Wherc does Europe end?

Apru, a N ere d e Biti^t or?

a{cil S.ltorl

ca?c

.ditijri,Itndra'dd

Irlandad.ottt rrll!.Editot in4ief of

C-ope, lives inLtndon, bom inlttlond.

NEIL BELTON

Avrupa nerede sona ererl Belki de lrlanda,nrnbatr ucunda, hani o ilk g<irenlere hep ayrdtiqiindiirten gri mermerden kocaman kayahkvar ya, yaSmur sulanyla yiizeyi yol yol olmug,adeta matbaadaki bir basrm plakasrnr andrranugtaki o grplak, dikey kaya bloku. Burasr,Avrupa'nrn biiyiik kalker peyzajlanndan birisiolan Burren'dir.Kayah$rn kuru tepelerinden birinin tizerindenbakarsamz, Aran Adalan'nr goriirsiiniiz, buadalar gegen yiizyrl sonlannrn romantik lrlandamilliyetgileri igin Avrupa'nrn en ucudur, Keltotantik'liSinin son banna$rdrr. f ohnMillington Synge alaycr Irlanda tonlanyla doluo garip dili ve denizde yagamrnr yitirenbalrkgrlarla onlann dullan igin acrkl Ingilizcegiirlerini bu adalarda yararml$trr. Ne var ki,kiigticiik adalar gergekte Burren'rn eksiksiz birjeolojik yankrsrndan bagka bir gey degildirler vefazlaca antik, fazlaca folklorik bir tarzdaabarularak betimlenmig bir diinyayr buradasona erdirdikleri igin, gergekten de krtanrn ucugibidirler. Ama burada srnrrlar kayrverirler.Mermer g<iltiniin tepesinde dururken NewEngland'a kadar olan Atlantik mesafesini

Where does Europe end? At the western edgeof lreland, perhaps, on a yast grey limestonepavement that always makes those who see itfor the first time think of the moon: bareupland rock etched by rainwater into pits andslabs, so that the surface has th€ look of aprinter'r plate marked with rough linearcharacters. This is the Burren, one ofEurope's great karst landscapes.Standing on one of its dry hills you can see theAran lslands, the edge of Europe for romanticlrish nationalists of the last fin de siecfe, thefinal refuge of Gaelic authenticity, where J MSynge inyented a weird language full of mock-lrish cadences and dramatic English poetry forhis doomed fishermen and their widows. Butthe smaller islands are an exact geologicalecho of the Burren, and they cnclose a worldoverwritten with too much antiquarian andfolkish reflection to seem now like the end ofa continent. Boundaries shift. Up on thelimestone desert you can imagine more easilythe Atlantic distances to New England, andthe erosion of fragile landscapes created byhumans, On the Burren only tough alpineplants flourish.lreland's capacity to evoke raptures of praiseand fear for being close to the edge ofcivilization is notorious. Political romanticsfrom London and Munich cruise the West andSouth of th€ lrish Republic in search of thereal thing, finding it in the depopulatedmountains, the crowded pubs, the narrowroads. Authenticit of a differ€nt sort can befound in a short drive across the border intoNorthern lreland, where a small tuerilla armyseeks to break the resolye of the localmaiority not to be part of a united lreland andwhere heavily-armed British troops patrol thetowns, For some Europeans lreland is theultimate periphery: wild scenery andcontrolled violence. Like all inhabitants ofshorelines, however, the lrish are themselyes

goziiniiziin <iniinde daha kolaycanlandrrabilirsiniz ve insanlann bu narin do$a pargasrnda yaptrfr tahribatr daha iyig<irebilirsiniz. Burren iizerinde yalnrzca yabani da$ bitkileri bitmektedir.Irlanda, uygarhgln en ucunda olmasrndan dolayr hem 6viingen bir memnuniyeti, hem de bellibir tedirginli$i bir arada tagrma ozelli$iyle ranrnrr. Londra ve Miinih'ten gelen siyasiromantikler Irlanda Cumhuriycti'nde gergek olanr aramak igin iilkenin Bao,srnda veGiiney'inde sefere glktrklannda, onu rssrz da$larda, trkhm trkhm dolu pub'larda, daracrksokaklarda bulurlar. Bir bagka gergeklik ise, srnrn agrp Kuzey lrlanda iglerine do$ru q<iyle birgirilince kargtntza grkar, burada kiigtik bir gerilla ordusu, yerel halkrn gogunlugunun birlegik bir

Wherc does EuroPe end?

Aprao a. N ere d e Bitiv or ?

IIEIL BELTOI{

Irlanda'nrn pargasr olmama konusundakitercihini yadsr ve gene burada tepeden ttrnaSasilahh Ingiliz birlikleri kasaba kasaba devriyegezer. Bazr Awupahlar igin lrlanda, vahgipeyz$tyla ve kontrol altrna ahnabilmigqiddetiyle krtantn en ug periferisidir. Biitiin kryrinsanlan gibi lrlanda'Llar da gelgiderle de$iEentehlikeli srmrlara uyum sa$larken, tarih ilegiiniimiiziin realitesi olan giivenli bir yerlegimaramak ve her geyi sfip siipiiren deSigimperspektifi arastnda ba$dagrm bulmakzorundadrrlar.Bir toplum igin neyin <inemli oldulusorusunun yamtlnl,'merkez'in'gevre'iizerindeki egemenli$ine de$gin s<iyle mitersine gevirmek suretiyle iktidar ve bilgiterimle ri gergevesinde aramak <izellikleaydrnlara cazip gelir. Bununla birlikte, NerTorh Timeln kagamak ve ikiytizlii yayrnrnda,ABD'nin diiEmanlanna dair daha derin ve dahasevimli bir gerge$i gorebilirsiniz: "Do$uuzmanhst"mn uydurmalannda Arap diinyasrnade$gin koca bir garprtma evreninikeEfedersiniz, bu yanrltma Arap diinyasrnrnhiikiimet etme tarzlan konusunda hakltelegtirileri de igerse, kagrmlmaz olarak ezenesug ortakh$r yapmaktadrr; aym gekildelrlanda'da beE asrrlk Ingiliz gozetimi,kiigiimsemesi, yamltmast ve sozde gefkatiardrndan kalan, somiirgecili$in empoze etmigoldugu sahte kimligin., gegerlili$ini hilikoruyan dilidir. Yukanda soziinii etti$imiz,egemen me rkez s<iylemini tersine gevirmeeylemi gergekten <inemli bir de$er igermekteve ki.iltiir alamndaki radikallerin diigiincesine yerlegmig bir ahqkanhk haline gelmektedir, ama

bciyle bir rutum, aynr zamanda resmi bir agrklamantn az gok do$ru olabilece$ini diigi.inmeyi ya

da verilen bilginin yeterlilik derecesine bakmayr, direniEin dilinin gergekgi olup olmadrfim, trpkrmetropol basrmmn kcjrii kciriine sadakatine benzer bir duruma dtqiiliip diigiilmedi$inisorgulamayr da rahatsrz edici bir bigimde yadsrr. Yaygrn olarak, lktidar diigiiyle belirlenmiq di$ers<iyleme dayah politilamn garip bir sonucu, <izellikle Kuzey Irlanda gibi giddeti igeren bir ulusalihtilaf sorunun arka plantnt olugturdu$undan, Komintern anti-empe ryalizminin marksistolmayanlar igin yeniden diizenlenmig cilah bir versiyonudur, deyim yerindeyse, Derrida"dan

forced to negotiate shifting and dangerousboundaries - between history and thedemands of present rcality, the longing for asecure home and the annihilating prospect ofchange.It is tempting, especially for intellectuals, toimagine that you can find what is imPortantabout a society, in tetms of power andknowledge, by inverting the discourse of thedominant "centre" on the "periphery".Hence, in the evasions and hypocrisy of theNew York fimes can be read a deeper andmore sympathetic truth about the enemies ofthe US; in the fantasies of "orientalism" you

discover a universe of falsification about theArab world that rend€rs even iust criticism ofits polities suspect, necessarily comPlicit withoppressive power; from the half-millenium ofEnglish surveillance, travesty mistranslationand bewildered affection for lreland can beextracted a still-oPerative language of falseidentity imposed by colonialism. There ismuch of genuine value in this exercise ofinvercion which is now a s€ttled habit ofthought amont cultural radicals, but there isalso a disturbing refusal to iudge whether astatement is more or less true; whetherinformation is adequate or noq whether thelanguage of nationalism and resistance isrealistic, or in fact as blind to a sltuation asthe pieties of the metropolitan Press.One strange consequence of a politics basedon the discourse of an Other imaginedexclusively as Power is - especially with thebackground of a violent national conflict suchas Northern lreland's - a kind of glossyreinvention of Comintern anti-imperialism fornon-Itlarxists: Dimitroy out of Derrida, so tospeak. This odd coupling in lreland is bestexemplified by the Field Day proiect' a groupof professors and writerc whose pamphlets,essays and publishing have given an olderrhetoric of national sovereignty and national

Avraph. Nere d.e Bitiyor?WhcrE doet EurcCa cnd?

l{EIt BEITO]I

gftmrg bir Dimitrov'tur. Irlanda'daki bu ilgingmontaj kendini en iyi gekilde Field Dayprojesinde ortaya koymugtu, bir grup profesdrve y^zenn brogiir, mak:le ve di$cr gegitliyaymlanm bir araya getiren bu gaba ulusalhiikiimranlk ve ulusal gclenek konusundakibilinen eski retori$e can.h bir akademik incelikkazandrmaktan baqka bir anlama gelmcmigtir.Amlan grubun bu bagyapru Irlanda edebiyatrmbtitiiniiyle bir savaE topu olarak yenidenkegfeden 4000 sayfahk bir antolojiden ibarettir.Gerek yayrncrhk, gerekse entellckti.iel diizcyagrsrndan biiytik bir bagan olmakla birlikte,antolojinin diizenlenme ilkesi kiiltiirmilliyetgiligidir, Irlandah olmamngiivenliliginin daha genig, daha igerikli birversiyonunun geliEtirilmig bigimidir, yaprtr sertbir dille elegtiren Francis Mulhern'ins<izlcriyle, "ulusun uzun dyktistine miinasip birson kegfetme griEimi"dir.Kugkusuz ki, tiim antolojiler geliEkilidir, amabir antoloji gayet ulusu yeniden birlegtirmeamacryla yola grkryorsa, biliniz ki, b<iyle biryayrn ancak giiniimiiz lrlanda'srna cizgiiolabilir. Gtiney'deki devlet yetmig yrldrrola$aniistii cilgtide istikrarh bir ba$rmsrzlkgizgisi izleyerek bir hayli prestij toplamrqtrr,fagizmdcn, yabancr istilasrndan ve askeridarbelerden kendini koruyabilmigtir; ama aynrzamanda belli bagh iki anayasd zaafla maltrlkalmrgtrr. Bunlardan birincisi, iilkenin tarihiboyunca e$tim ve sa$lk kurumlanrudenetiminde tutmug olan ve hAlA da ga$daghoggciriin bigimlerine ve haklanna, <irnefinkadrn haklanna kargr grkan Katolil Kilisesi'nin melankolik etkisi, ikincisi ise, adamn tiimiiniikucaklayacak bir devleti dngdren devrimci cumhuriyet diigiiniiLn iflas etti$inin bir tiirlii kabuledilememesidir.Eamonn DeValera'mn 1937 Anayasasr, bizzat devletin resmi g<iriigtiniin mcrkezinde, g<iksclliSikutsamak igin dinsel olanla olmayamn nas da birlikte davrandr$rmn klasik bir 6rne$idir.Anayasa En Kutsal Teslis (Uglii Birlik)in muhafazasrru dngciren s<izlerle baglamaktadrr; I973'ekadar korunan bir madde ise Katolik Kilisesi'ne <izel bir yer atfetmekteydi. Aynr anayasa butiinyurttaglar igin egitlik ve <i'zgiirlii$ii benimsedifini ileri siirmekte ve tiim *ulusal topraklan"

tradition a vivid academic sophi3tication. Thegroup's magnum opus is a 1,000 page criticalantholoty of Irish writing that ?einvents the€ntire canon of lrish literature. lt is a greatedltorial and scholarly achievement, but itsorganizing principle is thet of culturalnationalism, the dGvelopment of a broader,more inclusive version of the security oflrishness - "a further attempt to discover anapp?opriate ending for the long story of thenation", as Francis l.lulhern wrote in a sharpcritique of the anthology.All anthologies are controvcrcial, but one thatsets out to recompos€ the nation i3 bound tobe especially so in lrelend today. The southernstate has over sev€ntt years of remarkablystable independence to its considerable credit,avoiding fascism, invasion and mllitary coups,but it has lived with two literallyconstitutional weaknesses. The firct is themelancholy influence of the Cetholic Church,which has controlled education and medicalcare for much of the countrT's hlstort and stlllprevents the acceptance of many modernforms of toleration and righ6, especially forwomen; and the second is its inability to cometo terms with the failure of the revolution.ryrepublican dream - of a st te that wouldcoincide with the whole territory of the island.Eamonn DeYalera's 1937 Constitution is theclassic illustration of how thc aplrltual and thesecular conspired to enshrine fantasy at theheart of the state's vlew of itself. lt invokesthe protection of the "lrlost Holy Trinity" inits opening words, and gives a special positionto the Catholic Church (an article notabolished until 1973) - yet clalms to acc€ptthe equalitt and liberty of all its citlz€n3i itclaims for itself the whole "nationalterritory", including the area 3ettled by amillion Protestants who can't imagine an lrishnationality for themselves - yet is careful torepel them by the confessional tone of the

Atrupa Nerede Bitiyor?Wheru docs Europc cnd?

]IEIL BETTOII

kucaklamayr <ing<irmektedir; b<iylece kendileriiEin lrlanda uyru$unu diiEiiLnmeyen bir milyonkadar Protestamn ya$a&F bdlgeyi dc "ulusaltopraklar'dan saydr$m ag*ga dcklare ctmesibile, metnin tamanu igindeki vurgulamalarlahissettirmektedir. Aradan yanm yiizyrlgegmesine ra$men, Giiney lrlanda'da boganmahili serbest degildir. Kadrnlar istismaredilmekte ve terke dilmektedirler, buna kargrkoyacak haklara da sahip bulunmamaktadrrlar.Ktrtaj yasaktr, gebeli$i dnleyici <jnlemlerrizerinde lasrdamalar vardrr ve egcinscllik deresmi olarak yasakhdrr.Ulke Awupa Toplulu$u'na iiye olmugtur. Yaniartrk burasr Avrupa'run bitti$i ye rin dtesindedegildir, periferi ileriye kaymrgur, birgokbakrmlardan iilkenin ktilri.irii. vabancr

entire document. Half a centurt later there isstill no divorce in Southern lreland. Womenare abused and de3ert€d, rnd have ne legalredress. Aborcion is illegal; cont?.ceptionrestricted; homosexualitt ofiicially forbidden.l,leanwhile, the countrt has becom€ amember of the European Community. Europedoes not end here; the periphery has moved,and the culture of the country is in many way3more comfortably European than that ofBritain, where agonized xenophobia isnormal. Yet the nature of the lrish que3tion isstlll open. ls it about an unachieved nationaldestint, a permanent longing for animpossible wholeness (impossibl€, that is,unless the Northern Piotestants can bedisarmed and dragged into a state theyloathe; or expell€d in an act of mor€ thanBalkan brutality) and defence of nationalsovereignty? Or is it about the deepening ofdemocracy, of the struggle for ?ights, thenormal dlvisions of class and gender and theachievement of a sustainable economy in asmall island, in the cootext of democratically-

diigmanhfrmn can s <rct boyudarda oldu$u shared European sovereignty?

Britanya'dakinden daha Awupal'drr. There is another way of looking at the

Bununla birlikte, lrlanda sorununun do$asr qucation' lt sees the alternativc posed here as

hili da bogluktadrr. Ulusun kendi kaderini +i:::#:. mititant and sectarian cutture ortayini heniiz tamamlanmamrg mtdtr, bu, the iatholic Republicans of west Belfast ls aimkAnsrz bir biitiinlegme aramEt ve ulusal rival ideal for the lrish future, a pcrmanent

egemenlik savunusu mudud (Kuzey temPtation to see in these Poor

Protestanlan silahsrzlandrnlmadrkqa, nefret neighbourhoods a more Yibrant re'edition of

edecekleri bir devlete zorla sokulmadrksa ya da il:::"J::#;tJ""T:."i:f;'JJIlf'"*'"'Balkan vahgetinden daha da giddcdi bir imperiatism of the North American academyuygulamaya maruz brrak madrkga boyle bir can llnd here a living refusal of thebtitiinleEme imkAnsrzdrr. ) Yoksa bu sorun "modernizing Proiect of the Anglo'American

demokrasinin derinlegtirilmesiyle, haklar igin, cultural complex"' lvost B€ltast is a

bildigimiz srmfve cinsiyet farkllklanna kare,, :ililffi;i']..":fl""::l:::"*.i:tn:;:*'ktigtik bir adada giiglii olmayan bir ridden wastes of Dublin or Liverpoot. Theseekonominin bagansr igin, y<inetimi literally embattled streets are so full ofdemokratikge ortaklag mlg bir Avrupamuhtcvasr gergevesinde miicadele etmekle mi ilgilidir)Soruna bagka tiirlii bir bakrg tarzr vardrr ve o bakrq burada dile getirdi$imiz alternatifi bir ihanetolarak g<irmektedir.Bau Belfast'rn Katolik Cumhuriye tgilerinin maSrur, militan ve sckter kiiltiirii lrlanda'mngelecegine ters dt$en bir idealdir. lrlanda'ya 6zgii bir and-emperyalizmin daha gtir bir sesletckrarlanmasrndan baEka bir qcy dc$ildir. Kuzey Amcrika ekoliiniiLn yeni moda anti-emperyalizmiyle btiyiilenmiE olan lrlanda aydrnlan, burada Anglo-Amerikan ktiltiir kangrmrnrnmode rnleEtirilme si projesinin canh bir reddiyesini bulurlar. Batr Belfast ahalisi, Dublin ve

lryherc does EUF?e end?

Avrupn Nered,e Bitiyor?

1{Ett BEtroil

Liverpool'un kcihne mahallelerindekiuyuguklu$un tam tersine, son derece harekedive ahenkli bir iggi srmfi toplulu$unu olugturur.Deyim yerindeyse, her zaman savaga hazrr olanbu sokaklar miigterek bir canlhkla doludur vetabi bu ncdenle o insanlar maglup edilemezler,ama daha acrsr galip de gelemezler. BatrBelfast, IRA'mn iilkede mudak go$unlu$asahip oldulu tek ydredir ve temsilcile rininategkes igin Ingiliz hi.ikrimetine siirdiiklerikogul, Kuzey Protestanlanm lngilizyonetiminin sona ermesini kabule zorlamasrdrr.Her iki tarafa da hareket imkim tammayan bukrsrr politika, 1993'te Kuzey lrlanda'daki tekpolitika olup, Giiney lrlanda igin pes perdedengalmakur, grinkii Gtiney lrlanda birkag mildtesinde krsrr bir dongi.i halinde sUren sava$tanuzak durmaya gahgmaktadrr.Avrupa demokrasinin, insan ve yrrttaghkhaklannrn srrurlanrun siirekli olarakgenigletilmesi gereksinimi igindedir. gayet osrmrlan sabit tutabilece$nizi sanrrsanrz, krtayrkeyfi bir etnik homojenlik kalesinedcini.iEti.irmeye kalkrgrsamz, tehlikeli birilliizyona kaprlmrg olursunuz. Aynr Eekilde,Avrupa topra$rm terketme giidiisti, ya da onunkenannda, veya drgrnda yagama tasalvuru dabir yamlsamadrr. Orne$in, yukarrda sdziiniiettigimiz Field Day Projesi'nde boyle birgeriye bakrg nostaljisi goriilmektedir. ESerIrlanda bir kumar oynayarak, gelece$e BauBelfast'rn goztiyle bakacak olursa gok vahimbir yanhga diiger, giinkii goziim ne"srimiirgecilik sonrasr s<iylem'in igindesakhdrr, ne de Protestanlann tiniter bir devlcte mecbur edilebi-le cekle ri yolundaki diiglerde.Boyle bir devleti <ingormenin 20. yi.izyrl sonunda korkunE bir Eilgrntk olaca$rm ve biittindiinyada aynLkgrLk akrmlan dniine gegilmez boyrdardayken, birtakrm devleder ister giddetyoluyla, ister banggrl bir gekilde ayngrrlarken zorla gok-uluslu bir devlet yaratmaya kalkrgmanrnolaca$rm kabul etmek daha uygundur kamsrndayrm. Ulster Protestanlan, Slovaklann,Slovenlerin, Abazalann ve Irak Kiirtleri'nin terketmis olduklan tiirden bir devlete nicin

communal elan, of course, because thcycannot be defeated; but nor, tragically, canthey win. West Belfast is the only area in thecountry whGre the lllA has an absolutemaiority, and its political representatiyes arereduced to demanding of the British

tovernment that it force the NorthernProtestants to accept the end of the Britishrule thel desire as the price of an armistice.This is the politics of impotent stalemate, andit is almost the only politics in Northernlreland in 1993. lt can also strike deep chordsin Southern lreland, which is otherwis€ utterlydistant in its concerns from the communalwar fizzling viciously a few miles above itshead.Europe needs constantly expandingboundaries of democracy and human and civilrights. To think that you can fix thosefrontiers, turn the continent into a fortress ofarbitrary ethnic and social homogeneity, is adangerous illusion. So is thc impube to leavethe terrain of Europe, to imagine that you canexist out there on the edge. There issomething of that nostalgic backward glancein Field Day, for example. lreland is unlikelyto take that gamble! to see lreland from theviewpoint of West Eelfast would be a literallyfatal error of perspectivei yet the impulse isthere, underneath the anxious exploration3 of"postcolonial discource" and the fantasies ofProtestant compliance in a unitary state,It would be better to recognize that any suchstate would be a monstrous aberration in thelate twentieth century, that it would be anattempt to create forcibly an unhappymultinational state atainst an lrresistiblecurrent of separatism that is dissolyint suchstates violently or peacefully all over theworld. Why should the ProtestanB of Ulsteragree to enter a state of the kind that theSlovaks, Slovenes, Abkhazians and lraqi Kurdshave already left! For the Southern lrish,

girsinlerf Giiney lrlandah iEin bu acr realiteyi kabul etmek pratikte zor olmamrgtrt, devlet dekendi temel belgesinden, adanrn tiim kryrlanm kucakladr$r yolundaki iddialanm resmen silmek

Where does Euroge end?

Avrubo Nerede Bitivor?

I{EII BELTOI{

zorundadrr. Sciziinii etti$imiz eski r6vangistmetnin genig gortigliiliikle yeniden kalemeahnmasr Kuzey'deki Birlegmecileri, iilkenin altridari b<iliimiinde yagamakta olan azrnh$rn tamdemokratik haklanm yadsrma mazeretindenyoksun brrakacaktr.lrlanda'run paradoksu gudur: Kcndimilliyetgili$nin demokratik bir gelecegi ancak

" milliye tgili$ geride brrakmasryla"mi.imkiindiir. Bunda Eeligkili bir yan yoktur.Kokenini larsallktan alan geleneksel lrlandamiizigiyle kendinden gegrnek ile stadyumdakiU2 rock konseri pekala yanyana yagayabilir,Irlanda deneyinin gok farkh, gok dzgiin olduguve lilanda cdcbiyatrmn Ingilizce 'de kdk sddrgryolundaki bilgi onun Anglo-Amerikankiilttiriiyle diyalog kurmasrnr yasaklamakanlamrna gelmez.Bugiin aruk edebiyat krrsal ve mitik olmaktangok kent edebiyatrdrr. Son yrllann en onemliIrlanda romanlanndan birisi, iEgi srnrfrnamensup Dublin'li bir grup gencin Amerikansoul miizigi galmak iizere bir araya gelip birmtizik ekibi olugturmalanm oykiiler.Batr Irlandahlar bir geyleri yitirmig oldugumuzduygusunu tagryorlar ve uygarh$rn kenanndadurmamn, diinya ktiltiiriindeki bugiinki.ikorkung srradanlagmadan daha iyi oldu$unudiigiiniiyorlar.Burren'da durup Aran Adalan'nrn en ktgiik veen yakrn olanna bakarken soylu Kelt barbannrson derece nazik biri olarak tahayytil etmekpek kolaydrr, ama gergekte oradan arta kalanAvrupa'nrn sahil kayah$r tizerindeki koskocaokyanusun sesidir, artrk yitip gitmiq yagam bigimlerinin belle$idir. Ve gi.iniimtiziin kabaadaletinin bir pargasr haline gelmiE olmanrn tesellisidir. Unutmayahm ki, beterin de beteri var.

acceptance ofthis harch reality ha3 in practicebeen easy; the state, however, has yet to bringits founding document into line with reality byformally deleting its claim to ev€ryindentation ofthe island's shores. And agen€rous rewriting of this classic text ofinterwar revanchism rvould rob thc NorthernUnionists of any excuse to deny the nationalistminority of the six counties their fulldemocratic rights.The paradox of lreland is that a democraticfuture for its nationalism can only be "post-national", shorn of the confessional andirredentist trappings that for most of itshistory have been allowed to define it. Thereis no contradiction in this, A fascination withtraditional lrish music, which thriyes wellaway from its rural sources, can co-exist witha tolerance for the stadium rock of U2; theknowledge that lrish experience is somethingdiff€rent and specific is the root of a brilliantlrish literature in English, without inhibitingits dialogue with Anglo-Am€rican culture.This is now a literature of the city more thanof rural nature and myth, One of the bestlrish novels of recent years was about a groupof young Dublin working-class people comingtogether to form a band - to play blackAmerican soul music.There is stil l for some lrish people the feelingthat rve have lost somethinS, that beint onthe rim of civizilation is better than this awfulnormality of world culture. lt is easy to dreamof the gravely polite Celtic noble savage asyou stand on the Burren lookinS out towardsthe nearest and smallest of the Aran lslands;but what remains is the loneliness, the pull ofthe hut€ oc€an on th€ European shelf, thememory of vanished forms of life and thereliel at beint part of the rough justice of thepresent. There are worse places to be.