Parallel Paths: The Development of Nationalism in Ireland and Quebec.

Graeme S. Mount is a history professor at Laurentian University and
author of Canada’s Enemies: Spies and Spying in the Peaceable Kingdom.

There are some obvious parallels between the nationalisms of Quebec and Ireland. Many in both groups have considered themselves victims of British imperialism, forced into larger political unions (the United Kingdom or Canada). In both cases, the Roman Catholic Church was for centuries a bulwark of the national identity. Quebec and Ireland remain home to significant minorities of British descent. British authorities have crushed rebellions in both. Both Quebecois and Irish have a strong sense of history. In both cases, the struggle continues.

After the second (1995) Quebec referendum, Garth Stevenson—a McGill graduate who now teaches Political Science at Brock University—wondered why Québécois, Scots, and Puerto Ricans appeared to be almost the only people in the world who could credibly claim nationhood and yet who rejected independence. Because of the parallels, Stevenson thought that a study of Ireland would lead to an understanding of Quebec. This book is the result.

Stevenson notes and discusses some significant differences. Massive immigration from the British mainland to Ireland began early in the 17th century, when authorities regarded Roman Catholics as subversives. Quebec became British territory in the more secular 18th century. Ireland had a large population that shrank in the 19th century; the reverse was true in Quebec. Ireland was geographically much closer to the United Kingdom than was Quebec, and struggles over agricultural land there were more acute than those on the western side of the Atlantic. Unlike the Québécois, the Irish abandoned their language, but for decades before the First World War, the Québécois had a larger measure of internal self-government. Unlike Ireland, Quebec has not yet been partitioned.

Although a politicial scientist, Stevenson has a great command of history and offers superb historical perspective. Both he and his publisher deserve congratulations.