Unintended consequences of peacebuilding: Irish language revivalism in Northern Ireland

Abstract

Northern Ireland has struggled to come to terms with the violence that engulfed its society throughout latter half of the 20th century. The foundational issues surrounding the conflict have not only gone largely unresolved, but they have seemingly become entangled with other phenomena that had previously not been directly related to the conflict. Principal among these is language, particularly Irish, which since the 1990s has gradually come to the fore in Northern Irish politics. Despite there being a shared history of the language’s presence in both unionist and nationalist communities, it has become widely regarded among the unionists as being an innate expression of Irish national identity. As a result of this association, attempts to provide recognition to the language have caused relations between both communities to become tumultuous, marked by extremely fierce debates that often verge on sectarianism. This study sought to establish how and why Irish became associated with Irish national identity, and the effects this has had on the wider peace process. It established that the post-conflict agreements and legislation that sought to address issues relating to language have inadvertently caused more polarisation within Northern Irish society, particularly through their treatment of the language debate in the same manner as the root causes of the conflict, namely ethno-nationalist identity. By effectively prescribing Irish to the nationalist community, the agreements and legislation have ultimately legitimised the othering of the language by the unionist community which has in turn greatly disrupted the power-sharing arrangement.