Abstract
Burke was born and educated in Ireland; but he moved to London when he was little more than twenty years of age and he made his career and his reputation in England. Though he continued throughout life to take an active interest in the affairs of his native country, there is nothing national, let alone nationalist about the policies he advocated for Ireland. Indeed, if we are to describe Burke as in any sense a ‘nationalist’ then he was an English (or perhaps one should say British), rather than an Irish, nationalist. Again, though it may be possible to find in his views on politics and society some elements that may reasonably be traced to his Irish background, his writings, taken as a whole, cannot be regarded as the product of a distinctively Irish culture.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1983 Oliver MacDonagh
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Beckett, J.C. (1983). Burke, Ireland and the Empire. In: MacDonagh, O., Mandle, W.F., Travers, P. (eds) Irish Culture and Nationalism, 1750–1950. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-17129-3_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-17129-3_1
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-17131-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-17129-3
eBook Packages: Palgrave Social & Cultural Studies CollectionSocial Sciences (R0)