CEMA and the National Anthem: The Arts and the State in Postwar Northern Ireland

Abstract

In Northern Ireland, as in rest of United Kingdom, war years were those in which state began to subsidize arts, The Entertainment Nation al Service Association, first established in World War I to entertain troops, was revived. Given presence of British and Allied troops in state this group also operated in Northern Ireland; there was, however, still no compara ble service for civilian population at home.1 That changed in 1943 when, with help of Pilgrim Trust?a beneficence set up by Edward Harkness in 1930?the Council for Encouragement of Musk and Arts was estab lished in Northern Ireland,2 Later, CEMA Northern Ireland would also benefit from largesse of Carnegie United Kingdom Trust, CEMA, as it became known, was composed of Council and three suhcommittees? dealing with art, drama, and music, respectively?3 By 1945, CEMA Northern Ireland had thirty-one local committees, although sometimes a committee amounted to a one-person campaign, and it was always a voluntary undertaking.1 CEMA*s slogan in United Kingdom became the best for most,** and this was also adopted in Northern Ireland, However* by 1953* CEMA had been forced into a divisive pol icy which alienated significant numbers of their supporters: playing of British national anthem, God Save the-KingTat all events that they sponsored. As in United Kingdom, agitation for state support for arts in Northern Ireland came from outside of government circles. In 1940, Queen's