This thesis aims to explore the Irish migrant experience within the geographical confines of the West Riding of Yorkshire during a fifty-year period from e.1870-1922. It focuses on the constitutional, or moral-force, philosophy of Irish nationalism in a diasporic/external context and how Irish migrants engaged in political activism. It traces the emergence and development of Irish national clubs and branches that operated under various names during the period — commonly referred to as the ‘League’. Supporting the pursuit of legislative independence for Ireland under the banner of Irish Home Rule was the over-arching aim of the League, which in turn became a defining feature of the migrant experience. The experience of the migrant is therefore examined through the prism of politics, and how notions of sentimentalism and fidelity to the homeland evolved over several decades. This work closely examines the functions of the League at both the local and regional level, with reference to wider British and Irish political contexts. Particular attention is given to the electoral and voting potential of a minority, or special interest group, that sought to influence electoral outcomes from within Yorkshire constituencies in the furtherance of Irish independence. What emerges is a complex admixture of ethno-religious political relations that became defined by tripartite political relations between migrant, indigenous and Irish politicians. What emerged was a gradual process of hybrid politics that eventually set the migrant on a path of assimilation/integration — at least in the sphere of politics. It became a process of the politics of migration, and the migration of politics.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:737991 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Maguire, Andrew F. |
| Publisher | Ulster University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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