Why did James Joyce write about Irish nationalism if he was from Southern Ireland?

It would seem that other than having committed the name of the country to memory (good on you that), you really don't have any idea what you're on about. Let's clear a few things up before we can address your question which is flawed on many levels... Yes, the correct name of the country is "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland", it consists of four countries - England, Scotland and Wales, all three of which are located on the island of Great Britain, often colloquially shortened to "Britain", the "Great" is a holdover from the old days when one needed to distinguish between the island of Britain and "Little Britain", i.e.: Brittany, France, (French: "Bretagne"), and Northern Ireland, a territory which occupies less than 20% of the land area of the island of Ireland.

Northern Ireland only came into existence as a political entity in in 1921, the year before the Republic of Ireland received her independence. The term "Southern Ireland" has never been used in the Republic, if you were to employ it, you would be met with a quizzical stare and the person would likely ask you if you were referring to a locale in Cork. There is no such thing as "Southern Ireland", there is the Republic of Ireland, often colloquially referred to as simply "Ireland", and there is Northern Ireland, sometimes referred to by its inhabitants as "Norn" and often distinguished from the Republic by the people of Ireland living on either side of the border by being referred to as "the North."

Going from there, it's obvious that any meaningful discussion about the political bent of Joyce's writings would be a waste of time because you lack a solid foundation in the historical background from which those views were constructed.

There is no such country as Southern Ireland. The official name of the state is the Republic of Ireland, or simply Ireland, and it has never been an extension of Northern Ireland in any way.

I hate to break it to you, but the Republic of Ireland has been a separate nation from the UK for 96 years now. So yes, I'm afraid the Republic of Ireland IS an independent nation. Has been for almost a century.

As for James Joyce, yes he was from Dublin the capital and very much associated with that city. However, I have no idea who or what you mean by 'the Irish nationalist who attends the party in wintertime' or' the men who meet on Ivy Day', and how you seem to link James Joyce with nationalists.

I hope you understand that the current relationship between North and South and the rest of the UK has not always been the same. In general, nationalists would want a united Ireland.

Just to give you some historical perspective.....That was not the full name of the UK until 1922. The Irish Free State became independent of the UK that year, but not after several years of a fight for independence. Ireland was partitioned and the north became part of the UK, but the tensions continued for may years and there is still some lingering resentment. As a young person in the late 1960s, I would listen to the radio reports of the violence in Ulster, mainly Londonderry and Belfast, about the sectarian fighting between Catholics and Protestants. It was known at the time, and still is, as 'The Troubles'. U2's 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' was about one Sunday in 1972, it was not about the first 'Bloody Sunday' in 1921. Paul McCartney and his new band 'Wings' recorded 'Give Ireland Back to the Irish' just two days after that day. The BBC banned it but it still got airplay, and even on US radio it was overlooked, I think intentionally, but I can still recall the rawness of emotion that came across the first time I heard it in early 1972.

Read this for an in-depth look at how those years from 1916-1922 colored Joyce's work.

https://www.dfa.ie/irish-embassy/great-britain/abo...