Sinn Fein] nearly $2.5 million in the last three years as [Gerry] Adams and the other Sinn Fein leaders turned from street politics to high level diplomacy" (Zarembo, 1998, p. 44). With news of the recent peace agreement concerning Northern Ireland, the interest of Irish Americans in their homeland has intensified, not abated.
National identity often survives despite an ethnic group's immigrant experience. Those involved in ethnic disputes, such as the one occurring in Ireland, develop an "us" versus "them" mentality. This mentality stresses any differences between ethnic groups. Since most people are loathe to consider themselves prejudiced, those involved in ethnic disputes seek out and maximize distinct, identifiable differences such as family size, degree of aggressiveness, crime or other factors that distinguish "us" from "them." In other words, it is not enough for an Irishman to merely say that he dislikes an Irish Protestant simply because he is Protestant, that would be considered prejudice. There must be tangible reasons for the dislike. So prevalent is the drawing out of fundamental differences in ethnic identity that many people in Northern Ireland do not even consider themselves Irish: "A survey, conducted in 1968 by representatives of the University of Strathclyde, indicates that . . . 43 percent of the respondents thought of themselves as being Irish, 29 percent considered themselves to be British, 21 percent Ulster, and the remaining 7 percent considered themselves to be of mixed, other, or uncertain nationality" (Connor, 1994, p. 45).
Because of persistent ties to their homeland, some Irish Americans cling to the ethnic prejudices that plague Ireland. In the words of one sociologist, "I asked people who gave their ancestry as Irish whether they thought people from Northern Ireland should be considered Irish. There was some disagreement among my respondents" (Waters, 1990, p. 86). A significant numbe...