15 January 2003

2nd generation Irish identity

Brendan O'Neill resumes his vigorous criticism of the Irish 2 project at spiked-on-line. In particular he singles out the project's criticism of the 2001 Census question in Britain:

"According to the Irish 2 report, the ethnic category is too much of a 'simple label', which doesn't allow for other, more diverse forms of Irishness. '[A] simple categorisation of "White" followed by a national identity such as "British" and "Irish"...will produce an over-identification with "British" because it is seen as a "fact" based on birthplace and passport entitlement', says the report."

O'Neill concludes:

"The lists of Irishness are endless and the demands for acceptance could go on forever - forging a second-generation identity that fancies itself as being rejected by the authorities while simultaneously seeking more and more recognition from the authorities. It's enough to make you long for the old days of the straightforward fighting Paddies."

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