Introduction

Construction of Identity in Northern Irish Novels 215
passed onwards. Culture then connects the individual to present values and patterns.
Home, schools and churches communicate the necessary elements of cultural
values and thus “culture has the capacity to form identity; it mediates the way
people relate to themselves, others and to the world” (ibid. 54). A strong sense of
loyalty to that cultural identity is the result. If nation and state are not congruent
people are likely to set up cultural markers for their identity. Sources can be
among others religion, language, music or folk traditions. The stress will be put on
uniqueness and distinctiveness (ibid. 54). If people start overdoing this, the cultural
clash will become too deep, however, and deep-rooted aversion as in the case
between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland may be the result.
One of the stories Saoirse is told even reminds of the torn apart state of Ireland:
Cúchulainn who is in love with Emer comes under the spell of Fand and is
“going to betray Emer, and throw away everything that he has, for a love which
isn’t love, for a love which is like a sickness, a mist that descends and chokes reason”
(Caldwell 16). Emer here is presented as Ireland that loses part of itself to
Fand, which resembles Great Britain. The union between Fand and Cúchulainn
only causes an ill condition like the union of Irish and British elements in Northern
Ireland.
Mystic and historic figures also used to prove of significance for nationalist
wall murals. For this reason, Cúchulainn and Celtic warriors were frequently depicted
in Belfast such as King Nuada depicted in figure 1.
Figure 1: King Nuada, mythological warrior of the Tuatha de Danaan, Springhill Avenue, Belfast 1987
(Rolston 57).
“Heroes and myths of bygone ages are used to provide a coherent and satisfying
story of origins and history that act to unite group identity in the present” Mitchel
stresses (52). For Saoirse’s mother Deirdre the stories of Cúchulainn provide her
with a sense of her Irish background while living among Protestants who contrast