The Image of Ireland in Iberian Galicia in the Early Twentieth Century

Abstract

In her article "The Image of Ireland in Iberian Galicia in the Early Twentieth Century," Anne MacCarthy explores Galician intellectuals' relationship with Ireland in their attempt to create a Celtic imaginary for Galicia which would act as a cultural fortification in the face of centralizing forces of Castilian Spain. In periodicals prominent in the 1920s, Nós and A Nosa Terra, the wish to construct a separate identity for Galicia, apart from Spain, is often expressed and embodied in reference to Ireland. Whereas the interest in Ireland was increased by the struggle for independence in that country at the time, the basis for the similarities found between the two cultures was mythical and imaginary.