The five-part series Irish Empire, first broadcast on BBC Ireland in 1999, offers a compelling, contemporary historical perspective on the events, people, and influences that shaped the identity of Irish culture as it expanded throughout the world. The focus is not on Ireland as a country but the Irish as a global community--an "empire" formed by the emigration of millions of Irish natives, with pockets of culture all over the world and majority populations concentrated in England, America, and Australia. Wide-ranging in scope (despite an occasionally nagging lack of narrative cohesion), the series chronicles the expansion of Irish culture as a bona fide diaspora, grander in scale than that of almost any other ethnic group. This expansion began in the 15th and 16th centuries, intensified with the great famine of the 19th century, and continues to this day as many native Irish seek opportunities they could never find at home. The five segments focus on a variety of topics, including the initial scattering of Irish people throughout Europe; the forging of an Irish identity throughout the world; the role of women in the expansion of Irish culture and the improvement of Ireland's native economy; the history of Irish Catholic and Protestant populations at home and abroad; and the often startling contrast between the Ireland of myth and memory and modern Ireland as it continues to keep pace with an ever-changing world. Overall, this is an epic account, filled with great pride and great sadness, with horrible crises and magnificent achievements. It's perhaps a bit too dry to achieve any kind of mainstream appeal, but this series should be considered essential viewing for anyone seeking to appreciate the fullness of Irish history and the place of Irish culture in the gene pool of humanity. --Jeff Shannon |
