Choreographed Segregation: Irish Republican Commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising in ‘Post-Conflict’ Belfast

Abstract

This article considers the commemorative events for the 1916 Rising taking place over the course of the Easter weekend in Belfast an exercise in choreographed segregation. The paper highlights that, beginning on Easter Sunday morning and concluding late on Monday afternoon, six separate faction-specific commemorations take place in the west of the city. Rather than serving the purpose of uniting an ever expanding network of rival groups under a banner of this shared Irish republican commemoration, the manner by which the events are organised serves to harden the lines of intra-factional difference. Analysis of the use of commemorative space, with a specific focus on how it is both shared and divided over the course of the Easter weekend, reveals the designation of separate time slots for groups to gather and internal segregation within the same commemorative space in the city, Milltown cemetery. In addition the article highlights the competition over use and ownership of important and iconic republican symbolism. It is argued that the expansion of separate republican commemorations for the Easter Rising is linked to the improving political climate in ‘post-conflict’ Belfast. Segregation at the events is based on a need to ensure an absence of violent intra-factional conflict should two or more commemorative rituals collide. However, of equal importance is the crucial role the 1916 Easter commemorations play in maintaining marginalised republican factional identities, particularly those whose very existence is challenged as a result of the dominant position of the powerful republican group in the north, Sinn Féin. Findings presented in the article are supplemented with reference to data gathered through interviews conducted with members across the republican movement in the north. The overall outcome is a commemorative event that appears solidarity limiting, fragmented and deeply contested despite taking place in a relatively peaceful and consensual ‘post-conflict’ environment.