Introduction

Construction of Identity in Northern Irish Novels 197
sphere. As a general education was denied to the Irish, only hedge schools 9 allowed
some of the native population a small account of instruction (ibid. 41).
Two influential factors increased the further decline of the Irish language: In
1831 National Schools helped to diminish the rate of illiteracy, but as tuition was
held in English as well a radical shift in language opened the floodgates. Furthermore,
the nineteenth century was marked by the Great Famine (1845-8) which
resulted in about one million victims. Many of those who did not die emigrated to
North America or elsewhere (ibid. 46). According to Raymond Hickey the nineteenth
century thus had to face the loss of about two million native speakers of
Irish, which made up about a quarter of the total Irish population (47). The remaining
part of the inhabitants was now exposed to the English language more
strongly than ever before. He stresses the fact that Irish “has receded greatly over
the past 150 years and continues to do so” (ibid. 22). Hence, Hickey speaks of an
ambivalent feeling the Irish have towards the English language today. Although
most Irish people continue to speak English as their native language they face this
fact with certain reluctance as Irish is considered being a carrier of native culture
(Hickey 22). English, by contrast, is the language of the former occupier. To give
an example, between 1801 and 1811 45 per cent of the population were Irish
speakers, between 1831 and 1841 the number decreased to only 28 per cent of
Irish speakers (Mac Póilin 1996, 138). Hickey has also pointed out: “To accord
English equal status with Irish in the consciousness of the people would be somehow
to openly acknowledge the language of the former colonisers” (22). In Northern
Ireland the relation to language looks a bit different, however.
In the North nowadays Irish is not accepted as an official language at all, although
it had been the native language of a majority of Ulster’s 10 inhabitants before
the seventeenth century (Hickey 94). The Good Friday Agreement 11 ensures
the “tolerance of linguistic diversity” (Chríost 45) including the Irish language but
no official promotion is taking place. Due to the immigration of English and Scottish
settlers to that area the Irish language became almost extinct as the Irish were
relocated to areas where no immigrants lodged, thus disconnecting them from
their former lives (ibid 94). All of Ireland, but especially the North, had to suffer
from the Tudor invasion during the sixteenth century. Following the Nine Years’
War 12 (1594-1603) in which the English defeated Irish and Spanish resistance
9 As Catholics were forbidden to teach, hedge schools were the only possibility for Catholics to
get at least some education. As the name implies hedge schools were mainly situated in rural areas
where “migrant teachers offered tuition to individuals or small groups” (Hickey 41).
10 The province of Ulster consists actually of nine counties: Antrim, Down, Armagh, Derry, Tyrone
and Fermanagh, all of which make up Northern Ireland, plus Donegal, Monaghan and
Cavan that lie in the South (Hickey 85).
11 The Good Friday Agreement was signed on 10 April 1998. It launched a new system of powersharing
in the context of a devolved Northern Ireland Assembly (Mitchel xi).
12 Before the Nine Years’ War the O’Neill clan was the leading force in the province of Ulster. As
resistance against English rule had formed in this area, the Spanish agreed to support the Irish