Learning and Unlearning the Conflict in Northern Ireland

How conversation and connection revealed my misunderstanding of a culture I claimed as my own

Image taken by author

Growing up in the United States, I had never experienced the intricacies of my Irish heritage first hand. In my juvenile mind, Ireland had simply been a mystical and faraway place where my grandfather was born, a land of fairy tales and leprechauns: idyllic, green, and beautiful.

My knowledge of Irish culture came mostly from my dad’s stories about suffering through Gaelic lessons and making mischief with his cousins from Cleggan. “Being Irish” meant itchy sweaters, homemade scones, and tea time in the afternoon.

I had heard of “The Troubles,” but coming from an Irish Catholic family, the limited knowledge I had about this conflict was filtered through that particular lens.

I had learned that Northern Ireland, a separate country that was part of the United Kingdom, was riddled with a violent history of division and conflict between the Irish Catholics and the British Protestants. I had learned that the British government had oppressed the Irish Republicans who fought for what was rightfully theirs: a united Ireland.

I had assumed that this cultural divide was in the past, a small blip on the…