Armenia-Ireland: A train from past to future

By Narine Mkrtchyan*

In a crowded cafe in a dense January in the foggy small city of Carrick-on-Shannon in Ireland, my Irish companion asked the waitress: “Where do you come from?”  “I came here from Lithuania, with my parents, however, I come from Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh.”  I was sitting with my back to the girl, I felt a pierce at my back and I just jumped up the chair. “We are from Armenia, too”, – I said indicating my daughter. The next moment, the girl with a not typical Armenian name, Alina, hugged me strongly and some five minutes we hugged each other more and more strongly.

I had come to Ireland to visit my daughter, a Ph.D. student at Dublin City University to celebrate her 23rd birthday, then the Christmas and the New Year and to enjoy thus my share of long winter holiday of a teacher and journalist.

Honestly, I do not especially seek my compatriots in Europe and now in Ireland, as well as two previous years in Denmark, when my daughter studied for LLM (Master’s degree in Law) at the University of Copenhagen. I did not look for them during my trips to Europe for about ten years. I rather wanted to recognize the Old World, its society, its people.

I was not looking for any Armenian trace in Ireland and the only thing I was interested in were the similarities between Armenians and Irishmen about which my daughter had been telling me since she moved from Copenhagen to Dublin in September last year.

Already in Ireland, in Malahide, amidst admiration by the Irish Sea, I found myself rather searching for dissimilarities between Armenian and Irish peoples; Armenia, unfortunately, does not border with the sea. Armenia, stretching from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea in the past, after losing major part of its historical land lost also the outlet to the sea. I am going to focus on the difference between Armenians and Irishmen; however, the similarities between the two nations, strike me a thunderstruck and tempt me to tell how much they are alike.

So, I am stepping into the imaginary train born from my thoughts and start to travel through the stations where these nations meet.

Christianity. Christianity is a shiny Biblical silver thread connecting two peoples, their spiritual life, and historical trace. Christianity, however, divided Ireland, too. English Protestantism tore Catholic Ireland. Dublin’s biggest and most beautiful St. Patrick’s Cathedral belongs to Anglican Church, and St. Crist Church is at the disposal of both Catholic and Anglican churches together.

Christianity was disseminated in Ireland in the early 5^th century. That is connected with the name of Patron St. Patrick, whose day of death, the 17^th of March, is celebrated in the Republic of Ireland as St. Patrick’s Day. It is a state holiday in Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in Northern Ireland too and in all Irish communities all over the world.

Christian doctrinal disagreement, however, also divided Ireland, having been turned into historical and mighty political factor. The colors of Ireland’s flag demonstrate those discords: green stands for Catholicism, orange for Protestantism, and white for peace between these directions.

Armenians were the first to adopt Christianity nationwide in 301 AD. This historical reality is an important factor in Ireland. For a vast variety of Irishmen, I was one who had come from the country adopted Christianity the first – from “Christian Armenia”. Christianity fragmented the Armenian nation too, in particular, the Armenian Diaspora, causing spiritual, in-community and social problems among Armenians spread all over the world after Genocide of 1915. Armenia, a Christian enclave in Muslim neighborhood, knows well the real value of survival as a Christian.

In the modern world, where Christianity and Christians are divided and unprotected yet, the Christian past and present, world perception and values continue to remain a critical factor connecting Armenians and Irishmen.

Christianity ties Armenians and Irishmen with a Christian symbol of stone-crosses. Only two nations in the world developed a monumental art of stone-cross – Armenians and Irishmen. The stone-cross is a peculiar momentum of monumental art in the Armenian Highlands. The cross symbolizes crucifixion of Christ. In 2010 Armenian cross-stones art Symbolism and Craftsmanship of Khachkars was included in the famous list of non-material cultural heritage of UNESCO. In the Peace Garden, Christchurch Place, Dublin to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide a stone-cross was erected and consecrated.

I am walking in the yards of Irish churches between gravestones and slowly sliding my hand over the Irish stone-crosses and they seem to me alive and I am whispering good wishes from their only relative, Armenian stone-crosses.

The next two sites of similarities between the Armenians and Irishmen mainly cause sympathy. The first one is the size of the two countries. Ireland’s land area is 70.2 thousand square kilometers. Irishmen like to mock their country calling it Mickey Mouse. Armenians do not joke about this subject, since the fact that this land of about 30 thousand square kilometers remained from Great Armenia, evokes painful recollection from the history. How much the Irishmen are joking and how much Armenians muzzle, the small size of their countries has become a psychological complex, which makes them consider almost everything in small size, give explanations to everything and explain their own failures through this sense. And in spite of the small size and small number, these two old nations gave the world many talented people.

There are many leaving at the next station of Armenian-Irish train; it is the station of Emigration. The next crossroads for Armenians and Irishmen is the mass departure. The majority of both nations live abroad.

The population of Ireland is 4.5 million now. Some more than 80 million Irishmen live abroad (more than 10% of the US population have Irish roots, in Canada 14% and 30% in Australia).

The Irish Emigration Museum (Dublin) is an up-to-date and interactive museum, where there is almost no item that will not stir your soul. In a dim hall, the illuminated world map shows the directions where the Irishmen emigrated. “There are Armenians everywhere”, should say William Saroyan, an Armenian-American writer. There are Irishmen everywhere, too. In halls of the museum I am listening to historic speeches of famous Irishmen John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, I am looking at the old photo of a leaving car loaded with suitcases, the woman who is seeing the car off and the dog running after the car, and I think the whole history of Ireland passes through Becket’s “Waiting for Godot”.

“The story of the Irish Diaspora is broader and deeper than the oceans the emigrants crossed to their new homes. Each traveler’s story is unique. Irish emigrants have had a huge impact on the world and its view of Ireland – without the Irish, the world would be a poorer place”, – is written on the top of an entrance to one of the museum halls.

Armenian Diaspora, which is the consequence of the Armenian Genocide of 1915, is several times greater than the population of Armenia. Due to Karabakh war, flush of political and economic corruption, injustice, social hopelessness, about 1.5 million people left Armenia during the last 15 years and today Armenia’s population is 3 million according to official statistics. Around 10 million Armenians live in Diaspora communities.

There is no emigration museum in Armenia. Armenian authorities skillfully avoid that topic. There is no emigration museum; each emptying village can become a live museum instead.

I am recalling Alina living in Carrick-on-Shannon and I am recalling as our Irish companion, Michael Cashin, a day before I left Dublin said: “I will never forget your meeting there in the cafe.” Alina is the face of Armenian emigration.

Armenian-Irish train speeds up to crossroads of the history, attacked, and conquered by foreign conquerors. For conquered nations, the restoration of their independence becomes a national mirage, which they pass from one generation to the other. Armenians lost their statehood in the 11^th century and gained it in 1918 for just two years. On the 21st of September 1991, 95 percent of Armenian residents voted for independence at the Referendum on Independence but were negligent toward that value, which piece by piece is being delivered to a foreign country, Russia.

For Ireland, conquered by Vikings, Normans, Englishmen, the independence is the realization of the Irish dream and it is dear to every Irishman. The whole history of Ireland is a struggle against foreign occupants and for the country’s independence. In the 11^th century as a result of war finally being freed from Viking invasions the homeland of Celts, Ireland, was conquered by King Henry II of England in the 12^th century. During next centuries, the Irish Confederation, which was formed due to the civil war between Catholics and Protestants, was ruined down due to military invasions of English military commander Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell beheaded the Catholic Irish class, subdued the whole Ireland, gave the land of the Catholic Church to Englishmen and in fact colonized the country, expelled rival Irishmen. The Irish uprising of 1798 against England was suppressed in 1801 and Ireland was declared part of Great Britain. In the 20^th century, Ireland regained its independence twice in 1919 then, finally in 1949.

The difficult serpentines of the history and the losses of the past are stamped in the eyes of Armenians and Irishmen; they are deep and wistful.

In spite of the small territory of their countries and huge emigration, Irishmen and Armenians have two very essential valuables – the people and nature.

There is noise in Armenian-Irish train as it is in Irish pubs. Armenians and Irishmen are similar by nature: loud-speaking, noisy, lively, hospitable and curious and both prefer to pass the street under the red light.

The next station is Yerevan, 2800-year-old capital of Armenia, where I was born, and my daughter was born. Next station is Armenia, far from Ireland thousands of kilometers, my country is hidden in the mountains, to which every next beat of my heart belongs. Dublin station is left behind; the next half of my heart remained there – my daughter and Ireland.

I am getting off the Armenian-Irish train, which although was born of my thoughts, seems real. I am getting off the train coming from the past and rushing to the future.

*Narine Mkrtchyan president of the National Press Club, Armenia. She is also teaching at the Department of International Relations at Yerevan State University.