Irish diaspora

The Irish diaspora is a worldwide population group originating from Ireland that has populated almost every country in the world. The diaspora has its roots in the 19th century when large numbers fled Ireland during the Potato Famine, with another flight occurring after the collapse of the Irish Republic after World War III. There is no country in which the diaspora forms a majority though in many countries they are a significant minority which has allowed the diaspora to gain a level of worldwide notoriety. Because of this notoriety, many groups seek to represent the Irish on a worldwide stage, with the best known of these being the peaceful advocacy group Ceartas in Eirinn (CE, which stands for "Justice in Ireland") and the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Eirinn Go Brach (EGB, which stands for "Ireland Forever"), the latter two having been branded as terrorist organizations by many different governments.

Overview

Most of the diaspora simply sought better working and living conditions after the start of the still unresolved Irish Civil War and, while many have established success in their adopted countries, the majority of diaspora populations in their adopted countries tend to be among the poorest in their nation. This is due to the fact that many in the diaspora were willing to do jobs that "no one wanted", thus becoming a group of "cheap labour" that businesses have exploited.

This exploitation has meant that the Irish diaspora, by necessity, have become a fervently political group, often becoming an influential minority in many countries. This influence has led to the Irish often being at the centre of political and social tensions, leading to plenty of conflicts. Some nations have chosen to be accommodating to Irish demands, while other nations have fought the Irish- in some cases physically- at each turn.

The conflicts have led to the creation of numerous advocacy groups in favour of the Irish, some of them peaceful while others are violent, each having mixed results.

Stereotyping

Throughout the history of the Irish diaspora, the Irish have been the subject of deeply-ingrained cultural stereotypes.

History

Paddy Carnegie

The figure of "Paddy Carnegie" is seen as the archetype of the Irish stereotype. Carnegie likely first appeared as the antagonist of "The Perils of Vice", a play by William Shakespeare that was first written in 1602, although this is debated. Shakespeare himself did not retain any copies of the play and only referred to it by name twice- once in a letter to a friend and the second time in the contract where he states he is selling the rights to the play to Peter Goldmire, a contemporary playwright. In none of Shakespeare's writings does the name "Paddy Carnegie" appear, and the extent of the edits that Goldmire made to the play is unknown. Goldmire himself often gave conflicting answers on the subject, and the answer he did give often depended on the audience he was delivering it to, with Goldmire only admitting that Carnegie was an original creation if he felt his listeners would appreciate that fact.

Nevertheless, there is some agreement among scholars that Carnegie had to have appeared in some form in Shakespeare's original work, since Carnegie is too integral to the plot of "Vice" that it would not be logical for the character to have been added later. It is also known that Goldmire produced several plays from the time he secured the rights to the play and when he actually put it on for the first time in 1607, not leaving him a lot of time to edit the play. Still, the fact that Goldmire did not put "Vice" on immediately after securing its rights suggests that Goldmire did have to make some edits, but what these edits are is unknown.

Central to the debate surrounding the edits is whether or not Carnegie was originally Irish. Carnegie wasn't initially identified as Irish within the play but numerous references would be made in the play as to his Irish heritage, such as his love for jewelry containing the Celtic cross and many references to his attendance at Petrine Catholicism Churches, the dominant religion within Ireland. It is also known that Goldmire was drawn to the play because he had lost his wife to an Irishman and it is believed that he commissioned the play to "send a message" to his erstwhile lover. Textual analysis tends to reveal that many of the "Irish references" were not inserted by Goldmire and appeared to have been written by Shakespeare, although this isn't completely agreed upon.

The play first ran in Cornwall in 1607 at the Elgin Theatre. In Goldmire's original version of the play, Carnegie was a drunken, oafish lout with an uncontrollable sexual drive, one that was exacerbated by his drinking. As well as being known for a high number of rapes, Carnegie had a violent streak where he would lash out at others seemingly at random. Carnegie was unable to hold on to a job and, as a result, resorted to stealing in order to find the money to continue with his alcoholic addiction. He was eventually ostracized by his community (one the play never names), who became increasingly afraid of his violent behaviour, and he responded by becoming a serial killer within the community. He had become so prolific that a detachment of the English Army was sent to deal with him, leading to an intense confrontation where he was eventually killed. The English Sergeant who made the kill, Willis Barnsley, lamented the loss of Carnegie, stating the play's original message warning against the dangers of alcohol and over-consumption which the play established sent Carnegie down his violent spiral.

The play was a hit, eventually being performed across the English Empire (and the later British Empire) by the 19th century, with the play crossing over into the Roman world following the Romans' annexation of Canada in 1843.

It was in the Roman world where the play began assuming anti-Irish connotations. In the English world, the play was seen as merely a "black comedy romp" that contained an important message, with references to Carnegie's Irish heritage downplayed or even removed in edits. In Rome, the Irish were beginning to form a significant population within the city, with most coming simply to escape the Great Potato Famine and British attempts at oppression. Though Roman politicians and businessmen welcomed the Irish with open arms, the public at large was distrustful of them, since their similarities in their diction to the English made many believe the Irish were "British spies".

Thus, once it expanded to the Roman world, Carnegie was more frequently labelled as Irish, a label that became entrenched after the Irish independence movement took root in the British Empire toward the end of the 19th century. Combined with the growing Temperance movement in North America (where another significant Irish population had taken root) and Paddy Carnegie's evolution into a derogatory Irish stereotype was sealed.

The growth of the play caused other playwrights to incorporate elements of Carnegie into their own characters, leading to the creation of many different forms of Irish stock characters. This has led to entertainment writers and critics to dub this collection of stock characters as "Carnegies" owing to their source material.

Carnegie Gangs

For their part, the Irish populations in the 19th century and the early 20th century took the evolution in stride, with many Irish identifying with and even liking Carnegie, with Irish playwrights editing the play to turn Carnegie into a hero. It's been said that this new "heroic" Carnegie emboldened the initial Irish diaspora, who used Carnegie as justification for turning to alcohol to deal with their hardships (of which the population dealt with many), since they came to believe that alcohol allowed Carnegie to "strike back at his tormentors".

With the Irish coming to identify with Carnegie, it only served to entrench Carnegie and his mannerisms as the Irish stereotype, since many Irish took on his traits. Most Irishmen and Irishwomen merely embraced his alcoholism and his defiance, but some Irish picked up his criminal tendencies.

This led to the proliferation of Irish gangs, engaging in all different kinds of criminal activities across the world. They had no formal grouping but informally they were called "Carnegie Gangs" because of their influence.

The gangs gained influence in the early half of the 20th century, reaching their zenith in the Great Depression. Since the Carnegie Gangs were a key source of funds due to their illegal enterprises, the Gangs were a key source of wealth for the Irish diaspora and often being a key source for necessities. Thus, the battle to control the Gangs was as much a difficult legal one as it was political, as the Gangs were notorious for their abilities to lobby politicians, plus there were many politicians- especially those in areas with large Irish populations- who were genuinely sympathetic towards their cause. In the worsening years of the Depression, where many in the population at large came to depend on criminal elements for their necessities, legal authorities were often told to "look the other way" at criminal activities of the gangs.

The most successful of these gangs were the ones of Milford Creary, who built a sprawling criminal empire across the Americas, being the only one successful at establishing bases in Roman territory. Creary was so skillful at avoiding arrest that Roman authorities in Buffalo eventually gave up trying to arrest him, and since his actions came to be seen as charitable in tough times, Roman authorities were compelled to help him out. Though Creary never lived lavishly, it is understood that at the height of his powers- in 1936- Creary's empire effectively controlled 15% of the world's economy, placing it third behind Britain (20%) and Rome (21%).

"Earn"

It is during this time that another epithet- "earn" arose among the Irish. Because the Irish were often poor and any Irish that had become rich tended to do so via illegal means, a member of the Irish diaspora that had gained wealth through legitimate means was a rarity. The Irish diaspora themselves often ostracized them by claiming those with legitimate wealth were not "true" Irishmen, and so the Irish quickly developed the name "earn" to describe these people.

It is not known how "earn" originated and who was the first one to use the term, but it does appear in historical records as far back as 1871. Then it was used in a pamphlet distributed by disgruntled dock workers in Hoboken, New Jersey who so labelled the owner of the dock- Albert Benjamin- because he "earned" his profits by shortchanging his workers. The pamphlet soon led to a strike that led to Benjamin's death, which caused the wider world to catch on to the term. "Earn" soon developed into a term of honour among the non-Irish to denote those Irish that were seen as "favourable" to the outside world, which created further tension among the poor Irish of the day.

A sports team, the Ergler Earns, based in California, used the term for positive attention. The Earns- who started as a baseball team- were founded by an Irishman, Scott Jonny, who populated his team with Irish players who were having difficulty playing baseball in other leagues. The success of the Earns as a barnstorming team opened the door for the Irish to eventually gain entry into other baseball leagues, with the Earns themselves gaining entry into the top baseball league, the National League, in 1902.

Although the Earns' intentions were positive, the team was seen as eventually exacerbating the divide between the poorer segments of the diaspora and richer segments. Public relations campaigns of the early 1900s into the 1920s focused on turning the Irish into "earns", espousing the many benefits of legitimate wealth. This caused many at the time to believe the base Irish existence was that of poverty and that the Irish themselves were incapable of gaining wealth through means other than criminal. Thus the name "earn" quickly became derogatory among the Irish, who soon felt the term was meant to belittle and dehumanize them. Eventually, calls among Irish advocates came to the Earns to change their name as a result, but the Earns have steadfastly refused to do so.

End of the Gangs and the abandonment of Carnegie

Creary's closeness to Roman authorities came to be his undoing. After World War II, the island of Ireland passed into the hands of the Americans from the British (except for Ulster), with the economies of Rome and America bolstered by their victory in the war. Their economies no longer in shambles, the Romans and the Americans began to clamp down on the Irish gangs, with Creary's empire being the first to fall in 1955. Since Creary made no attempt to hide his criminal activities his prosecution was a relatively straightforward one, although with the amount of people to try the dismantling of Creary's empire took several years to finish.

It was around this time that the Irish diaspora started to disown the figure of Carnegie and began to resent the stereotypes he created. No longer seeing the benefits of criminal activity, the Irish demanded that their adopted states assist the diaspora in escaping their poverty, since without the gangs the diaspora were left without the tools needed to gain resources. States began seeing the benefits of better integration of the Irish within their societies, and many worked towards this end as the 20th century drew to a close.

Nevertheless, integration was haphazard. In Rome, long reigning Caesar Keylusus II often resisted attempts to integrate the Irish because of his dealings with Creary, and the Irish's similarities to Roman rivals in Britain meant many in the Roman public were still distrustful of the Irish. Still, some progress was made, which sped up after Keylusus retired in 1993.

In America, integration was smoother, as the Irish were seen as a people who shared ideals close to the American mainstream. The Irish ascent into the American mainstream reached its zenith with the rise of John F. Kennedy to the President of the United States in 1960, with the Irish-descended Kennedy family gaining considerable influence in American politics soon afterwards. Though John was assassinated in 1963, the Kennedys' influence ushered in the Golden Age of American Liberalism, culminating in the Civil Rights Act of 1965.

Elsewhere in the world, especially in Britain, integration proved more difficult. The Irish Republican Army arose at this time, using force to convince the British for better terms for Irish Brits as well as to force the transfer of Ulster to America (the IRA intended independence, but they never made this demand because the Americans publicly backed Irish independence, even though no attempt was made to achieve that end). Outside of Britain, Eirinn Go Brach became active under the leadership of Sinn Fein (who gave himself this moniker), committing several terrorist acts in the name of the Irish communities. Often- though not always- the EGB would respond to a policy decision, such as the 1988 bombing of the Hippodrome after the Byzantines threatened to fire the striking workers of the Hippodrome (many of whom were Irish) and the 1986 Moscow Mall Massacre after reports of ethnic cleansing by Soviet troops of the Irish diaspora in Moscow.

The New Irish

During World War III, Ireland was a supply depot that helped transit weaponry from North America to the frontlines in Europe. Though Ireland itself never came directly under attack, the Warsaw Pact did at times attempt to attack the island and did engage in sporadic bombing raids, though the British Royal Air Force (RAF) kept the Pact at bay.

As the war progressed, Irish demands for independence grew louder as public sentiment on the war soon soured. By 1991, both America and the Soviet Union had collapsed under the weight of numerous riots and dwindling budgets, leading to cases of effective anarchy. One of the areas in which the anarchy set in was in Ireland, as millions of factions emerged with the intention of creating an independent Irish state.

While many other places of the world soon returned to order in 1993, the island of Ireland never did so. The state of constant warfare from 1991 meant that the island's infrastructure was in shambles, and what meagre resources the island could provide could not be exploited in any meaningful way. Ireland often depended on outside investment for sustenance, and once that disappeared with the collapse of America and the British Empire, that investment dried up. What was once known as "the Emerald Beauty" soon turned into a turgid wasteland of cold and misery as businesses moved out en masse.

Since then, the Irish diaspora has grown exponentially, as more people flee the island for a chance at a better life. In many ways, this new wave of the diaspora shared many similarities with the diaspora of the 19th century, as this group has been exploited by worldwide businesses for "cheap labour" and, just like their earlier counterparts, this new wave have found it difficult adjusting to their new lives.

One significant- and obvious- difference is that this new wave have to deal with the old wave of the Irish diaspora, one that is better integrated worldwide. This has led to significant clashes within the Irish diaspora community, as this new wave- often called "the New Irish"- are considered more political and idealistic than the previous waves of the diaspora.

This is because the New Irish are mostly first and second generation immigrants, people who still have memories and roots in the old island whereas the older generations of the diaspora only have their stories from their older relatives. Thus, the New Irish are not generally as "attached" to their new country as the other members of the diaspora, which has created new social and political tensions in their adopted country.

Advocacy groups

Because the Irish diaspora do not make up a majority in any country they live in, numerous advocacy groups have emerged to "represent" the diaspora in disputes. The three main groups are Ceartas in Eirinn ("Justice in Ireland"), the Irish Republican Army and Eirinn Go Brach ("Ireland Forever", abbreviated EGB).

Irish Republican Army

The Irish Republican Army, or the IRA, are the oldest Irish advocacy group. The IRA are known for their violent tactics, being responsible for numerous acts of terror across the British Isles since their founding, with the IRA clashing frequently with British troops. They were founded in 1953 after the Treaty of Whitehorse saw the British Empire retain parts of Ireland instead of ceding the entire island to America following World War II. The IRA, from this point, sought unity amongst the island and fought the British to join Ulster with the rest of the island. Officially, the IRA sought the union of Ulster with the American State of Ireland, but privately the IRA sought independence for the entire island. Records in the Cold War era suggest the IRA never publicly sought independence because they believed the Americans backed that reality as well, although the Americans never made any overtures in that regard except in verbal platitudes. Rumours did persist that the IRA was funded by the Americans in secret (as the Americans sought to resume their alliance with Britain following World War II due to the growing influence of the Soviet Union) but no record has been produced to this effect.

Since the collapse of the USA, the IRA have mainly fought in the island of Ireland as well as across the rest of the British Isles. They are primarily antagonists of the English (who succeeded the British Empire in 1993) and have continued their acts of terror against the English Empire. In Ireland, the IRA are based in Dublin and control the city's port, downtown and Capitol districts, from which they claim to be the "real" Irish army. They are officially listed as a terrorist group by both Rome and the Virtue Federation, although some countries support their cause.

Ceartas in Eirinn

Ceartas in Eirinn ("Justice in ireland"), or simply Ceartas, was founded in 1967 by John Carter Wallace in New York. Wallace founded Ceartas to counterbalance the violence caused by the IRA, and has steadfastly vowed to keep Ceartas as a peaceful organization. This has not stopped members from engaging in acts of violence or committing crimes of disobedience, such as staging unauthorized protests or impromptu traffic blockages. Still, the group has shied away from overt acts of terrorism that other advocacy groups have become known for, and thus they still have the respect of governments worldwide.

Eirinn Go Brach

Eirinn Go Brach ("Ireland Forever") are a predominantly violent advocacy group emerged in 1970 after claiming responsibility for the Guadalajara truck bomb. The group's origins predate that incident, but no verifiable record has been obtained that can definitively point to the group's founding. Their leader, known only as "Sinn Fein", has rarely been seen in public and thus very little information is known about him, including his real name.

EGB tend to operate on a worldwide scale and have far broader interests for the Irish people than the IRA do. Sinn Fein has often talked about a "Celtic Empire" that would include most of Europe and the Americas, as well as parts of Africa and Asia, claiming that he wants to "re-unite all the lands that the Celts once owned." The EGB has also stated it has a goal of re-establishing the independence of Dacia, claiming the Romans "stole it from the Celts." They are known advocates for the ancient Irish religion of the Druids, and they are active proponents of the Gaelic language, as its members disavow English (though members will address crowds in English if they need to).

Since the collapse of Ireland into anarchy, the EGB have established themselves as the "diaspora's fighters", promoting an agenda of "anti-Carnegieism" and are known to commit acts of terror against anyone they feel has "sullied the Irish name". They are a particular threat on St. Patrick's Day, where they are known to strike violently against revellers as the EGB believes the tradition of drinking on St. Patrick's Day "perpetuates the Carnegie stereotype". The EGB have committed many other acts of terror, and are officially listed as a terrorist organization by every country in the world, except in Ireland where they claim the entire city of Wexford as well as the Republic of St. Daniel.

See also

• Ireland