Festivals are times of celebration, and the Pittsburgh Irish Festival is no different. Even though religion is a huge part of Irish culture, the festival remains relatively secular. Nan Krushiniski, one of the founders, says this is a conscious choice because there is still a lot of tension between Irish Catholics and Northern Irish Protestants. Because of this, there are not tents explicitly discussing religious history or about the historical tension between the Republic and Northern Ireland; however, they do have a Catholic Mass every year given in Gaelic. They do this because the Mass acknowledges the deep Catholic ties that exist in Irish culture while also turning it into form of cultural experience by hearing the language of Gaelic. Krushiniski said that other years they have had religious crafts or speakers who would mention religion and they would receive complaints. However, they have not had a backlash about the Gaelic Mass.
The tension between Irish Catholics and Northern Irish Protestants is deep rooted and it goes back to when England ruled Ireland, having a lot to do of who gets to use the title “Irish” today and who early on in Ireland’s history was forced to. Catholicism came to Ireland in 4th century CE and started to replace the Celtic polytheism that was prevalent before that. The Church of England, the protestant religion, was established in 1500s after Henry VIII was not granted a divorce by the Pope. In the early 1800s, the Irish lost the Irish Rebellion of 1798 to England. From this, British parliament enacted the Acts of Union to merge countries to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The English and the Anglican church made it illegal to practice Catholicism and other Protestant sects like Presbyterian. This caused many Catholics to hide their religion because they said not want to truly convert (Thompson).
The Irish Independence movement happened from 1916-1921 and ended with the independence of 16 of the 32 counties of Ireland. The Easter Rising of 1916 is the first major uprising from British rule. It was started by seven men of the Irish Republican Brotherhood in Dublin and lasted six days. The British Army came and inflicted heavy causalities, the uprising 260 civilians were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded. Although the English stopped the uprising in only a week, it led to more people supporting the effort towards Irish Independence (History- 1916 Easter Rising).
William Yeats wrote about the Easter Uprising in “Easter, 1916.” Yeats talks about all different people involved in the uprising. He says,
"He, too, has resigned his part
In the casual comedy;
He, too, has been changed in his turn,
Transformed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born (line 36-40)"
He, a solider, has died while fighting in a “casual comedy.” Yeats calling the uprising this shows that he is uncertain if the fight was worth it. The soldier has also transformed utterly, as he is now seen as a hero for fighting. He ends the stanza with “A terrible beauty is born.” This is the first three times this line is said. It seems that it is acknowledging both the terror and the intensity of the situation. By calling it a beauty is also seems to be a nod towards people coming together to fight and a movement towards what he sees as progress, Irish independence.
Yeats also talks about memorializing the people who fought in the uprising,
"O when may it suffice?
That is Heaven's part, our part
To murmur name upon name,
As a mother names her child
When sleep at last has come
On limbs that had run wild."
He states that it might not be possible to know when the fighting will stop, but it’s peoples job to remember the people who have died for this cause like a mother would her child who has died. This shows the great respect he has for the people who fought for independence that he wants them to be mourned and remembered in such an intimate way.
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) fought the British Army until the ceasefire on July 11, 1921. This led to the Anglo-Irish Treat in December of that year. This needed British control in most of Ireland, but created Northern Ireland which was still controlled by the British. Even after the truce, there was still violence between republicans and loyalists (History- 1916 Easter Rising).
The creation of Northern Ireland caused tension because the people in the Republic of Ireland do not consider them Irish, but many people of Northern Ireland do self-identify as being Irish. Today, Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland is a sovereign nation, but both part of the geographic island of Ireland. Because of this grey area, many people associate religion with national identity, if you are Catholic you are Irish and if you are Protestant then you are British. This means that any animosity that exists between the Irish and the British often can be see as animosity between Catholics and Protestants.
This however is not a clear-cut dichotomy, and it is important that although it is often painted as a clear Catholic versus Protestant issue, there were many people who didn’t neatly fit into that narrative. William Yeats was and Inglo-Irish Protestant but still identified heavily as Irish and was a nationalist. Once the Republic of Ireland gained independence, Yeats moved to Dublin full time. In 1922, he was appointed to the senate of the Irish Free state for six years. Yeats was even buried in the Republic of Ireland, in Drumcliff Cemetery in County Sligo. Yeat’s grandfather was a rector in Drumcliff when he was alive but was also known that even though he was Presbyterian he was be accepting and loving of the Catholic that lived in the area (William Butler Yeats).
In 1998, the Belfast Agreement was signed which set up a power-sharing government between the Catholic Nationalists and Protestant Unionists. This signals the end of a period of violence in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 1998 called The Troubles. There are currently 50 murals, on peace walls in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, all portraying the conflict between the Nationalists and Unionist. Murals showing United Kingdom flags appear in Protestant neighborhoods and Catholic neighborhoods have Irish flags and memorials to nationalist who have died in The Troubles. Many murals also commemorate specific events like bombings of bars and car bombings (Feliciano). The violence that occurring during The Troubles were committed by, depending who you ask, terrorist or freedom fighters and violence came from both sides (The Northern Ireland Conflict 1968-1998 ). Today, there are some pushes towards unity, some communities are getting rid of violent or controversial murals and repainting images of acceptance instead. Anne Ward, the Community Development Officer at the Arts Council said “Young children walking past masked gunmen has an impact on the local community. So, the program is all about the community wanting to transform … and creating a new Northern Ireland.” However, there are some people who think getting rid of the murals would in turn be erasing the history of Northern Ireland (Feliciano). It is in this spirit that the Irish Festival is founded. At the festival, there is no requirement to prove your heritage, rather a place for people of all walks of life to come together to learn about and celebrate Irish culture.
Works Cited
Feliciano, Ivette. “These Murals Lie at the Center of a Debate over Northern Ireland's Future.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 25 Feb. 2017, www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/belfast-murals-recall-brutal-war-debate-northern-irelands-future.
“History - 1916 Easter Rising - Aftermath - The Anglo-Irish War.” BBC, BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/easterrising/aftermath/af04.shtml.
“The Northern Ireland Conflict 1968-1998 – An Overview.” The Irish Story, 3 Dec. 2018, www.theirishstory.com/2015/02/09/the-northern-ireland-conflict-1968-1998-an-overview/#.XAoBM5NKh-U.
Thompson, Scott. “Religious History of Ireland.” Synonym, 28 Sept. 2017, classroom.synonym.com/religious-history-of-ireland-12078963.html.
“William Butler Yeats.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/william-butler-yeats.
Yeats, William Butler. “Easter, 1916 by William Butler Yeats.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, 1916, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43289/easter-1916.