The Approaches to Irish History
The Traditionalist and Revisionist Views Towards Ireland’s Past
Since the 1970s, Irish history has been dominated by two distinct approaches to Ireland’s past. These two approaches are better known as the “traditionalist” and the “revisionist” views.
The Traditionalist Approach
To put it simply, an historian that favours the traditionalist approach tends to be sympathetic to a “nationalist” interpretation of Ireland’s past. Peter Beresford Ellis in one of his lectures in 1989 best summed up the “nationalist” view, he stated that, “The ‘nationalist’ historian starts from a basic moral premise that imperialism is wrong in all its forms”.
There are three main beliefs of the traditionalist approach, they are:
- That the British government dealt with all of Ireland’s interests in the late 18th century and early 19th century. Therefore, Ireland could’ve been seen as an unofficial colony of Britain as the Irish had little to no say whatsoever over their own welfare.
- That Ireland was extremely underdeveloped economically during the 18th century and early 19th century.
- That the conflict between the peasants and the landowners rife in Ireland was a battle fought due to a long history of seizure of land, economic oppression and religious persecution.
The traditionalist approach dates back to the 1930s, merely a decade after southern Ireland gained independence. In the years following their independence, Ireland went through a period of increased development. A fact that helps to support a traditionalist historian that would say Ireland had been suppressed in every way by Britain before becoming independent.
The Revisionist Approach
Unlike the traditionalist view, it is deemed as extremely difficult to fully explain the ideas behind a revisionist approach. Nevertheless, historians Boyce and O’Day claimed the following:
- It is said that revisionists remain objective when concerned with the history of Ireland. However, it can be argued that it is near impossible impartial when studying the past, as one is bound to take sides to some degree.
- The revisionist approach didn't fully surface until the 1970s, as a result it is seen as a deliberate reaction to the already popular traditionalist approach.
- The simple premise of the revisionist approach is that many conclusions agreed upon by traditionalist historians are far too simple and misleading.
The revisionist approach gained little popularity before the 1970s. However, like the traditionalist approach its roots can be traced back to the 1930s. It is was in 1938 when a journal called Irish Historical Studies was founded, with every intention of providing a revisionist approach to Irish history.
The Importance of Traditionalist and Revisionist Views
The lesson here is that whenever one is studying Irish history, one has to be aware as to whether the source they are using was produced by a traditionalist or a revisionist.
As with any historical source, an element of bias comes to the fore. Upon understanding these two differing approaches, one can better comprehend the source as they have a fairly strong grasp on what message the author is trying to convey.
Reference:
British History for AS Level by Derek Peaple & Tony Lancaster (ISBN: 1-902796-19-5)
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