Despite the decline of the Celtic languages, it might seem that the longterm survival of the Celts is certain. Yet this might not be so. The revival of Celtic identity that began in the eighteenth century was a self-conscious response by the surviving Celtic-speaking peoples to particular circumstances of economic, social and political marginalisation. But identities that are self-consciously adopted can be just as self-consciously abandoned if they are deemed to have become irrelevant or unattractive in changed circumstances. Ireland has been transformed in the last 30 years from one of Europe’s most economically backward countries into the prosperous hi-tech ‘Celtic Tiger’. Spoken Gaelic is almost extinct, the most popular music is country and western, the Catholic church is steadily losing influence and the country has ceased to be an exporter of population: instead it is having to come to terms with the problems of integrating immigrants from the Third World into what is still a very homogeneous society. Despite its long history of economic migration, Ireland has not proved to be very welcoming to modern-day economic migrants. The other Celtic countries are changing too as they gradually achieve greater political empowerment and economic prosperity and as they become more integrated into the wider European community. Will these changes confirm people in their Celtic identity? Or will they lead people to re-evaluate it? It is not impossible that an identity that is rooted in the Iron Age may one day come to be seen as inappropriate to self-consciously modern, multi-cultural societies. The Celts could, therefore, find themselves relegated to the role of honoured ancestors, as they have been in France. Perhaps the future of the Celtic identity will be more as a personal or cultural identity rather than a national or ethnic identity. This would be singularly appropriate for an identity that has already transcended national boundaries. And what of Celtomania? On the one hand, there seems little prospect that the environmental and social problems that fired modern Celtomania will be resolved soon, but the future will have concerns of its own and they may not be the same as ours. Celtomania is an important prop for the Celtic identity because it creates the popular perception that it is attractive and desirable. Will it diminish the commitment of Celts to their identity if non-Celts become indifferent to it? This may be of particular significance in the Celtic diaspora as a high proportion of those currently acknowledging Celtic roots are actually of mixed descent and could with equal justification claim English, or other European, roots if they wished. The continuing survival of the Celtic identity must therefore be uncertain as it enters its fourth millennium.
World History
