Irish immigrants and their descendants played a leading part in the Easter Rising of 1916 and Ireland’s subsequent rebellion. But the inspiration worked in the other direction as well.
For 100 years, the Easter Rising has occupied center stage in the memory making of republican Ireland. But the role of Irish soldiers in World War I had been all but forgotten – until now.
Often it has been Ireland’s writers and artists that have called out the hopes and failures of national politics, holding the polity to account in the culture.
Irish participation in World War I has been surrounded by a form of “collective amnesia” – largely because of the part the war played in the Easter Rising.
The impact of Ireland’s affirmative vote on marriage equality is getting attention from all around the world. Will the result create a “social revolution” as some are suggesting?