Today does anyone think that Irish republicanism is relevant, since it has had an impact on irish gaelic culture for around 100 years and more.
sean m
Do you mean within the Irish republic and/or the island of Ireland? I'm from the republic, so can only really answer from that perspective.
The spectrum that runs between Irish national pride, Irish nationalism and what I think you mean by Irish republicanism (IRA, INLA,etc.) is a tricky one to navigate and raw republicanism of this brand is a contentious area within the republic.
Firstly, this issue is rarely if ever talked about openly. Something akin to CF OPSEC is written into the dna of people in the republic and the phrase 'loose talk costs lives' is something I heard a lot growing up there. Significant republican funding was derived from various legal and not so legal means in the south so republicans were often treated in the same manner as gangsters - romanticized by those who had no dealings with them, hated by those who were subject to their bully-boy tactics and admired/feared by those who benefitted from their community efforts. I'm from an inner city area in Dublin and an auto-theft epidemic in the late 70s/early 80s was, quite frankly, well dealt with by IRA vigilante justice. However, here we introduce the usual slippery slope when the 'police' aren't well policed and I saw more than one decent person chased out of my housing development simply for picking the wrong fight after a few pints down the local.
Irish national pride runs deep in the south and people are very proud that we stood up again and again after taking it on the chin from the crown. This could frequently blur into overt nationalism during something as trivial as the rugby triple crown or something more significant, like the Bobby Sands/hunger strike moment in the 80s. However, this usually stopped just short of out and out republicanism. War had been on our shores for a long, long time and people knew only too well what the costs were. (I suggest renting the very good movie
The Wind that Shakes The Barley or reading Sean O'Casey's
Juno and the Paycock for a look at how recent rebellion and civil war fragmented families). In the south, I think we often looked away from the troubles in the North, reflecting on the sentiment, 'there, but for the grace of god go I'. The IRA seat of power had shifted from Dublin to the north in the 50s/60s I believe and with it the evolution of both cultures shifted onto their own respective courses. This was fairly well recognized in the south and many people also felt, as a result of this that we had no real right to comment. I think the vast majority of people in the south long for a peaceful island and, from my limited experiences in the north, I think this to be very true there also. After saying that, one doesn't have to look too far for a
tiocfaidh ar la (our day will come) or
saoirse (freedom) tattoo where I come from - mostly used to make oneself look tougher than one truly is. Young men fueled by testosterone quietly flirt with it for the same reasons young men buy big knives or pretend to be Tony Soprano - it's what young men do.
As this is a military forum, I'll offer my :2c: from that perspective. I started my service in Ireland in the reserves (An Forsa Cosanta Aitiuil at the time) and I was in no longer than 2 hours when the company sergeant sat us down and very carefully explained that as members of the Irish Defence Forces we had more in common with Brits on the other side of the border than we did with IRA men. This was taken very seriously and the differences between a healthy nationalism and 'republicanism' were central to early indoctrination.
People in the south remember why we have the republic - we remember Kilmainham Gaol, we remember 1916 and we sing songs about the black n' tans and Michael Collins, just as we should. But we also remember the ways in which it tore the country apart and why so many of Eires sons and daughters had to leave.