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| Srl | Item |
| 1 |
ID:
181045
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| Summary/Abstract |
The United Kingdom’s (UK) decision to leave the European Union (EU) has been felt most acutely in Ireland. One group specifically impacted by this decision is Ulster Loyalism. With a historic ‘warrior regime’ role in defending its community, both from irredentist Irish Nationalism and British government subterfuge, how Loyalism responds to Brexit is uncertain. Historically, Loyalism has promoted political violence to stymie UK strategic objectives in Ireland. Therefore, any attempt to diminish the Union between Great Britain and Northern Ireland raises the prospect of a rejuvenated loyalist terror campaign being directed at those it deems a threat to the loyalist community and their territorial sovereignty in Northern Ireland. In its current ‘post-ceasefire’ guise, there appears to be no immediate threat of a loyalist return to violence. Yet, with Sea Border and a nascent ‘Shared Island’ approach enacted by the Irish Government, promoting a regulatory alignment with the EU, Northern Ireland is once again at a crossroads. How Ulster Loyalism responds to such developments then posits a key question for both UK and EU intelligence agencies, on how they respond to any upsurge in loyalist paramilitary violence in a post-Brexit era.
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| 2 |
ID:
080577
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| Publication |
2007.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Memories of military sacrifices and demonstrations of 'national' characteristics of bravery, comradeship and integrity still have considerable popular purchase within contemporary states and communities, and as such can accrue significant political capital. With this in mind, this paper will show how Ulster Loyalists attempt to anchor themselves in the memory of the Somme, seeking to deliberately construct a line of direct continuity between modern Loyalism, which has been suffering from a variety of pressures, fissures and marginalization throughout the Northern Ireland peace process, and Ulster Unionism of the early 20th century, a period which in contrast was marked by unity, mass mobilization and elite leadership. Crucially, that political generation's decimation during the First World War is a potent myth of blood sacrifice which thickens, rather than pollutes, the narrative of a Unionist 'Golden Age' of mobilization and strength. As such, the mythic proving grounds of battlefields long gone have become advantageous sites for modern political acquisition. This use of the memory of the Great War as an identity resource will be compared and contrasted with similar projects in Canada and Australia.
Rather than simply miring Loyalists in archaic and militaristic tropes, and invented links to the past, this paper will argue that commemorations, particularly that of the Somme, can have a transformative and cohering effect on modern Loyalism, in both the political and paramilitary spheres.
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