The Belfast Boycott: Gender, Partition, and Civil War
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Campus where you would like to present
Ellensburg
Event Website
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source
Start Date
15-5-2019
End Date
15-5-2019
Abstract
The Belfast Boycott was a protest which ran from August 1920 until January 1922 that was designed to dislodge loyalism in Northern Ireland and punish its adherents for perceived intolerance toward Catholics. This paper analyzes three ways that the Belfast Boycott permeated and cemented civil war divisions. It examines the constructs of the boycott in relation to the issues of sectarianism, partition, and the role of women. For example, some members of the Dáil thought that the boycott would further solidify partition and thereby strengthen existing sectarian strife. Others saw the boycott as an opportunity to punish Loyalists for fidelity to a colonial power and for unfair treatment of Catholic workers. Advertisements were created to link boycott compliance with patriotism, assuring shoppers that only by boycotting Belfast could they help partition end. Boycotting allowed women, who were often marginalized by the political framework, an opportunity to make political statements through their economic actions. While it lasted only a year and a half, the Belfast Boycott can help us better understand and expound upon issues of sectarianism, partition, and gender roles and their contributive role in the Irish Civil War.
Recommended Citation
Omans, Katie, "The Belfast Boycott: Gender, Partition, and Civil War" (2019). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 40.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2019/Oralpres/40
Department/Program
History
Slides for SOURCE 2019 presentation Omans
Additional Files
The Belfast Boycott Omans, Katie SOURCE.pptm (7859 kB)Slides for SOURCE 2019 presentation Omans
The Belfast Boycott: Gender, Partition, and Civil War
Ellensburg
The Belfast Boycott was a protest which ran from August 1920 until January 1922 that was designed to dislodge loyalism in Northern Ireland and punish its adherents for perceived intolerance toward Catholics. This paper analyzes three ways that the Belfast Boycott permeated and cemented civil war divisions. It examines the constructs of the boycott in relation to the issues of sectarianism, partition, and the role of women. For example, some members of the Dáil thought that the boycott would further solidify partition and thereby strengthen existing sectarian strife. Others saw the boycott as an opportunity to punish Loyalists for fidelity to a colonial power and for unfair treatment of Catholic workers. Advertisements were created to link boycott compliance with patriotism, assuring shoppers that only by boycotting Belfast could they help partition end. Boycotting allowed women, who were often marginalized by the political framework, an opportunity to make political statements through their economic actions. While it lasted only a year and a half, the Belfast Boycott can help us better understand and expound upon issues of sectarianism, partition, and gender roles and their contributive role in the Irish Civil War.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2019/Oralpres/40
Faculty Mentor(s)
Jason Knirck