The Irish Uprising of Easter 1916: A Psychopolitical Dialogue

Abstract

At the time of the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising in Ireland, this article offers a psychopolitical dialogue between two friends and colleagues, one Irish and one British, who share their personal, political, and psychological associations and reflections on the event. The article reflects on some of the implications of the Uprising; the nature of the Irish state, and especially the influence of the Irish Catholic Church on that state; and the role of rebel songs; the transgeneration transmission of trauma; as well as some of the implications of being activists and allies. The article is constructed in the form of a dialogue in which the authors interweave personal memories and associations together with theory and literature, and seek to make intellectual and relational meaning out of an event which changed and has had a lasting impact on both Irish and British political states.