Immigration and Identity: The Ongoing Struggles for Liberation

Abstract

Approaches to a psychology of liberation in the Irish context have their roots in anticolonial and other antioppressive movements in Ireland and also globally. They reflect the many strands of historical resistance to colonialism over hundreds of years, as well as ongoing efforts to attain peace, equality, and social justice in the twentieth century and beyond. The Irish context is thus one of complex and inter-related movements of oppression and liberation, with colonial struggles providing an overarching theme for much of its history. In the early twentieth century, the island was partitioned and both parts developed separately. Legacies of history continued to play themselves out along with the emergence, abeyance, and re-emergence (particularly in the 1960s) of liberation movements which included women's liberation, socialist and trade union movements, civil rights, gay and les-bian liberation movements, and many more. Historically and currently, social and political movements have been constantly active, providing both historical memory and many models of antioppressive practice and intervention. My location in the Republic of Ireland, my experience as an activist within some of these movements, and indeed family stories of resistance, as well as my more academic theory and research (Moane, 1999) provide the framework for the developments in liberation psychology described below. Many of these movements and interventions can contribute toward the goals of liberation psychology and peace psychology, both of which aim to bring about political and cultural change. Liberation psychology aims to transform oppression from the level of internal oppression to the structural or systemic level (Montero, 2007) , and many projects in feminist psychology and community development in Ireland share these aims (Madden & Moane, 2006) . Peace psychology has devel-oped to address forms of direct and structural violence as well as conflict resolution and peace building (Christie, Wagner, & Winter, 2001) , and again there are many relevant projects particularly in Northern Ireland (Cairns, Hewstone, Niens, & Tam, 2005) . However, projects focusing on theory and concepts directly related to a psychology of liberation are still scarce in Ireland. My principle aim here is to provide insight into and elaboration of key concepts in liberation psychology as they apply in the specific context of running courses and workshops in the Republic of Ireland, hopefully furthering developments in liberation psychology and in peace psychology in Ireland and more widely. I will begin with a historical overview of the Irish context, and then review some key concepts in liberation psychology which have informed my work. I will describe the application of these concepts and then consider the role of liberation psychology more generally.