Ograniczanie Irlandii. Badania (po)nad granicami i literatura rozbiorowa
Delimiting Ireland: (Trans)border Studies and Partition Literature

Summary/Abstract: The 2016 referendum in the UK and then Brexit itself, formally introduced in 2020 and finalized – upon the conclusion of the transition period – at the beginning of 2021, have significantly affected the status of the border on the island of Ireland. Once the UK left the European Union, the border that separates the Republic of Ireland from Northern Ireland became an EU border as well. Although overnight the lives of the Irish people crossing the border did not change that much, gradual, and far-reaching, transformations have been taking place in the minds of the Irish and the British and in the overall economic, social and political circumstances on both sides of the old/new border. This essay seeks to address the Irish border’s history as well as its cultural and geopolitical contexts, based on the most useful insights of border studies. That perspective is enriched by elements of cultural memory studies to develop a position sensitive to the needs and aspirations of the border communities and individual borderlanders, who look for support and inspiration to their own local cultures and literary discourses. The aim of this essay is to explore various facets of the Irish border in light of the 2016 referendum’s results and ramifications. What is characteristic of the Tory neoimperialist vision and rhetoric in the UK is its disregard for the local, minority and regional issues on the island of Ireland. In consequence, the status of the 56 per cent of the inhabitants of Northern Ireland who voted “Remain” in the 2016 referendum may be described as that of a marginalized minority in their own country.

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