A View from Ireland

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It was the largest protest seen in Ireland in decades. In February 2003 an estimated 100,000 people thronged the streets of Dublin to voice their opposition to the war on Iraq. The demonstration marked the first time Irish people had registered their disapproval of US government actions in such numbers. To understand the significance of that day, one needs to appreciate the unique place Ireland occupies in the transatlantic conversation.

Ireland's relationship with the US is a long and complex one. The history of the two countries has been interwoven over centuries of immigration and shared experience. In many ways we are part of the same extended family - almost 40 million Americans claim some Irish ancestry – and that closeness has led to deep social, economic, political and cultural ties. US investment played a major role in the economic boom that transformed Ireland over the last decade. Northern Ireland was nudged towards peace with help from across the Atlantic. The American Dream has fired the imagination of many of Ireland's writers, musicians and artists. Tens of thousands of Irish people travel to the US every year for tourism, work or study.

It is a relationship Ireland's then deputy Prime Minister Mary Harney attempted to pin down in a seminal speech in 2000: "Geographically we are closer to Berlin than Boston,” she said. “Spiritually we are probably a lot closer to Boston than Berlin."

That juxtaposition of Boston and Berlin kicked off a debate that still resonates today, capturing the ambiguities of modern Ireland as it imagines the future and oscillates between the economic, cultural and political pull of the US to the west and an increasingly unified Europe to its east. What do we want – an American-style economy? The European social model? Or a mix of the two?

While Ireland's connection with the United States remains strong, the nature of the relationship is changing because Ireland is changing. Emigration to America - for so long a vital link between the two countries - declined significantly from the 1990s on, as Ireland rose to become one of the wealthiest countries in the EU. This unprecedented prosperity brought with it a new confidence about Ireland’s place in the world. The deference and sense of dependence that had so often characterized the Irish transatlantic relationship has been replaced by an increasing willingness to criticize the US.

Ireland has become more ethnically diverse too. High levels of immigration in the last decade mean one in ten people living in Ireland was born outside the country. These new arrivals view the US through a different lens and do not share the common history that has bound the two countries so closely together in the past.

Once upon a time spending the summer working in the US on a J1 visa was practically a rite of passage for Irish students. But in recent years the number applying for J1 visas is a fraction of what it used to be. Some believe this is due to increased entry restrictions following 9/11; others say Ireland's economic boom has played a role; but even the US ambassador has conceded that anti-American feeling may have contributed to the decline. Whatever the reasons, it means far more young Irish are growing up without the up-close-and-personal knowledge of the US that comes from summers spent waiting tables in New Jersey, an experience no amount of watching the OC or Grey's Anatomy re-runs can ever replace.

There is also a sense that perhaps some of the old ties between Irish America and Ireland are beginning to fray or at least loosen. Since the September 11 attacks, members of the Irish diaspora in the US have voiced dismay at what they perceive to be growing anti-American sentiment in the old country. They complain of hostile media commentary and bristle at Irish criticism of US policy. “When did Ireland become an anti-American hotbed?” one Fox News presenter who has an Irish grandmother asked two years ago. “What’s the matter with the Irish? What happened to that century-long love affair with America? It appears to be over.”

It is difficult to gauge levels of anti-Americanism in Ireland. Organizations such as Pew have not included it in surveys which register consistently high levels of animosity towards the US in many other European countries. But the issues that draw criticism of the US in Ireland are the same ones cited in Europe – Iraq, Guantanamo, climate change and the so-called ‘war on terror’. There are signs that the disconnect between government policy and public attitudes to the US reported in other European countries also exists to a certain extent in Ireland. An example is the controversy over the use of Shannon airport as a refuelling stop for the US military. Public opinion has swung widely on the issue since 2001 - one of the most recent polls showed that 58 percent were opposed.

But while people may shake their fists at the Bush administration and snipe at the US in pub conversations and op-ed columns, American culture is deeply embedded in Ireland – as it is elsewhere in Europe – and there is an admiration, albeit sometimes grudging, for the idea of America, its exuberance, energy and exhilarating sense of possibility. Nevertheless, at a time when the transatlantic relationship between Europe and the US is considered by many to be at its lowest ebb, some wonder if the fissure goes deeper than criticism of Bush and his war. We may share the market and democracy but is it possible to speak of common values when there are marked differences between Europe and the US on issues such as the death penalty, gun control and the place of religion within society?

A debate like this requires both Europeans and Americans to move beyond stereotypes. There is a tendency in Europe to flatten representations of America into a one-dimensional caricature, ignoring its vastness and diversity. But Americans also fall into that trap, often viewing Europe as little more than a quaint chocolate box holiday destination instead of the growing power it is today.

So whither the transatlantic relationship? If a note of ambivalence can creep into a population so closely linked to the US as Ireland's is, what does that say about the future of relations between Europe and America?

Whatever our differences, most would agree that more unites us than divides us when compared with any other actor on the international stage. The question is whether we can build on that and draw closer together or allow ourselves to drift further apart.