Irish/Ness is All Around Us

Olaf Zenker is Junior Professor at the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Freie Universitat Berlin. He received his PhD from the Martin Luther University and the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle/Saale, Germany, and obtained his habilitation from the University of Bern, Switzerland. His publications include the co-edited volume Beyond Writing Culture: Current Intersections of Epistemologies and Representational Practices (Berghahn Books, 2010).

"This book will be of interest to linguistic anthropologists, cultural anthropologists, as well as sociologists, political scientists, and historians of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It will also be valuable to those interested in cultural identity formation within politically charged contexts, including postcolonial contexts. It complements and extends the existing research on political identities in Northern Ireland." American Ethnologist"While the structure of the book is sometimes heavy, it remains rich in insights and shows theoretical flair. It will be of interest to people who want to know how Irish revitalists navigate ethnicity in Northern Ireland. The methodology is thorough, placing the experiences of the participants in conversation with social structures. Certainly, the theoretical contributions will be of interest to scholars of nationalism and ethnicity." Canadian Journal of Irish Studies

• DedicationEpigraphList of Tables, Figures, MapsAcknowledgementsGlossaryPROLOGUEChapter 1. A Walk of Life: Entering Catholic West BelfastChapter 2. Framing the Research: Analytical Approach and MethodologyPART I: THE IRISH LANGUAGE IN CATHOLIC WEST BELFAST Chapter 3. Failte isteach-Welcome InChapter 4. Becoming a GaeilgeoirChapter 5. On Prophets, Godfathers, Rebels and Prostitutes: A Contemporary History of the Irish language in Catholic West BelfastChapter 6. 'Our own native language': Local Representations and Practices of the Irish languagePART II: IRISH IDENTITY IN CATHOLIC WEST BELFASTChapter 7. 'It's part of what we are'-Identifying IdentityChapter 8. Becoming (Aware of) Who You Are: IrishChapter 9. Casting Nets of Identity: a Contemporary History of Irishness in Catholic West BelfastChapter 10. 'Something inside so strong': Local Representations and Practices of IrishnessChapter 11. 'Trying to make sense of it all': Identity Matters in Catholic West BelfastPOST SCRIPTUMBibliographyIndex