HI4328 Constitutional Nationalism Vs Republicanism: Ireland 1782-1916

Module Organiser: Professor Patrick Geoghegan
Duration: Hilary term
Contact hours: 2 hours per week
Weighting: 10 ECTS
Assessment: 20% essay, 80% examination

There has always been a tension between the supporters of the constitutional nationalist tradition in Ireland, and those who believe Irish independence would never have been achieved without the use of violence. Supporters of ‘The Irish Parliamentary Tradition’ have asserted the importance of Grattan, O’Connell, and Parnell in the development of the Irish ‘nation’ from the late-eighteenth century on, and their role in ensuring the successful transition to parliamentary democracy in an independent Ireland in the twentieth. Others would argue that without the revolutionary example of figures such as Tone and Emmet, and the sacrifice of Pearse and leaders of the 1916 Rising, then an independent Irish state would never have been achieved. This module explores the development of these two conflicting and competing traditions in Ireland. It examines the challenges of commemorating these two traditions, which until recently were seen as mutually exclusive. Using a mixture of debates, historiographical critiques, primary and secondary sources, and guest lectures from the world of history, law, and the media, it explores the development of the constitutional nationalist tradition from Grattan to Redmond, and how it intersected throughout this period with the revolutionary republican tradition which developed from Tone to Pearse, sometimes in conflict, occasionally co-operating, and how these traditions have shaped the development of modern Ireland.

The aim of this module is to analyse key developments in the history of constitutional and revolutionary nationalism in Ireland during the period 1782-1916, through the study of primary and secondary sources

Bibliographical advice will be provided in the module handbook

Leaning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

• Analyse developments in the history of constitutional nationalism and revolutionary republicanism in Ireland between 1782 and 1916
• Identify and search for relevant secondary literature
• Engage with relevant theoretical and critical approaches to the history of nationalism and republicanism in Ireland during this period
• Apply different techniques of evaluation and interpretation to relevant primary sources
• Critique relevant historiography in the light of primary sources
• Present and discuss analysis of questions relating to the history of nationalism and republicanism in Ireland during this period, and to the commemoration of these two traditions
• Analyse the impact on Ireland of constitutional nationalism and revolutionary republicanism