Clearing away the mush and gush of the State visit

Eamon McCann with a piece from the Irish Times on what he sees as the the context of the recent royal banquet. The Irish political elite North and South were paying homage to the British monarchy. It initially featured on 17 April 2014.

Opinion: Irish elite were celebrating their acceptance into a particular layer of society
Oh Irish men forget the past/ And think of the day that’s coming fast/When we will all be civilised/Neat and clean and well-advised/Won’t Mother England be surprised/Whack fol the diddle all the di do day.

The day dawned last week and thank god we didn’t let ourselves down. Spick and span and all at ease in the knowledge that anybody who sniggered at the sight of us would instantly be anathematised as a backwoodsperson and an opponent of peace. The thought surely popped into others’ minds, too: why don’t we break entirely with the attitudes of the olden days and get down on our knees?

Is there anywhere else on Earth where splicing a quail’s egg with Queen Elizabeth can be seen as a symbol of leaving quaint habits behind? There are places, of course, where she is regarded as the newsworthy head of a celebrity family or a tourist attraction or a harmless reminder of an imagined past. But a banquet in the gilded surrounding of Windsor Castle as a cutting-edge event? Dear god.

There is an island in the south Pacific whose people adhere to a cargo cult and – so it’s said – regard the queen’s husband as a god. We are not there yet, but it’s early days.

Gush and mush

As gush and mush engulfed the land last week, Prof Roy Foster surfaced to give us his expert opinion that relations between the British and Irish ruling classes were now so intimate as to be “nearly as good as sex”. What sad, limited lives some of these academics lead.

Michael O’Leary found himself in a spot of bother a couple of weeks back for making a joke about having sex with the queen. Extremely offensive, spluttered specialists in etiquette. But some of us found the remark among the least offensive of O’Leary’s oeuvre, certainly less offensive than Foster’s sleeveen intervention. A matter of taste, I suppose.

Actually, the professor didn’t use the phrase “ruling class”. Far too old-fashioned when dealing with the House of Windsor. But, objectively as we used to say, that’s what his words meant.

The propaganda that came pulsing through the media for the duration of the visit told that the meeting between the queen and President Michael D Higgins and Martin McGuinness will have facilitated reconciliation between the British and Irish people. But the vast majority of us have no need of the queen’s involvement to achieve reconciliation with our British neighbours. Like many others once corralled within the empire we have long managed to combine a distaste for imperial power with congenial friendship towards the British people.

Cementing relations between the peoples of these islands is not what the “monstrous stupidity” was about. It was about the Irish elite celebrating their acceptance into a layer of society they have long wanted to be part of. They believe they have now been liberated from any need to pretend dislike for the flummery and pomp which deep down – not all that deep, as a matter of fact – they have envied and aspired to. In this sense at least, the feast in the castle was truly historic.

One lesson to be learned from “the hideous, revolting and vulgar tomfoolery” (English republican William Morris again) is that nationalists, irrespective of how long they fight or at what cost, are merely applying for membership of the club. It is well to recall that Sinn Féin founder Arthur Griffith thought it demeaning to the nation that while Britain, France, Germany, etc, had colonial possessions to plunder, distressful Ireland remained empty-handed.

It has been an implicit demand of nationalism down the decades that Irish people should not be exploited by foreigners when there are Irish people available to do the job themselves, a perspective summed up in the phrase – which de Valera never said, but should have – that “labour must wait”.

‘See the Conquering Hero Comes’ 

Which brings us to the threat of a royal presence at ceremonies marking the centenary of the Rising. It’s said Prince Charles will be the family’s representative. Would it be practical for McNamara’s Band to make a comeback for the occasion? McCarthy on the old bassoon while Doyle the pipes will play? Hennessy Tennessee tootling the flute? They might greet the commander-in-chief of the Parachute Regiment as he waves his way along O’Connell Street with a rousing rendition of See t he Conquering Hero Comes. Makes your heart swell just to think on it.

Rejecting the pleas of Dublin business people and parliamentary leaders in 1911 that all should welcome George V so as to consolidate the prospect of Home Rule, James Connolly observed the British royal family 'has been notorious in history for the revolting nature of its crimes, murder, treachery, adultery, incest, theft, perjury – every crime known to man.' (Why he had adultery in there I don’t know.) Wouldn’t get away with saying the like of that these days, would he? Whack fol the diddle all the di do day.

12 comments:

  1. Eamon McCann's usual hard read, I count 16 different people referenced (17 if you include God).

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  2. I thought this was a great piece. Sentiment which is sorely missing from mainstream media and if it wasn't for McCann's reputation as an accomplished writer and commentator it probably wouldn't have been published.

    In 2016 you will probably be able to buy 1916 memorabilia with images of the executed leaders of the Rising together with images of the Queen. This possibility is the least of our worries as the British establishment, government and Royalty will be inextricably linked with the Rising's heritage. The history books are being re-written. Have we all woken up in some perverse parallel universe?

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  3. Charles will feel he's setting the record straight for his dear departed uncle Luis no doubt. The West Brits will be spit-polishing their boots already in anticipation.

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  4. Firstly,

    I agree the message and points of view of Eammon McCann. However, at times like DaithiD equates, he can be a hard read for me.

    I also find him impossible to immediately decode at times threw his verbal communication as well.

    For me he seems to go all over the place, jumping from one topic to another and then returning to the actual question asked. When a simple sentence answer eould leave the interviewer nowhere to go to manipulate the leading of the following questions.

    Someone would need to say to him "Listen the question asked to you is not an intelligence test in which you can pull historical events from across the globe to prove the point. Leave that to Noam Chomsky.

    Eammon receives a lot of mainstream air time, if he just pistol whipped his answers in which we all know he has, that would allow precious time to educate and inform more.

    Sometimes when I see his face appear on the mainstream media tv, I get all hopeful that an alternate view may be expressed only to be a little let down.

    Maybe this is why he is selected in the first place by the editorial/producers?

    That aside, the most important piece of information obtained for me through his written piece was the below statement.

    "It has been an implicit demand of nationalism down the decades that Irish people should not be exploited by foreigners when there are Irish people available to do the job themselves, a perspective summed up in the phrase – which de Valera never said, but should have – that “labour must wait”.

    The Irish representatives that attended the recent banquet, are the exact clientele suitable for that job, therefore they dine at the head of British capitalist table.

    The people that dinned there will someday leave this earth, but their will be a steady influx of recruits as we speak being shaped here in the north and south hell bent on attending the next one, the next one and the next one.

    In the north we are witnessing nothing short than a S/F power grab, a Elite catholic slice of the pie with no differing ideology than the British elite in which they engaged a 30 war campaign.

    S/F are nationalists at most, it is extremely difficult to equate them anything republican, unless you are talking in the terms of Ronald Regan.

    Today these people have adopted media friendly recent positive sounding political wording of Leadership, instead of pure Rulers.

    Pure Joseph Goebbels literature. I leave you with this quote.

    “The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly - it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over”

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  5. What does McCann mean by: 'Is there anywhere else on Earth where splicing a quail’s egg with Queen Elizabeth can be seen as a symbol of leaving quaint habits behind?' Had to be there, I guess.

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  6. Fionnchu- "What does McCann mean by: 'Is there anywhere else on Earth where splicing a quail’s egg with Queen Elizabeth can be seen as a symbol of leaving quaint habits behind?'"

    I don't know if that was a rhetorical question but:

    I think McCann is referring to the Irish change of perspective regarding Martin McGuinness after he had dinner with the Queen. He is questioning the significance of the event and the indirect forelock tugging towards the Queen and the pedestal she was placed on by people here. Would this level of importance be given in other countries?

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  7. the queen isnt liked, for very good reason, by the native canadian indians. i'll let yous look into that for yourselves.

    also, roy foster should be kicked out of the country. what a colossal bucket of pompous shite he is.

    and sorry o leary, ur too old for royalty to be interested in riding you.

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  8. Like many others once corralled within the empire we have long managed to combine a distaste for imperial power with congenial friendship towards the British people....

    nicely put. and how times change, a couple of years back it was:"2016 year of freedom", now we are reduced to wondering which royal to invite for 2016.

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  9. Fionnchú, John,

    it is always good to see your wise self here I have no idea what it means and if you my learned friend don’t then I will assume like you that you had to be there.

    “Unrepentant but not unskeptical Fenian” Yes, I still follow your blog but at a more sluggish pace fast becoming sloth like even though fast and sloth are worlds apart.

    I think the practice throughout colonial history of splicing eggs with the Queen or King is nothing new and not unique to the Irish predicament.
    It might appear new to republicans as usually we show no interest in royalty.

    Slan a chara

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  10. Could there be an alternative motive behind all this gush and mush.....what is actually happening is that the British are successfully selling the history of Ireland as a lovable partnership that was ruined by republicans and who are solely to blame for Ireland's woes and not her past colonial masters.....republicans destroyed and the crowns honour restored.....time to leave....job done

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  11. Ireland is the prodigal son.

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  12. yes Niall, the rewriting of history. To SF and the castle it was all just a misunderstanding, misdirected growing pains, of a clumsy parent and a turbulent child. Even in the worst of times, the 1840's all the British were doing was trying to put things to right. Everything is good now and in Michael T's eyes if their if a friend that you can rely on it's Britain. Pass the quail eggs before I throw up. The underline message is that Britain will always have lifelines, and that Ireland will always have the crises.

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