Fiche de révision : Ireland, identité et frontières

📋 Plan du Cours

1. L’histoire politique de l’Irlande
2. Communautés et stéréotypes
3. Les choix politiques en 2024
4. Les fresques unionistes et nationalistes
5. Le gerrymandering électoral
6. Le football au-delà des frontières

📅 Repères chronologiques

1. 1919-1921The Irish War of Independence took place
2. 1920The Government of Ireland Act was passed and created Northern Ireland and a free state later known as the Republic of Ireland
3. 1921The Treaty of Ireland was signed
4. Late 1960s-1998The Belfast or Good Friday Agreement was a peace deal intended to end the conflict and create a peaceful state through the unification of Northern Ireland

📖 1. L’histoire politique de l’Irlande

📝 Points essentiels

• For 400 years, the entire island of Ireland was controlled by the English, before a twentieth-century geopolitical, governmental and religious division separated Ireland and Northern Ireland.

💡 Astuce mémo

1919-1921 : indépendance et partition → 1998 : accord de paix

📖 2. Communautés et stéréotypes

★ À maîtriser

• In the dialogue, the young people point out differences between Protestants and Catholics instead of focusing on similarities.

Compléments

• The stereotypes include:
  • Protestants liking to march
  • Catholics loving to walk
  • Protestants being richer

💡 Astuce mémo

Protestants contre Catholics : des différences caricaturées par les vêtements et les clichés

📖 3. Les choix politiques en 2024

★ À maîtriser

• In the Republic of Ireland, 64% support Irish unity in a referendum, whereas 17% favour remaining in the UK.

• In Northern Ireland, 63% of Catholics support a united Ireland, whereas 82% of Protestants want to remain in the UK.

Compléments

• The survey shows that community identity still influences political choices in Northern Ireland, unlike in the Republic of Ireland where unity is widely preferred.

💡 Astuce mémo

South : unity ; Northern Ireland : Catholic unity, Protestant UK

📖 4. Les fresques unionistes et nationalistes

★ À maîtriser

• Mural A contains:

  • portraits of Queen Elizabeth
  • the Union Jack
  • Britannia
  • coats of arms
  • flags of the United Kingdom

• Mural B uses a green flag with a golden harp, the whole island of Ireland, the Irish language and the repeated word “unity” to symbolise Irish sovereignty and independence from Britain.

Compléments

• In Mural A, the Crown symbolises the monarchy, which is associated with unity, stability and national pride.

• Bobby Sands, who appears in Mural B, was regarded as a symbol of Irish resistance during the Troubles.

💡 Astuce mémo

Crown et Union Jack contre harpe verte et Bobby Sands

📖 5. Le gerrymandering électoral

🔑 Notions clés & Définitions

• Gerrymandering : The practice of redrawing electoral districts to help a politician win a district that traditional map-drawing would make them lose.

★ À maîtriser

📌 Gerrymandering is legal, but more and more people are aware of the problem and try to redraw electoral maps more fairly.

Compléments

• The video suggests that simply drawing electoral maps can change election results, which explains the concern of the Supreme Court.

💡 Astuce mémo

Redessiner les districts → modifier le résultat des élections

📖 6. Le football au-delà des frontières

★ À maîtriser

• Pat Fenlon is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder, was born and raised in the Republic of Ireland, played for Belfast-based Linfield FC and became Director of Football at Bohemians FC in Phibsboro.

📌 For Fenlon, football is a leveler of identity because anyone can play and enjoy it regardless of their background or religious and political beliefs.

• Cross-border football competitions bring teams from across the island together and can transcend social, cultural and political frontiers.

Compléments

• Fenlon’s decision to cross the border was controversial because Linfield FC was one of the biggest clubs in the Irish League and was known for representing Loyalism.

• The new initiative between the League of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Football League allows young players from both leagues to compete, improve their skills, build friendships and encourage respect, teamwork and unity.

💡 Astuce mémo

Cross-border football → friendships, bridges and unity

📊 Tableaux de synthèse

Unionisme et nationalisme