Description
Among the myriad ethnic identities that present in the multicultural American polity, Irish Americans (Gael-Mheiriceánaigh) often claim the strongest fellow-feeling with their ancestral nation. This includes a profound connection to the island of Ireland, collective memories of the past, and a sense of kinship with other ‘Irish’ regardless of their country of residence. Such group consciousness is not necessarily shared by the Irish of Éire, with social media rife with satirical portrayals of the artificiality of ‘Irishness’ of their American cousins, alongside widespread disavowal of the political leanings of Irish Americans, therein reflecting meaningful temporal, spatial, and societal divergences between the two groups. Recognising this disconnect, the paper interrogates the socio-political narration of national trauma associated with the Great Famine/an Gorta Mór (1845-1852) from the competing perspectives of the Irish and Irish Americans. Focusing on the dark trinity of starvation, dispossession, and emigration through the lenses of the popular arts (music, plays, films/TV, and literature), memorials, and geographies of tourism, we examine how divergent narrations of this shared trauma index and contribute to a stark and growing political and cultural divide between these two communities, and the implications of this rift in shaping ‘Irishness’ in the twenty-first century.
