Background on Ireland and the Conflict The history of Ireland can be traced back extensively with various groups laying claim to it. This history is very convoluted and long, yet for Ireland, a very important part of its history lies in the interactions between it and Britain. Over the centuries, there has been much repression, conflict and animosity that to this day ravages the Emerald Isle. These interactions can be looked all the way back to 1169 when the Normans, who later became modern day Brits, invaded and two years later captured the island (Cronin 2001:11). Thus begun a very turbulent history between two groups that never got along with a large part of the conflict stemming from the fact that the British were Anglicans while the
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The Irish Diaspora in the US is massive with the 1990 census totalling an immense 43 million Americans consider themselves to be Irish American which at the time equated to roughly 19% of the American population(Feargal Cochrane 2007:218). Beyond just equating for a fifth of the American population, a third of American presidents having heritage to Ireland with four specifically having ties to what is now the Republic of Ireland while the other 12 are linked to Northern Ireland. Despite the fact that most presidents find themselves linked to Northern Ireland, this meant that when Clinton came into office in 1993, it meant that the US now had a president who had interests vested in the conflict that 43 million Americans were also interested in(John DeWind and Renata Segura 2014:99-100). When considering all of this the immense political power of the Irish Diaspora in the US becomes apparent as they not only have the population to influence the government but also people in places of power all the way up to the president with the ability to change the government 's …show more content…
The question of why can be looked at for a few different major reasons which all led up the diaspora finding itself involved during the Troubles. To start though, it is vital to note that at no point in time has the diaspora ever consistently and fully supported any nationalistic effort in Ireland. Having stated this, the first reason that the diaspora got involved can be traced all the way back to the Irish Potato Famine which lasted from 1845 to 1849 and saw millions of Irish Immigrants come into the US. Despite the fact that migration from Ireland to the US was a constant throughout the 19th century, the years of the famine were among the peak years. The importance of a large of number of people being forced to move by a single event was that it help cause the development of an identity among Irish immigrants in the US. Since these immigrants were seemingly forced out of their own country, disdain was created among the community and an identity developed because of it. The importance of this cannot be overblown as it was not the sole cause of the Irish identity developing in the US but it certainly helped to create a separation and pride among Irish which would carry through the century all the way to present day and during the Troubles this spirit would be called upon once again and people would
The Irish Diaspora in the US is massive with the 1990 census totalling an immense 43 million Americans consider themselves to be Irish American which at the time equated to roughly 19% of the American population(Feargal Cochrane 2007:218). Beyond just equating for a fifth of the American population, a third of American presidents having heritage to Ireland with four specifically having ties to what is now the Republic of Ireland while the other 12 are linked to Northern Ireland. Despite the fact that most presidents find themselves linked to Northern Ireland, this meant that when Clinton came into office in 1993, it meant that the US now had a president who had interests vested in the conflict that 43 million Americans were also interested in(John DeWind and Renata Segura 2014:99-100). When considering all of this the immense political power of the Irish Diaspora in the US becomes apparent as they not only have the population to influence the government but also people in places of power all the way up to the president with the ability to change the government 's …show more content…
The question of why can be looked at for a few different major reasons which all led up the diaspora finding itself involved during the Troubles. To start though, it is vital to note that at no point in time has the diaspora ever consistently and fully supported any nationalistic effort in Ireland. Having stated this, the first reason that the diaspora got involved can be traced all the way back to the Irish Potato Famine which lasted from 1845 to 1849 and saw millions of Irish Immigrants come into the US. Despite the fact that migration from Ireland to the US was a constant throughout the 19th century, the years of the famine were among the peak years. The importance of a large of number of people being forced to move by a single event was that it help cause the development of an identity among Irish immigrants in the US. Since these immigrants were seemingly forced out of their own country, disdain was created among the community and an identity developed because of it. The importance of this cannot be overblown as it was not the sole cause of the Irish identity developing in the US but it certainly helped to create a separation and pride among Irish which would carry through the century all the way to present day and during the Troubles this spirit would be called upon once again and people would