HEROES AND MARTYRS. SYMBOLS OF IRISH NATIONALISM

Abstract

In the long history of Irish Nationalism, symbolism occupies an important place. This story has many heroic and tragic pages. The Pantheon of Nationalism includes all the heroes and martyrs of the struggle for independence. But not all of them received "symbol status". As a rule, symbols represents individual characters of the National Movement or events that have had a serious impact on the course of the History of Ireland. Symbols are designed to preserve historical memory and contribute to the process of national selfidentiication. One such symbol is the "Epitaph of Emmett," which stimulates the desire to create a united Ireland. A great influence on the emergence of symbols is provided by the Celtic mentality, which is characterized by mythologization and close connection with the images of the past. Obviously, a particular symbol is not an artiicially created object. It arises spontaneously and then is often used by leaders of the National Movement. In Soviet/Russian historiography, the symbolism of Irish Nationalism was not the subject of a special study. The study of the appearance, content and inluence of symbols on the development of the Irish National Movement is of no small importance. Their study allows us to determine the sociopsychological aspects of the phenomenon, to identify the problem of the "leader-mass" relationship, to more fully understand the logic of the formulation of the aims of the movement and the mechanisms for their implementation.

Keywords

• symbols
• nationalism
• tone
• emmet
• o'connell
• manchester martyrs