Union

This essay argues that although "union" appears to have a limited range of meaning in Ireland, being overwhelmingly associated with the Act of Union of 1801, issues of language are central to how this political union has been understood. In particular, I argue that claims as to the inadequacy of the Union were established as powerful tropes in the debates that preceded its enactment and continued to shape resistance to it over the course of the nineteenth century. The power of these tropes was such that they contributed to the nationalist narrative that the ultimate failure of the Union was predetermined, and cemented the partitionist perspective of the nationalist establishment in the newly independent state. Since the 2016 Brexit referendum, however, the linear historical timeline of southern nationalism has been disrupted, and different experiences and understandings of "union" have begun to emerge.