Are unionist and irish cultures mutually exclusive?

[Mise_Eire]

It just seems that everytime you ask to pin down what unionist culture or identity is, after it being paraded as some form raison detre for the continuance of partition, the answers always seem to travel in the same direction, not answering the question, but deflecting it. Why is that I wonder?

Seriously though edifice - what is this "Irish culture" entity ? What does it mean to you? I can think of several cultures that are Irish, all different.

[edifice.]

[quote=Mise_Eire]

It just seems that everytime you ask to pin down what unionist culture or identity is, after it being paraded as some form raison detre for the continuance of partition, the answers always seem to travel in the same direction, not answering the question, but deflecting it. Why is that I wonder?

Seriously though edifice - what is this "Irish culture" entity ? What does it mean to you? I can think of several cultures that are Irish, all different.[/quote:27row5y7]

But what is unionist culture? Are we to define it in terms of what it is not which would make it purely reactionary? What is unionist culture in and of itself?

[Mise_Eire]

[quote=edifice.][quote="Mise_Eire":2eqte7ll]

It just seems that everytime you ask to pin down what unionist culture or identity is, after it being paraded as some form raison detre for the continuance of partition, the answers always seem to travel in the same direction, not answering the question, but deflecting it. Why is that I wonder?

Seriously though edifice - what is this "Irish culture" entity ? What does it mean to you? I can think of several cultures that are Irish, all different.[/quote:2eqte7ll]

But what is unionist culture? Are we to define it in terms of what it is not which would make it purely reactionary? What is unionist culture in and of itself?[/quote:2eqte7ll]

It's not a proper term as far as I'm concerned. Unionism is a political creed. If we look at the ethnic group comprising what is known as the unionist community, there is no single homogenous culture andy more than there is a single homogenous culture in the Republic of Ireland.
In general though one can say that the unionist community in Ireland has Anglo-American leanings , as do the vast majority of the inhabitants of the whole Island. It's just that some people like to pretend that they have
a Gaelic or Celtic culture - whatever that means.

[White Horse]

Do you mean Irish as in the dominant culture of the Republic of Ireland WH ?

I meant Irish as opposed to Gaelic.

Irish is the culture on the island. It is largely similar for southern nationalists, nothern nationalists, and unionists.

Some, the minority, have created a Gaelic culture that involves speaking Irish and deliberately excluding any non Gaelic cultural activities. This should not be confused with the shared culture of all the identities on this island.

[White Horse]

In general though one can say that the unionist community in Ireland has Anglo-American leanings , as do the vast majority of the inhabitants of the whole Island.

Exactly, identity and culture are different entities.

You can have the same national identity as your neighbour but your cultural activites can be different.

[Mise_Eire]

[quote=White Horse]

Do you mean Irish as in the dominant culture of the Republic of Ireland WH ?

Irish is the culture on the island. [/quote:144b78eq]

I think it's a mistake to talk of "Irish Culture" as a single entity.

[White Horse]

[quote=Mise_Eire][quote="White Horse":1fvuikif]

Do you mean Irish as in the dominant culture of the Republic of Ireland WH ?

Irish is the culture on the island. [/quote:1fvuikif]

I think it's a mistake to talk of "Irish Culture" as a single entity.[/quote:1fvuikif]

I'm not saying that there is much particularly "Irish" about this culture. I cannot see major differences between the cultures in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England.

There are different national identites. However, are these part of culture.

I always regarded culture as the way people live their lives.

[Mise_Eire]

The problem with Cultural nationalism was that in order to justify "an" irish identity they had to promote a single ( an ) Irish Culture and Identity. That was hostile to pluralism - even the different Gaelic tongues had to be homogenised into a single standardised "Gaelic". In the days of increased travel and communication, talk about swimming against the tide - no wonder it was doomed to fail.

[Cael]

Whatever about other parts of the country, Dublin certainly doesnt have to do much to make Unionists feel at home. Nearly all the streets have British Imperial names, the Pheonix park is a museum of the British Empire, only the Zoo dosnt seem to have specific Imperial markings. Most of the new estates in the outskirts are given names like Kempton, Eaton, Buckingham Palace etc. Perhaps holding Orange marches is a bit taboo - but pretty much all else goes.

[Cael]

The problem with Cultural nationalism was that in order to justify "an" irish identity they had to promote a single ( an ) Irish Culture and Identity. That was hostile to pluralism - even the different Gaelic tongues had to be homogenised into a single standardised "Gaelic". In the days of increased travel and communication, talk about swimming against the tide - no wonder it was doomed to fail.

Every modern language in the world has a standard written form. Gaelic always had a standard form well into the 17C (which also included the writing of Scottish Gaelic) when foreign attack made it difficult to maintain a common standard.