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Sean
Smyth, in his article praising Feile
an Phobail, urges Unionists like myself to follow
the example of West Belfast “instead of ramming
their hate driven culture down the throats of Nationalists,
making it something they can share with all the communities
in the North of Ireland”. This rather sweeping
statement bears no resemblance whatever to my own
personal knowledge and experience of the culture in
which I grew up and the cultural activities that my
family have enjoyed, and still enjoy.
The
communities in which I grew up made provision for
culture through local Amateur Dramatic Societies,
Music Festivals, Choirs and Choral Societies, Recitals,
Burns Clubs, Folk Dancing (both Irish and Scottish)
and Amateur Art Clubs. Perhaps a bit tame compared
with what is available today, but certainly not driven
by hate. While I did not always avail myself of the
opportunity to participate in such events, other than
as a spectator, they were an integral part of community
life for me as I grew up. I cannot remember any of
these activities being rammed down the throats of
anyone, Catholic or Protestant. On the contrary people
from both traditions participated.
Few,
if any of these activities ever received public funding.
They were sustained by member’s subscriptions,
public donations, jumble sales and whatever little
revenue was gleaned from performances and exhibitions.
It could be said that the lack of public funding helped
to generate and sustain a true sense of community
ownership and self-reliance. These activities could
not have been sustained without the interest and the
generosity of the community and they certainly could
not have been sustained if they had been driven by
hatred.
In
South East Antrim we inherited the legacy of the rhyming
weavers, which has long been neglected by the literary
world but kept alive in the memory of the common people
through fireside readings and recitations. Places
like Roughfort, Lyles Hill, Ballyclare, Ballynure
and Ballycarry had their own poets and traditions,
which I knew about only because of the stories and
recitals given during the long winter evenings in
the days before television. (Yes, I am that old).
The late John Hewitt did much to revive an interest
in the work of the weaver poets and a few anthologies
have been published in recent years. Readings of local
poems and stories by writers both old and new are
on the increase.
I
have yet to come across any work by either the weaver
poets or John Hewitt that promotes hatred. Indeed
the annual John Hewitt Summer School which is held
in a Catholic College draws people from all communities
in Northern Ireland, and beyond. Both Tommy Mc Kearney
and myself addressed a session of the Summer School
in 2001. The F.W. Marshall Summer School which is
held in Derry each year also draws participants from
both traditional communities. Again, nothing in the
works of Marshall or the programme of the Summer School
promotes hatred or division between nationalists and
unionists.
No
discussion of local culture would be complete without
a comment or two about dancing. Both Irish and Scottish
dancing were part of the performing arts in my community.
The majority of Irish Dance schools in East Antrim
are organised and attended by people from the unionist
community. My own daughter is a former Nine Glens
champion and a local Greenisland girl has recently
won her section of the Ulster Championships for the
seventh time.
The
social side of Irish and Scottish dancing was catered
for through ceilidh evenings. Of course being “prods”
we paid little heed to the Gaelic League’s insistence
on “Irish only” dances. The “Waves
of Tory” could have been followed by “The
Lancers” without anyone batting an eyelid, and
I could make as big an eejit of myself trying to follow
the “Bridge of Athlone” or “The Walls
of Limerick” as I could trying the “Gay
Gordons”. With a “drap of the cratur”
down the neck the steps were as confusing to me whether
they were Irish or Scottish - but the crack was good.
Sadly, the ceidlihs are a thing of the past. Television
and the coca cola culture have seen to that. But both
Irish dancing and Scottish country dancing are still
alive and well, and enjoyed by people from both traditions
within my local community.
I
have been to a number community festivals, cultural
events and art exhibitions this summer in predominantly
unionist towns and villages where both Protestant
and Catholic, Unionist and Nationalist, have been
quite happy to come together to enjoy the scheduled
events. None of these events fitted the stereotyped
culture of hate that Sean Smyth attributes to people
living in unionist communities. None of my own cultural
preferences, or those of my family, could remotely
be said to be driven by hatred. Yet as a unionist
I am boxed by Sean into a cultural corner labelled
“Culture of Hate”. Such stereotyping displays
a prejudicial approach to life that sees nothing good
in those who come from a different community and tradition.
It is a prejudice that feeds on putting down the “other”
and that, in itself, is inevitably tainted with the
very hate that it attributes to others.
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