ABSTRACT

Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP MP for Lagan Valley, told Westminster on June 26th, 2014: “The future of Ireland was shaped not on the streets of Dublin in 1916, but on the muddy, blood-soaked battlefields of the Western front.” Two years later, Brexit negotiations started. These two seemingly unrelated events have strong implications for the definition of Britishness in the 21st century since the “Brexit question” provided the backdrop for the centenary of World War One. In Northern Ireland, the memory of the conflict has been deeply sensitive, and the question of the nationalist “amnesia” regarding the Irish soldiers involved alongside the British forces has been only recently addressed. May 1st, 2013 marked the start of the Decade of Commemorations in Ireland. This opportune time was supposed to be marked by inclusiveness and openness. This article aims to explore how discourse on Britishness as an overarching identity can accommodate co-existing nationalist narratives while preserving a common historical heritage. Comparing political commemorative speeches in Northern Ireland and in the rest of the United Kingdom, with a special emphasis on Scotland (where the Great War commemorations coincided with the referendum on independence), should provide an insight into the modern definition of Britishness.

摘要

拉根谷DUP议员杰弗里·唐纳森（Jeffrey Donaldson）在2014年6月26日对威斯敏斯特说：“爱尔兰的未来不是在1916年在都柏林街头塑造的，而是在西部战线浑浊，鲜血浸染的战场上塑造的。” 两年后，英国脱欧谈判开始了。由于“脱欧问题”为第一次世界大战一百周年的背景，这两个看似无关的事件对21世纪英国的定义产生了重大影响。在北爱尔兰，对冲突的记忆一直非常敏感，民族主义的“失忆症”关于与英军一起卷入的爱尔兰士兵的问题直到最近才得到解决。2013年5月1日标志着爱尔兰纪念十年的开始。应当以包容性和开放性为标志。本文旨在探讨以英国为主要身份的论述如何在保留共同的历史遗产的同时，容纳并存的民族主义叙事。比较北爱尔兰和联合王国其他地区的政治纪念演讲，并特别强调苏格兰（伟大的战争纪念与独立公投相吻合的苏格兰），应该可以洞悉英国的现代定义。