As English-speaking Catholics, the Catholic Irish were opposed to the French-speaking Catholics along with the Protestant majority. This sense of isolation among the Catholic Irish, leads to a sense of belonging stronger than the Protestant Irish.
The Protestant Irish have retained a powerful belief in institutional strength and have clung tenaciousy to structures. Stability is highly regarded. On the contrary, the Catholic Irish define power on a personal level to a degree that may seem almost anarchic, but which symbolizes the continuity of the patron-client relationship, which constituted the basis of politics in rural Ireland. The achievement of the Catholic Irish in Canada but also elsewhere has been the translation of this personal approach …show more content…
More specifically, Australia's bush music drew its inspiration in Irish music. The Wild Colonial Boy sets a classic example of this influence. In addition to becoming popular in Australia, it also became popular in Ireland.
Along the Irish tradition, Australian musicians have been influenced by Aboriginal traditonal music. Waltzing Matilda provides a good illustrationn of the Aboriginal influence on Australian bush music. Waltzing Matilda sings about a tramp sitting under the shade of a coolabah tree aside a pond and then swipes a sheep. In the Irish tradition, the tramp commits suicide rather than be taken alive by the soldiers.
Traces of the common past can be seen through the similar political engagement of modern Irish and Australian artists. Irish rock bands such as the Cranberries have been organising protest concerts against religious conflict or world poverty. Similarly, Australian bands such as Midnigtht Oil have shown their support to environment protection and the defense of Aboriginal rights. 10
A questioned …show more content…
Relations between the two states have been influenced heavily by troubles arising from their shared history, the independence of the Irish Free State in 1922 and the governance of Northern Ireland. These include the partition of Ireland and the terms of Ireland's secession, its constitutional relationship with and obligations to the UK after independence, and the surge in political violence in Northern Ireland. For instance, “During the interwar years, theories purporting to show that the people of Ireland were racially distinct from their Anglo-Saxon neighbours underwent a significant revival in Britain. These doctrines, which had featured prominently in nineteenth-century scientific and political discourse, were again employed following the secession of the Irish Free State from the United Kingdom in 1921, both to explain the apparent failure of the British civilizing mission in Ireland and to assuage what many Britons regarded as a national humiliation”