CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE “MONDAY NIGHT IRISH:” ENGENDERING IRISH IDENTITY AT THE CELTIC ARTS CENTER IN LOS ANGELES A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Master of Art in Anthropology By April Mejia May 2013 The thesis of April Mejia is approved: _____________________________________ _______________ Dr. Rachel F. Giraudo Date _____________________________________ _______________ Dr. Suzanne Scheld Date _____________________________________ _______________ Dr. Sabina Magliocco, Chair Date California State University, Northridge ii Preface My thesis topic was initially inspired by my interest in my own Irish ancestry, but when I traveled to Ireland in the summer of 2010, that interest broadened dramatically to incorporate all aspects of Irish culture. I instantly became “Irish” as travelling abroad with my now husband solidified how much I felt that I naturally blend in with the Irish people. My light skin, freckles, red hair and blue eyes were a sharp contrast to my husband’s brown skin, brown eyes, and black hair. While walking the streets of Dublin one morning, an older Irish woman walked up to us and simply stated to me “You have the beauty of Ireland in you,” and continued on her way. Subsequently, it was from my journey throughout Ireland that I began to contemplate what it meant to be Irish and the ways by which one might determine levels of Irishness. Am I, for example, more Irish now than the rest of my family because I have been to Ireland? My first academic foray on the path of all things Irish was through my classes at CSU Northridge. I began my graduate career with an interest in Irish culture, but without a distinct research focus. My first opportunity to write on an aspect of Irish culture was in my Anthropology of Fashion seminar, where I chose to expand my knowledge of Irish culture through the quintessential piece of Irish fashion: the Aran sweater. It was through my investigation on the Aran sweater that I began my research on Irish identity in earnest. The Aran sweater, through the globalizing effects of the Internet, constituted the ultimate icon of Irish identity to the world. I further expanded on this research with my presentation “The Role of Social Networking in Ethnographic Studies: How Fashion iii Spreads Globally,” at “The Art of Anthropology” conference that took place in Belfast, Northern Ireland in September 2011. I recognized at the outset of trying to formulate an actual research topic and research design that I faced a significant challenge. Unlike Boston, New York, and other cities in the eastern United States, Los Angeles lacked well known Irish and Irish American enclaves. Rather, the “Irish” of metropolitan Los Angeles were a dispersed population; I would have to find a central place, or institution, where common interests converged. The Celtic Arts Center was chosen as my field site because it allowed me to take a grounded approach to my research. I began my research based on curiosity in Irish diasporic identity, which later developed into how Irish identity operates. I utilized participant observation in my research at the Celtic Arts Center; this involved going to events and meeting people within the community in an informal way. My participant observation included enrolling in the Irish Gaelic class, and attending a few seisiúns (Irish traditional music) offered by the Celtic Arts Center. I participated in the Irish Gaelic class almost every week for approximately six months, which allowed me into the inner circle of the Celtic Arts Center. I was able to meet some of the most dedicated members of the center, including the President of the Board of Directors through my participation in this class. From these initial connections I was then introduced to other members of the Celtic Arts Center who participated in the Irish céilí dance class and the Irish music seisiún. I chose to take a mixed methods approach to my fieldwork, using both participant observation and surveys. My survey questions were aimed at gathering general iv information about the participants, primarily to form the demographic picture of the Celtic Arts Center. In addition, the surveys acted as an introduction to my research for those I had not spoken to on an individual basis, thus allowing me to expand the number of individuals in my study. Furthermore, the surveys also enabled me, based on their responses, to discover whom the most suitable participants would be to conduct individual interviews. They also allowed me to tailor my interviews for each person based on their previous answers, which decreased the time needed for interviews, an important consideration. All of the interviews took place directly after the Irish Gaelic class in the front lounge area. While the location of the interviews was convenient, time was a contributing factor because the céilí dance class was occurring at this time and throughout the interviews you could hear the music through the walls. In addition, whenever the door opened you could hear music and people talking. Since this location is the entrance to the other two smaller rooms at point it becomes busy like a train station; as people head in to dance and later people begin arriving for the seisiún. Through the surveys and interviews conducted I was able to investigate the ways in which identity making processes are at work at the Celtic Arts Center. It was the interviews that led to the discovery of the multiple Irish identities present at the Celtic Arts Center, such as, the “Monday Night Irish,” the “Everyday Irish,” and the “Cardiac Celts.” These categories were influenced by many factors, including travel to Ireland, distance traveled to the Celtic Arts Center, and the amount of Irish ancestry. In addition to these categories of Irishness, the Celtic Arts Center evokes an “imagined community” (Anderson 2006) based on primarily symbolic identities. I focused on “Monday Night Irish” because these individuals offered a current and new way in which to view symbolic v identity. Symbolic identity relies on the identity not being part of an individual’s everyday life, usually referring to the enactment of the identity on holidays or other special occasions. At the Celtic Arts Center, the use and disuse of symbolic identity occurs on a weekly basis. vi Dedication For my love, Ramon vii Table of Contents Signature Page ii Preface iii Dedication vii List of Illustrations x Abstract xi Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: Approaches to Identity in the Social and Behavioral Sciences 6 Ethnic Identity 8 Conclusion 23 Chapter 3: Historical Treatment of Irish Americans 30 18th Century 33 19th Century 36 20th Century 43 21st Century 48 Conclusion 50 Chapter 4: An Claidheamh Soluis /Celtic Arts Center 54 Historical Background 54 Purpose of the Celtic Arts Center 57 The Role of Tradition at the Celtic Arts Center 59 Cultural Expressions, Experiences, and Practices 61 Mother Tongues or Ancestral Languages 65 viii Ethnic Customs 72 Chapter 5: Personal Identity Making Processes at the Celtic Arts Center 77 Age and Sex of Patrons 77 Rates of Travel to Ireland 83 Distance Traveled to the Celtic Arts Center 87 Amount of Irish Ancestry 93 Irish Ancestry as a Factor in Creating a Symbolic Identity 96 Celtic Themed Attire as a Factor in Promoting 101 Symbolic Identity Imagined Community 103 Chapter 6: Conclusion 107 Works Cited 113 ix List of Illustrations Irish Gaelic Class Summation of Ages and Sex 78 Irish Céilí Dance Summation of Ages and Sex 80 Irish Music Seisiún Summation of Ages and Sex 81 CAC Ages 82 Irish Gaelic Class Visited Ireland by Sex 84 Irish Gaelic Class Distance Traveled to CAC 89 Irish Céilí Dance Distance Traveled to CAC 90 Irish Music Seisiún Distance Traveled to CAC 91 CAC Distance Traveled 92 Irish Gaelic Class Irish Ancestry 93 CAC Irish Ancestry 95 x ABSTRACT “MONDAY NIGHT IRISH:” ENGENDERING IRISH IDENTITY AT THE CELTIC ARTS CENTER IN LOS ANGELES By April Mejia Master of Art in Anthropology Based on ethnographic research conducted at the Celtic Arts Center, I analyze the emergence of multiple Irish identities for Irish Americans in Los Angeles. Based on socio-historical context, largely influenced by globalization, the ways in which Irish American identity has been created are illustrated through personal accounts. The patrons of the Celtic Arts Center formed their Irish American identities around multiple factors, including, travel to Ireland, distance traveled to the center, and the amount of Irish ancestry one possesses. Members of the Celtic Arts Center fell into three main categories of Irish identity: “Monday Night Irish,” “Everyday Irish,” and “Cardiac Celts.” In addition, to the ways in which the Celtic Arts Center influences the creation of personal identity it also acts as an imagined community for its members. xi Introduction The ways in which identity has been constructed and analyzed have changed throughout history. The following chapters are a glimpse into the vast array of theories regarding identity and the historical context associated with the multiple Irish identities that have occurred over time. The Irish at the Celtic Arts Center represent a sample of the Irish in Los Angeles. While the Celtic Arts Center promotes itself as a pan-Celtic organization, they primarily focus on Irish culture through their dedicated Monday night Irish programs. These programs touch on some of the basic cultural elements associated with the “quintessential” Irish person, namely language, dance, and music. Through the research conducted at the Celtic Arts Center the questions that arose were: To what extent is Irish identity in the United States a purely symbolic creation, as Herbert Gans and other scholars have argued that much Euro-American ethnicity is (Alba 1990; Gans 1979)? For Gans (1979), symbolic ethnicity is when the ethnicity in question is not part of the individual’s everyday life; instead it is only used in specific circumstances.