-Irish and
> racist?
> Or was it 'just' xenophobic and utterly stupid?
> Complain or not complain??
>
> What are the historic facts about fascism and Ireland?
> I know there was a Blueshirts movement in Ireland.
> But there were many Irish who fought against fascism (in the British
army),
> weren't there?
> Let me know what you think (and is this site the right place to raise
issues
> like that?)
> I quote two of the more offensive sentences from the article.
> All the best
> Sigi
>
> ' "Who can forget the recent example of Mayor Livingstone, who contributed
> hundreds of thousands of pounds of Londoners' money to celebrate Irishness
> last St Patrick's Day? To celebrate, that is, almost compulsory child
> molestation by the national church, total discrimination against women who
> wish to be priests, aiding and abetting Herr Hitler in his hour of need,
and
> outlawing abortion and divorce. What a hero of socialism!" '
> " ....the Hitler-licking, altarboy-molesting, abortion-banning Irish
> tricolour..."
>

From: Padraic
Padraic[at]sheppard-finn.demon.co.uk

Politics of Asylum and Immigration Summer School


This summer school will critically explore contemporary political debates
over asylum and immigration in Britain and celebrate the contribution of
individuals and communities of displaced persons to British society.

Speakers include leading researchers, teachers and activists and
participants will have the opportunity to take part in discussion on a wide
range of issues including:

· international political context and causes of asylum and immigration
· international moral and legal regime on refugees
· relationship between Britain and other European states and impact on
policy
· role of the media in how refugees and asylum seekers are represented
· questions of identity, community and integration in the experiences of
displaced persons and communities in Britain
· Participants can also complete an assignment for accreditation towards the
Certificate and Diploma in Development Studies/International Studies. For
details contact Verity Barnett.

Venue: 26 Russell Square, London WC1

Contact for enquiries: Carol Watts, tel 002 7631 6652, email
ce.watts[at]bbk.ac.uk

From: Jessica March
Subject: Imaginary Homelands Conference

Hi Paddy,

I thought it might be worth distributing details of this conference on
?Imaginary Homelands?, taking place next weekend: ?Has Commonwealth
Literature Had it?s Day?? Cumberland Lodge, The Great Park, Windsor. 12-14th
July.

How has post-colonial theory and criticism developed, especially in the
light of globalisation and the changing nature of national identity? Salmon
Rushdie wrote a famous essay entitled "Commonwealth Literature Does Not
Exist", published in his collection of essays "Imaginary Homelands". Though
still used by a prestigous journal and occasionally in other circumstances,
the term "Commonwealth Literature" has been largely displaced by the
politically less contentious though historically inaccurate "post-colonial
writing", with blander options such as "international literature in English"
and "Anglophone literature" occasionally prefered. But is this re-naming of
the brand nothing more than technological musical chairs? Does the
discipline exist at all? Does the uncertainty over the last forty years
about what to call itself betoken a lack of substance in the concept itself?
This conference asks whether the notion of a post-colonial literature has
imploded, too large and catchall, too unfocused and too readily admitting
any text within its purview.
This is very much a writer-focused conference, in which the cross-currents
between authors and their critics and readers will be central. It will
examine what it is like to be writing in Britain on post-colonial themes or
with that authorial label. For anyone teaching, researching or writing in
this field it is an opportunity to look at fundamental questions concerning
its future.

Sandra Willson
Cumberland Lodge
The Great Park
Windsor
Berkshire
SL4 2HP
ENGLAND
Email: sandra[at]cumberlandlodge.ac.uk
Visit the Conference website at http://www.cumberlandlodge.ac.uk

The organisers hope that participants will be students and academics from a
variety of subject areas; the conference is not restricted to experts, and
welcomes those who have a general interest.

The conference fee for students is a heavily subsidized £30 and includes
food and accommodation at Cumberland Lodge. Ordinary fee is £250.

More information about Cumberland Lodge and the programme can be found on
the web site -
www.cumberlandlodge.ac.uk

From: Peter Hart
Subject: Re: Ir-D Burchill article, Guardian, 2

Piaris and Patrick both make great points, but I think a larger point is
being missed: Julie Buchill makes her living saying things like this, about
almost everyone. It has very little to do with being anti-Catholic or
anti-Irish, its about being outrageous. Usually she's just boring because
so predictably contrary: Stalin was a great man etc. I think taking it
seriously is over-reacting.

Peter Hart

Sender: P.Maume[at]Queens-Belfast.AC.UK
Subject: Re: Blueshirts

From: Patrick Maume,
With all due respect to Piaras MacEnri, surely it is a
mistake to say that the Blueshirts were only a fraction of the
size of Mosley's BUF. At their peak the BUF numbered about
50,000 - the Blueshirts would have been about 20-30,000 in a
much smaller population, and Mosley never became leader of the
main opposition party as O'Duffy did. (MacEnri's comments would
be more appropriately applied to the splinter-group, the
National Corporate Party, led by O'Duffy after he was deposed
from the Fine Gael leadership.)
I can also think of some instances of Fianna Fail supporters
comparing De Valera to Mussolini as a compliment during the 30s.
None of this should be taken as supporting the comments of Ms
Burchill, who is a self-described admirer of Stalin and calls
herself a "socialised psychopath". Maybe she thinks Stalin's
birthday would be a more appropriate focus for commemoration?
Best wishes,
Patrick


On 04 July 2002 06:00 irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk wrote:

>
>
> From: "MacEinri, Piaras"
> To: "'irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk'"
> Subject: RE: Ir-D Burchill article, Guardian, June 29
>

> Fascism: there was a Blueshirt movement (a fraction the size of Mosley's
> crowd) led by a buffoon called Eoin O'Duffy, who eventually do discredited
> himself that the politicians very quickly put some blue water between
> themselves and O'Duffy.

----------------------
patrick maume

From: "MacEinri, Piaras"
To: "'irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk'"
Subject: RE: Ir-D Blueshirts

Thanks Patrick, you are quite right, I should have chosen my (somewhat
polemical!) words with more care. You are certainly correct on the numbers,
although I think the apparent strength of the Blueshirts had more to do with
their background - the ACA and Civil War politics - than exotic ideological
imports.

There was of course a strong degree of sympathy for corporatism in Ireland
during the 1930s (and not just in FG) and it had the support of certain
leading intellectuals and elements of the Catholic Church. But I don't think
most of those who supported O'Duffy, and certainly among the politicians,
could really be described as fascist in the full-blown sense that was meant
in other parts of Europe at the time.

Piaras

From: DanCas1[at]aol.com
Subject: how conveeeeeeenient! the "guardian party" and smut

a chairde:

one miniscule postscript: it seems curious that when the irish peace process
is being subject to the death of a thousand cuts, by sectors of the british
elite, the "guardian party" liberales and semi-spooks publish the burchell
piece.

an agent-provacateurish article like that draws critical fire away from life
and death issues like uk government-ruc- loyalist death squad collusion --
and gets folks spinning their wheels in muck and smut spread by the ilk of
the (self-described) sociopathic stalinist.

as the church lady on u.s. television's saturday night live usedta' say:
"How conveeeeeeenient!!!

yikes! my wheels are spinning off their axles !! i am writing my editor! i
am calling the guardian! i am writing e-mails! i am tired of the same old
story.

slan,

daniel cassidy
new college
san francisco

From: DanCas1[at]aol.com
Subject: Same Old Story....


A Chairde:

The Irish people have an apt word for Burchill and her ilk...smut, a pig's
snout.
What d'ye expect from a pig but a grunt?

The liberal so-called left in the US and the UK are as steeped in racism as
their adversaries on the right. The Guardian, like the NY Times, just
appears
more shameless these days.

Other than that, Burchill isn't worth the e-mail paper I just didn't expend.
She is merely applying Stalin's once much-vaunted national policies to the
Irish. When you can't wipe 'em out, render them inhuman or dofheicthe.
Certainly, makes destroying a peace process easier to justify.

These days it seems papers like the "liberal" Guardian and the "liberal" NY
Times have reached new levels of utter shamelessness and shysterism. But,
again, it's the same old story...

Up the Republic.

Daniel Cassidy
An Leann Eireannach
Colaiste Nuadh
San Francisco

From: "Sarah Morgan"
To:
Subject: Re: Ir-D Burchill article, Guardian, 7

I would agree with Peter, but perhaps qualify this. Yes, Burchill is known
for ranting and has been a long-time hater of Irish Catholics - she has
expressed support for loyalism because it's British, and is a long-time
rabid condemner of the IRA who sees all Irish Catholics as fellow
travellers. She specialises in being outrageous, so - all in all - nothing
new.

More importantly, it's another example of acceptable racism/sectarianism -
can we really imagine the liberal, left of centre Guardian publishing a rant
against either a 'recognised' (meaning, in the British context, 'visible')
ethnic group or a non-Christian faith? And it is important that she focuses
on Irish Catholics in the article, although other groups are mentioned,
because the twinning is what makes it OK - all Catholics could be
problematic for the paper which has spearheaded the campaign to delete
legislation debarring Catholics from certain posts (and especially being the
monarch). Part of her desire in the article is to demonstrate how superior
English Protestantism is to Irish Catholicsm.

I should add that unusually on the following Monday (or maybe the Monday a
week later - I forget) there was a special complaints column dealing with
Burchill's article. The column is usually only printed on a Saturday -
although there was no comment about it appearing on the wrong day. However,
I didn't find this column very satisfactory as it really failed to deal with
the issue of racism/sectarianism. It was really a comment on the large
number of complaints received - apparently this was a surprise.

Finally, as a regular reader of the Guardian, I'm not at all surprised that
it's 'Irish blind'.

Sarah Morgan.

- ----- Original Message -----
From:
To:
Sent: Friday, January 04, 2002 6:00 AM
Subject: Ir-D Burchill article, Guardian, 7


>
> From: Peter Hart
> Subject: Re: Ir-D Burchill article, Guardian, 2
>
> Piaris and Patrick both make great points, but I think a larger point is
> being missed: Julie Buchill makes her living saying things like this,
about
> almost everyone. It has very little to do with being anti-Catholic or
> anti-Irish, its about being outrageous. Usually she's just boring because
> so predictably contrary: Stalin was a great man etc. I think taking it
> seriously is over-reacting.
>
> Peter Hart
>
>
>

From: McCaffrey
Organization: Johns Hopkins University
Subject: Re: Ir-D Burchill article, Guardian, 9

I want to add my voice of agreement to this. I think a response like
this ought to be launched. I very much liked Piaras's letter and agree
that it could form a basis of the rebuttal. Although some on the list
have pointed out that this writer does this sort of thing on a regular
basis for sensationalism nevertheless it ought to be replied to.
Carmel


irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk wrote:

> From: "James O'Keeffe"
> Subject: Burchill article, Guardian,
>
> Patrick
>
> The response over Burchill's distasteful, distorting and
> disgusting article appears to have touched a raw nerve with
> fellow diasporians. I have not read the article but it
> appears to be same old same old! I have long suspected the
> Guardian's credentials as a truly left of centre paper and
> indeed the limited extent of it's Republican (in the
> English sense) leanings.
>
> Could I suggest that some form of response be hammered out,
> agreed by all, signed, electronically, and sent to the
> Guardian as a protest over Burchill's diatribe.
>
> Could I also suggest that any possible response be based on
> Piaras Mac Einri's detailed email.
>
> What do you think.
>
> ----------------------
> James O'Keeffe
> School Administrator
> School of Education
> j.okeeffe[at]unl.ac.uk
> tel: 0207 753 5104
> x 2661

From: "MacEinri, Piaras"
To: "'irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk'"
Subject: Birchill article

Herewith a slightly amended version of my draft (taking Patrick Maume's
point into account and toning down the text a little).

Piaras

Dear Sir/Madam

We wish to protest at Julie Birchill's anti-Irish rant (Sat 29), which would
not have been out of place in certain newspapers well to your right. Apart
from being racist and sectarian it is laughably inaccurate.

There is no 'national church' in Ireland. There is one in England (surely an
anachronism in this day and age) and the head of it is the Queen. The clause
in the Irish constitution which recognised the 'special position' of the
Roman Catholic Church as that representing the majority of Irish people was
removed from the constitution many years ago. All of the evidence now points
to very rapid secularisation in Ireland.

The Church of Ireland had women priests before the Church of England, and
those Irish Protestants who are members of that congregation are every bit
as Irish as the Irish Catholics who are presumably Ms Burchill's intended
target. In any event the present Pope, not the Roman Catholics of Ireland,
forbade women priests in the Catholic Church. Surveys have consistently
shown that substantial numbers of ordinary Catholics favour women priests.

Ireland introduced divorce several years ago. The sky hasn't fallen.

Ms Birchill brings up the old charge about Ireland 'aiding and abetting
Hitler in his hour of need'. It has been well established that Ireland's
'neutrality' was very definitely neutral on the side of the Allies - weather
reports, policy towards POWs, intelligence information and the simple fact
that neutral Ireland supplied tens of thousands of men to the British armed
forces as well as tens of thousands of women, many of whom worked in the
munitions factories of Britain during the war.

Was there fascism in Ireland? There was a Blueshirt movement, which was
inspired more by Irish civil war politics than by continental fascism. It
was led by Eoin O'Duffy, who eventually so discredited himself that the
politicians had supported him very quickly abandoned him. He led some of his
supporters to Spain, most of them young men or boys from rural Ireland who
thought they were fighting godless communism. Most would not even have seen
themselves as 'fascist'. Their only action in the Civil War was an incident
involving other troops on Franco's side. By contrast an admittedly smaller
number of trade unionists, communists and republicans played a very
distinguished role in a number of Spanish Republican units, notably the
International Brigades, fighting alongside British, American and other
anti-fascist soldiers.

The serious issue of child molestation is now the subject of public debates,
public enquiries and vigorous legal action in Ireland. Is Ms Birchill
suggesting it never happened in England?

For shame.

Yours faithfully

From: Hilary Robinson
Subject: Re: Ir-D Burchill article, Guardian, 9

yes it is same old, same old. this is what JB does: and as someone
else mentioned, every week there is at least one
angry/defensive/counter-point letter - or sometimes, one that says "I
always disagree with JB but last week I didn't - what's wrong with
me?" And: she has indeed laid into visible minorities - young Black
men for behaving "in exactly the way white racists expect", was one I
remember. And she has laid into various other european countries,
into muslims etc. I see her column as confronting liberals with their
usually hidden prejudices - or at least, sometimes I have read her
column and realised that I'm being confronted with my own prejudices,
that my socialism and feminism are slipping in my old age! The only
group that she seems to support is the english working class.

it becomes very boring when stereotypes have to be responded to. I
just want to point out that the responses on this list have all
avoided the abortion issue. If an answer is penned, then that would
be a resounding silence.

Hilary

>From: "James O'Keeffe"
>Subject: Burchill article, Guardian,
>
>
>Patrick
>
>The response over Burchill's distasteful, distorting and
>disgusting article appears to have touched a raw nerve with
>fellow diasporians. I have not read the article but it
>appears to be same old same old! I have long suspected the
>Guardian's credentials as a truly left of centre paper and
>indeed the limited extent of it's Republican (in the
>English sense) leanings.
>
>Could I suggest that some form of response be hammered out,
>agreed by all, signed, electronically, and sent to the
>Guardian as a protest over Burchill's diatribe.
>
>Could I also suggest that any possible response be based on
>Piaras Mac Einri's detailed email.
>
>What do you think.
>

_______________________________

Dr. Hilary Robinson
School of Art and Design
University of Ulster at Belfast
York Street
Belfast BT15 1ED
Northern Ireland
UK


direct phone/fax: (+44) (0) 28 9026.7291

From: "Paul Garrett"
To:
Subject: Re: Ir-D Burchill article, Guardian, 9

Paddy,

Not to divert attention too much from specific issues in relation to
Birchall's article, but there is something, more general, in this about
the so-called liberal press in Britain. Newspapers, such as the Guardian
and the Observer are able to couple quite progressive and revelatory
reporting on 'the North' with 'feature' articles and columns - not in
the News Sections - which, when it comes to Ireland, are dismissive,
patronising and disparaging. Just 2 other recent examples:

Rod Liddle' s column in The Guardian 19 June this year - A 'humorous'
piece from the editor of BBC Radio 4's prestigious 'Today' programme.
Bemoaning the international support for Ireland's world cup team he
pondered if, after elimination, 'the lovable leprechauns have been
returned to their misty hills and treacherous bogs'.

2. Lyn Barber's piece on Shane McGowan in the Observer Magazine, 11
March 2001 contrasted Ireland's current 'renaissance' with 'the old
pre-boom Ireland of hopeless old pissheads doing zilch'. (I wrote to
complain, no response).

May be not as offensive as Birdcall's diatribe, but she is simply at
one end of a continuum with the liberal broadsheets.

Paul


>>> 07/05/02 01:50pm >>>


From: "James O'Keeffe"
Subject: Burchill article, Guardian,


Patrick

The response over Burchill's distasteful, distorting and
disgusting article appears to have touched a raw nerve with
fellow diasporians. I have not read the article but it
appears to be same old same old! I have long suspected the
Guardian's credentials as a truly left of centre paper and
indeed the limited extent of it's Republican (in the
English sense) leanings.

Could I suggest that some form of response be hammered out,
agreed by all, signed, electronically, and sent to the
Guardian as a protest over Burchill's diatribe.

Could I also suggest that any possible response be based on
Piaras Mac Einri's detailed email.

What do you think.