Second Generation Irish in England - An Analytical Review

  The research presented in the academic article I have chosen is an analysis of second generation Irish in England and discusses the meanings and constructions of ethnicity by individuals of Irish decent in England and their narratives of belonging and not belonging analyzed in terms of the limitations of whiteness and the boundaries of Englishness and ultimately aims to examine the ramifications of the presence of Irish ethnicities in political and public policy discourses. In order to understand and map out the different identifications and positioning of second generation Irish in England, four English cities were chosen and discussion groups made up of second generation Irish were conducted as an exploratory tool (Hickman et al, 2005, p.164)

  In the article, “The limitations of Whiteness and the boundaries of Englishness - Second-generation Irish identifications and positions in multiethnic Britain”, Hickman et al. quotes American sociologist Rogers Brubaker on the understanding and consideration of race and racial groups:

When considering racial, ethnic or national groups it was not sufficient to refer to them as socially constructed entities; what was required was a linking of macro-level outcomes with micro-level processes. In other words, we need to be able to specify how and when people identify themselves, perceive others, experience the world, interpret their predicaments and orient their actions in racial, ethnic or national terms. (Brubaker 2001, as cited in “Cognitive Perspectives”).

  Throughout the article, the authors use the terms “Whiteness” as well as discuss the assumption and myth of “White Homogeneity”. When discussing “Whiteness” the term is used to address whiteness in the British context, which is often used in terms of an extension of class analysis as opposed to a process of deconstructing a racial category (Hickman et al, 2005 p.162). The Irish in England are not “visible minorities” meaning in terms of skin color they are not “non-white” or not “non-caucasian” in race albeit they are still subject to radicalization, discrimination and social disadvantage. In her essay “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” American Feminist and Anti-Racist Activist Peggy McIntosh uses the term “Whiteness” as a set of unearned social privileges that puts white people at an advantage in society (McIntosh, 1989). As a white person, we have the privilege of not being racialized, discriminated or subjected to any social disadvantages due to the colour of our skin. In the case of the second generation Irish in England, McIntosh’s concept of “Whiteness” does not apply to them regardless of their skin colour. This brings us to the term “White Homogeneity,” which Hickman et al considers an assumption as well as myth (Hickman et al, 2005, p.161). Being second generation Irish and having been born in England, their local accents, white skin and cultural similarities (Hickman et al, 2005, p.161) one would make the assumption that they would blend in easily within the English population and therefore have the advantage of being the white majority. The installation of the notion of white homogeneity was a key element of official discourses in the reconfiguration of the ethno-racial regime in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s (Hickman, 1998). It was a view that assumed that all people who were white smoothly assimilated into the ‘British way of life’ and that the ‘problems’ resided with those who migrated and possessed a different skin color (Hickman et al, 2005, p.161).  

      In the 1980‘s, psychologist Philip Ullah conducted two surveys on second-generation Irish teenagers which focused on the importance of Irish Identifications. Within the two groups, 75% of the teenagers in England, Birmingham in particular, identified themselves as ‘half-English, half-Irish’ or as ‘mainly Irish’ (Ullah, 1985, 310). He maintained that because the teenagers are (predominately) white the teens could use what he calls a strategy by removing themselves from their group as a means to avoid unpleasantness and distancing themselves from things likely to emphasize their Irishness (Ullah, 1985, 310). Participants in the discussion groups articulated that the social contexts in which they became aware of their “difference” was marked by accent, artifacts, habits, atmosphere, opinions, food, hospitality and sociability as well as through their own observations, emotional responses and as a result of the comments of others (Hickman et al, 2005, p.169). In order to avoid meeting resistance, estrangement and conflict, this particular group of second generation Irish felt as though they needed to mask their Irish identities. One gentleman from the discussion group who has been made anonymous in the article, described how he feels second generation are battling with their Irish identities: 

It is a difficult thing, if you have a lot of second-generation Irish, where it is not even something they think about, if you like, a lot. . . . where I feel it is at, you have an Irish background, all the institutions and there is no positive reinforcement of that in this culture. I imagine it is the same for black people when they are growing up in England, they wish they were white, stuff like that. In a sense it is not an easy thing, how are you going to locate the identity of second generation? That’s quite a project. They may be haven’t got any strong link with identity, a number of them, they have not really been encouraged by this society. I don’t think Britain wants any other ethnic [minority] groups, there is a strong resistance to all of it. If you speak to English people, I get a very ‘what do you mean, you are Irish?’ Like as if I am stupid or have got a problem. So you don’t want to make an issue of it, I find I don’t want to make an issue out of it. I think what is the point of getting into arguments and hassle, things like that, so I don’t think it is an easy thing to do (Anon).

      By feeling there is no positive reinforcement or encouragement for Irish identity in the English culture, there cannot be a sense of belonging as an Irish person living amongst English.

Through the research conducted in the academic article I have chosen to analyze, the second generation Irish and their narratives for belonging and not belonging have become evident in terms of the difficulty they face through existing as minorities in England. It has been an eye opener for me being of Irish descent and not knowing the racialization of my origin existed. Having visited and spent some time in Ireland and England, I did not come across any indication that the ramifications of the Irish decent in England are those of radicalization, social inequality, discrimination and social disadvantage. As we see through the treatment of the Irish, radicalization and discrimination and the feeling of not belonging is not always down to the colour of ones skin, which is another point that has been brought to my attention both in this analytical review and in our class discussions. 

References

Brubaker, R. (2001) ‘Cognitive Perspectives’, Symposium on Ethnicity, Ethnicities

1(1): 15–17. 

Hickman, M. J., Morgan, S., Walter, B., & Bradley, J. (2005). The limitations of whiteness and the boundaries of Englishness. Ethnicities, 5(2), 160-182.

McIntosh, P. (1990). White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack. Independent School, 49(2), 31. 

Ullah, P. (1985) ‘Second Generation Irish Youth: Identity and Ethnicity’, New

Community 12(2): 310–20.

Ullah, P. (1990) ‘Rhetoric and Ideology in Social Identification: The Case of Second

Generation Irish Youth’, Discourse and Society 1(2): 167–85.