Reconstructing deconstructing 'race': British political discourses about the Irish in Britain

Abstract

This article examines the 'forced inclusion' of the Irish within a 'myth of homogeneity' which developed in Britain from the 1950s onwards. In particular, it explains the complex reasons for exclusion of the Irish from the immigration controls introduced in the 1962 Commonwealth Immigrants Act. Further, the article challenges the notion that this exclusion of the Irish from the 1962 legislation was primarily due to their 'whiteness'. It explores the significance of Northern Ireland's location in the United Kingdom for British policies in relation to citizens of the Irish Republic. The article ends by arguing that 'forced inclusion' within a national collectivity is no necessary protection against racialization, problematization and discrimination.

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