Theme One (Brown)
Any society can be shaken to its roots when it is confronted with serious challenge to its way of life and to its place within the larger scheme of natural justice and world order. It is ironic that Ulster and the Scottish Hebrides were shaken in this way not long after the time of the Scottish Enlightenment which became the first true movement to champion Human Rights. Francis Hutcheson from County Down, an unsung father of that movement, and the first professor of Moral Philosophy at Glasgow University, declared that the general welfare of mankind could best be served by the search for “the greatest happiness for the greatest number”.
Theme Two (Various)
One of the five main northern Celtic tribes, Native Irish, Scots Gael, Anglo-Irish, Scots-Irish and Anglo-Scots, was described in the popular press in Britain of the early nineteenth century as ‘ignorant, lazy, dirty, superstitious, content to be poor, uncivilised, violent, irrational, ungrateful, impractical, childlike, easily aroused and self serving’. Another of these main tribes was described as being ‘practical, individualistic, business-like, efficient, responsible, mature, frugal, adaptable, self-controlled, reasonable and law-abiding’.
Theme Three (Murray)
The individual or aggregate parameters in character development, which can now be accurately measured, include – Independence, Reflectivity, Resilience, Combativeness, Affiliation, Conservatism, Industry, Deference, Dominance, Need for Recognition, Nurturance, Sensitivity, Harm Avoidance, Sensuality, Need for Order, Empathy, Arousal, Trust, Transparency, Reliability, Confidence and Persistence. It may be that a fresh attempt at classification using these traits might bring a better understanding of the collective identity of each Celtic nation than scurrilous stereotypes of two hundred years ago.
Theme Four (Marcia)
In the context of an ethnic identity that is owned and accepted, rather than one that is attributed to a group by others, central to that sense of identity are that it is consistent with non-judgmental self-statements such as “how apparent is it from my (our) traits that I am of a Hebridean (Ulidian) origin”; “how important is it for me (us) to know I am of Hebridean (Ulidian) origin, even if at times at some emotional cost?”; and “ how much do I (we) need to hold true to my (our) ideal of being Hebridean (Ulidian)?”. This rootedness in being Hebridean or Ulidian can be identified and measured from shared value systems and folkways that underpin those identities.
Theme Five (Geertz, Hechter)
Some authorities believe a primordial or a situationalist disposition is instrumental in determining to what extent members of a race or ethnic group rely on these value systems and folkways to form and maintain their sense of identity. Primordialists are thought to have a strong emotional tie to the soil of a specific place and a strong sense of handing on an identity through tradition, custom and language. Situationalists are less fixed in their beliefs as to what makes for a strong sense of ethnic identity and can allow a new culture to modify it while still preserving its essence. Nothing is ever static and acculturation or lack of it will lead to some positive or negative outcome for the individual or his immediate community.
Theme Six (Breakwell)
Three main categories of outcome, which are not mutually exclusive, can be envisaged. Enforcement of a new culture or of an alien set of social circumstances can result in acceptance of this new order as the norm; or in geographical or psychological retreat and isolation while still remaining in a place of origin; or in displacement and geographical escape to somewhere far removed where a new beginning can be made. Conflict can arise when introduction or enforcement of a new order is resisted. This can result in insurrection when sufficient even if unequal manpower can be raised to perpetrate resistance or violence against the greater force; or in sabotage when covert means are employed rather than outright violence; or in conciliation when both sides agree that some compromise has to be reached. Moratorium is a quieter and more considered response in which options to change are still open to the individual or community. This can result in assimilation where change occurs in a gradual manner with passage of time and exposure to new modes and values; or in acculturation when change is embraced in response to a situation; or in regression when not only is need for change not accepted but entrenchment in older ways becomes even more pronounced.
Theme Seven (Various)
Much systematic infringement on human rights was approved by the British government of the day which was willing to listen to what is since seen as misguided advice from gurus such as Pareto, Malthus and Trevelyan. These systematic abuses of human rights were not necessarily sectarian and all people not belonging to the Established Church and of whatever religious persuasion were just as likely to suffer discrimination. Likewise, affiliation to the British Empire was not split along sectarian lines and Irish and Scottish recruits of various religious hues served with distinction in the Napoleonic and Crimean wars. Despite the obvious allegiance of many Irishmen and Scotsmen to the British Empire, many of their countrymen were compelled to leave for the far reaches of that same empire.
Theme Eight (Zajonc)
An émigré is different to an emigrant because he is someone who has been forced to leave his country for political reasons, and 1798-1848 was such a highly politicised period. Those émigrés could have been Enforced, Oppressed or Displaced and the only difference between them might have been the amount of overt hardship they suffered. An Enforced Identity is one who had his free choice taken away, an Oppressed Identity is one who was subjected to disproportionate punishment for alleged misdemeanour and a Displaced Identity was one who was ‘merely’ obliged to spend his life elsewhere than the land of his birth. In recent years, although not always so, Australians have come to understand this reality best. They now take at least as much pride in a convict ancestor as one who came to that foreign shore by assisted or indentured passage.
