Endogamy and Education: Brian Friel and Stewart Parker

Abstract

A small number of people in Northern Ireland marry outside their own community, and a small number of children are educated in schools that are not overwhelmingly attended by their coreligionists. In 1972, Rosemary Harris concluded that endogamy — marrying within the tribe — was the single most important factor in maintaining Northern Ireland’s cultural segregation.1 Today, there is increasing appreciation of how education confirms the kinship ties established by the strict endogamy Harris describes. Just as most marriages are between partners of the same religion, so, as Murray points out, ‘religious issues have been dominant’ in ‘every education bill since 1800.’2 In short, the ‘mixed marriage’ question and the ‘ethos’ arguments in support of segregated education are closely tied, and both are linked — again closely — to religion.KeywordsReligious InstructionCatholic SchoolIntegrate SchoolOrdnance SurveyMixed MarriageThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.