A restless country?

“Ireland went from being deeply Catholic to being the cultural expression of a prevailing capitalist concept of production and wealth”. Indeed, the Country “is ever more similar to the Europe it belongs to”, although it strives to “be integrated in the developing Union”. Eamon Maher, director of the Centre National d’Études Franco-Irlandaises at the Tallaght Technology University (Dublin) gave an overview of Ireland in May’s issue of Études, the contemporary cultural review of the French Jesuits. Maher retraced the two decades that marked the change of “ultra-Catholic Ireland”, underlining the lights and the shadows. From Paris to New York. The scholar claims that one of the major factors of transformation of the Green Island is “globalization, or rather, the Americanization of culture”. “In the course of its history – he explained – Ireland directed its glance towards France in search of an allied Country against British hegemony”. Whilst lately, “New York replaced Paris as the pole of attraction, and America, the Land of capitalism where everything is possible, is viewed by Irishmen as the new Mecca, in the yearning of ridding themselves of past poverty once and for all and welcome the endless resources” of the new global market “with open arms”.“The Celtic Tiger” and the decline of religious practice. In a Country where Catholicism was a “question of shared identity rather than of personal faith”, Maher remarks, “a deep wound was inflicted when the scandalous news of sexual abuse on the youth in institutions run by religious orders gradually broke out”, in the 1990s. In addition to this, “the Church found it hard to adapt to the economic boom and to the social changes” occurred in that period. According to the scholar, the decline of Catholicism coincided almost entirely with the so-called “Celtic Tiger” period (1987-2007), which “wasn’t its cause” although it certainly “sped up the process”. Compared to other Western Countries, Maher said recalling the famous sermon delivered in 2007 by the then bishop (now Cardinal) Sean Brady on the dangers of the “Island of Stocks and Shares”, “Irish citizens have remained practising Catholics”. However, the “clergy is ageing, the youth are increasingly less attracted by priesthood” and “in some areas of Dublin there is a young generation that ignores Church and Christian faith basic tenets”.Ireland and Europe. In addressing the question of Ireland-EU relations, Maher notes that “the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty in June 2008 caused a wave of shock that extended beyond the shores of the Green Island”, which “benefited more than other Countries from its participation to the European project”. Mahler reckons that the reasons for the “no-vote” are more “subtle” than generic Euro-scepticism. “Political parties – he said – conducted a disastrous campaign in favour of the ‘yes-vote'”, while the ‘no-vote’ coalition “focused on the constituency’s fears of losing their European Commissioner, of a fiscal reform that would benefit enterprises, and of EU intervention in the areas of neutrality, abortion and taxes”. To this must be added the Country’s concerns over “the end of the economic revival” along with the “government’s inability to propose adequate solutions to a gloomy economic future”. In favour of the Lisbon Treaty. Since past June however, “the situation underwent a radical change” Mahler remarked, quoting a recent survey that shows that 51% of the overall population are in favour of the Lisbon Treaty, while only 33% are against it. According to the Irish Times, this change is to be ascribed “to greater public-awareness of the importance of the Treaty for the future of Europe”. An important role was played by the recent economic downturn of Iceland. “Thus, it is not a question of national or religious identity – Mahler pointed out -, which might justify this change of opinion. Rather, it is an attitude based on economic developments”. According to the survey, “80% of the Irish believe that during the economic crisis it is more advantageous to be a EU Member State”. Ireland’s rapid development, which other Countries took more time to achieve, “triggers tensions that undermine identity pillars such as Catholicism. The core of the debate over Europe is ascertaining whether the Country will attain European modernity with all the ensuing transformations”. Citizens “are expressing their restlessness. Will they still be able to master their future and their very values?”, he concluded.