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HERITAGE MINISTER JAMES Browne has said the year-long commemoration of the Normans is “not celebrating anybody” amid claims the event is ‘offensive’.
A plan to commemorate the first Norman king of England William the Conqueror in 2027, one thousand years after his birth, was proposed to cabinet this week by Browne and was sharply met with dismay from Sinn Féin.
The year-long commemoration were labelled “offensive” by Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh.
He said it beggared belief, given the “legacy of William’s successors invading and subjugating Ireland in the name of his English crown”.
Asked about the criticism today, Browne told The Journal that the events were about “respectfully commemorating a historical event that hugely influenced Ireland’s future”.
“Look, around 15% of the population in this country are Norman heritage. When you go down to the southeast, up to 40% of surnames are Norman heritage.”
The Normans, who landed in Wexford’s Bannow Bay in 1169, were responsible for the foundation of many Irish towns.
They also built castles, abbeys and cathedrals that are still standing today. These include St Patrick’s Cathedral and Christ Church Cathedral.
The first Norman king of England, William the Conquerer, began his reign after he won the Battle of Hastings in 1066, defeating King Harold’s English army.
Following a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Browne said the Normans “left their mark in monumental ways” and he wants this new initiative to leave a lasting legacy, by promoting tourism and boosting the economy.
Today, he clarified that the events were about commemorating – not celebrating – a group of people who arrived to Ireland and “ended up with a tagline of being more Irish than the Irish themselves”.
“They adopted Gaelic culture, they married into Gaelic families, and they fought for Irish freedom on many, many occasions. So we’re right to commemorate it. We’re not celebrating anybody, so we’re not.”
Ó Snodaigh this week slammed Browne’s plan as amounting to “scraping the barrel of colonialism, imperialism and English royalism” for the sake of “themed tourism”.
He said we should “take pride in the rich architectural, cultural, and literary heritage” of Anglo-Norman Ireland, but that his party draws the line at focusing the commemoration around England’s first Norman king.
Asked about Ó Snodaigh’s remarks, Browne told The Journal: “I’m a little bit worried that Sinn Féin have increasingly taken any opportunity to hint at nativism. I think, you know, we really have to be very careful with this type of language.”
The ‘European Year of the Normans’ will consist of multidisciplinary events, such as exhibitions, live performances, cross-border artistic residencies, re-enactments, student exchanges, sports, research and more.
It will also involve partners from Normandy, the Channel Islands, Italy, the United Kingdom, Norway, and Denmark. The events will take place from March to October 2027.
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How many Russian names in Ukraine!
Cant ever see Ukrainians wanting to celebrate Russia let alone Stalins birthday.
@Michael Collins: It’s not an accurate analogy. This is an international project organised by the Regional Council of Normandy, and it’s hard to see a downside, really. Lots of potential for tourism and intercultural fun.
@Michael Collins: Plenty of German names in France,Belgium….. etc too.. can’t imagine any of them wanting to celebrate being conquered by nazi Germany nor celebrate hitlers birthday either.
@Brendan O’Brien: Its about people making money Brendan.. thats the truth off it.
@Brendan O’Brien: And my comment was more in reply to Browned ridiculous argument about ‘names’ especially when he should be doing his job regarding the housing crisis .
@H Woo: Whats yours ? They are not planning to celebrate the Nazis or Hitlers Birthday.
Now foxtrot oscar wb.
@Michael Collins: you’re not comparing apples with apples mate. The Normans have been among us for almost a thousand years. Do you want us to send Ray D’Arcy back? Actually, maybe you’re on to something…
My surname is of Norman origin and I have no will or want to celebrate William the Conquerer because at the end of the day they invaded Ireland. Furthermore ‘More Irish than the Irish themselves’, complete rubbish, only those living outside of the pale became involved in the Irish culture, the statutes of Kilkenny coming to mind. Furthermore, celevrating William the Conquerer who was well dead when the Normans came to Ireland over one hundreds after invading England. While we’re at it why not celebrate Gerald of Wales who wrote a book of fiction allowing the pope to give England the right to invade Ireland.
@Brian D’Arcy: The vastly greater part of the country was outside the Pale, though, and the statutes of Kilkenny proved that Normans did assimilate (otherwise the statutes wouldn’t have been needed). The old Norman families were often opposed to English interests in the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century wars (Silken Thomas etc.), so I’m not sure that ‘them and us’ thinking is justified here.
@Brian D’Arcy: Read your history. The High King of Ireland invited the Normans to help him put manners on the stroppy regional Kings.
@Andrew Harrington: Not true, Diarmaid Mac Murrough invited the Normans in when the High King Ruairi O Connor removed him as king of Leinster for cause.
Sounds like touristy shite. Putting aside the madness of celebrating invaders, where will the tourists stay? Ireland has swapped the tourism industry (and fast losing nursing homes) for the IPA / refugee industry
@Atlas Collapsed: Be careful, Brendan O’Brien and the looney left will be along to get you cancelled leaving posts like that. They’ll label you far right and racist for sharing a different opinion. They will guide any debate off course and inform you that it is indeed the Irish that are a pack of lazy souls, whilst stating that it is a fact that all immigrants entering this country are highly skilled such as doctors, teachers, tradesmen and engineers.
@Barry Murphy:
Why would they need to bother Barry?
0.6%.
@P. J.: Welcome back D Peader. It’s only been 4 months since Trumps inauguration and you’ve finally reappeared, that’s some fine work by your counsellor.
Absolute clown. Tax payers money wasted on this nonsense when a child is holding a 50 hour protest outside government buildings due to lack of services.
I wouldn’t agree with any celebration of William the conquer, but let’s be real, most of the country has mixed blood/DNA with the Norman’s. I myself have a Norman surname, but it’s mixed with Kavanagh, Farrell, and so on.. I’d love a deeper understanding of Norman culture and history.
He never set foot in Ireland so why would we commemorate him
Wolfe Tone, Edward Fitzgerald, Robert Emmet, Seán Lemass, to name but a few – all proud Irish patriots, all with surnames with Norman roots
No! Never! All we want to celebrate it mud walled cottages, turf fires and being subjugated by religious facsists who took our money, stole our children etc. etc.
We must deny that any other history or event that happened in Ireland is worth examining. We can’t allow something like education to happen maybe then people will see there’s more nuance to the past than their 5th class history book taught them in 1994….
Seriously, who the f do SF think they are telling us what we can and can’t have events on?? It’s our history, not their myopic one.
Even the Garda getting it off so called ‘protestors’; first being accused of all sorts, and one being injured the other week in Shannon at an airport…. seriously Ireland, wake up.
I would politely suggest that readers check the origin of surnames of SF, or anybody in Ireland. Some can be traced to viking, but Norman (french) , not yet speaking english, are all around. Burke, Fitzgerald etc.
Casting stones like SF are doing could ripple back at themselves. Ireland owes a lot to norman architecture and there love of irish horses.
The UK celebrates their conquerors – Romans, Vikings, Normans, Orange Billy (if they even know of him outside NI). The Germans are forgiven for killing millions of them. We don’t yet have the self confidence to deal with history like them but we will. My vote is ignore the moans. Instead embrace our mongrel history. Let’s all learn Forth and Bargy alongside Irish – accept who we are. It’s a wonderful messed up country full of exciting other histories alongside the official one.
Norman Bates. Get over it.
Get over this nonsense. It’s part of our history
Irish history belongs to the few . If you didn’t play a part of the Republican fairytale then you don’t get remembered in history . Every other country in the world understands that the countries that played a part in your history is what makes you who you are. Not the Irish they erase their own flesh and blood from their history books .
@H Woo: No surprise that the ex British Army Para who once occupied Ireland and yourself would made good bed fellows. You were always classy Stephen, classy, classy upper-classy lol..
@Michael Collins:A Shinner that is offended because I said that the people ( our ancestors) that played a part in Irish history should be remembered . There is something really disturbing about a country who s history just revolved around the few . Maybe the problem here is that the Irish people just don’t like who they really were in history.
@Jack Moss: Did I reply to you ? The answer to that is No.. you couldn’t even get that right lord haw-haw.
Impressive how they built so much with so little, a stark comparison to contemporary leadership that can build nothing with everything available.
Sinn(ourselves)fein will never forget.
Unless it’s where the remains are buried.
Or where the money went.
Or where the ink went.
Or where their spine went.
Or to apologise for some unfortunate “death” of gardai.
A lot of African Americans have their slave owners surnames.
What was his point exactly?
Should they celebrate that too?
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