What constitutes to someone being Irish?

[Cybercubed]

Born there? Parents from there? Grandparents from there?

I'm born and raised in England, my parents are both Irish (mum from Belfast Dad from the ROI). In England whilst growing up people routinely called me Irish and so that's how I saw myself. Then I moved to Northern Ireland as teenager and had a reality check, because then everyone started calling me English. I still have an English accent so everyone still refers me to as an English person here. I've always understandably have a bit of an identity crisis therefore, compounded by the fact that the "British vs Irish" issue is right of the forefront of Northern Ireland politics as well I don't feel I fit in with either community here.

We've all heard of the term 'plastic paddy' which usually gets thrown at anyone with a non Irish accent calling themselves Irish. I personally don't really identify as anything more and feel kinda stateless but do you think calling yourself Irish should be reserved for those who are born and/or raised there only?

@KingFredsTache

I am still chuckling at the assertion that 'Britain stepped in to protect Ireland from the Nazis' 😂

Don't forget the many benefits we availed of by being colonised too.

@OchonAgusOchonO

If the UK were not in the war, it wouldve broken its pact to protect Poland. The UK had to join the Allies to honour its promise. Not partaking wasnt an option (well, unless you think breaking treaties is acceptable).

I find it quite upsetting that you seem to think the better option wouldve been to let the Nazis form their empire & hope they didn't come for the UK/Ireland.

The UK did a good thing, as did the French, Chinese and Americans. You seem to have a really hard time even acknowledging this.

I am still chuckling at the assertion that 'Britain stepped in to protect Ireland from the Nazis

Never said that.

@SqidgeBum

Yes that was my original point! We were having a perfectly nice chat then the famine had to be dragged up. I raised WW2 to demonstrate that Ireland has had its own moral questionable moments, but that it is all done & consigned to history, and they wouldn't appreciate their own history being dragged up over and over. I was then told that the English 'never acknowledge their history' despite the fact I have condemned it numerous times of this thread, but theyve made no admissions whatsoever, ireland is the victim every time! Before accusing me of bringing up the past! Its madness!

@mathanxiety

England's bad past deserves to be taught in schools & repeated forever more.

Ireland's bad past cannot be mentioned else it is 'hate'.

Ireland's bad past cannot be mentioned else it is 'hate'.

What bad past.
Ireland doesnt have form for invading and wiping out other countries and their cultures.
And then having the brass neck to moan we wouldnt become allies to them.

If Britain is not well liked by other countries maybe have a look at your own behaviour rather than Ireland.We didnt cause the problems.You did.

@rayoflightboy Are you actually serious? You are saying Ireland doesn't have a bad psy?
Ireland's bad past is :
The severe, severe abuse of women and children.
I am Irish.

I have talked to MANY people who were raped as a child in Ireland

@Wolfgirrl

If the UK were not in the war, it wouldve broken its pact to protect Poland. The UK had to join the Allies to honour its promise. Not partaking wasnt an option (well, unless you think breaking treaties is acceptable).

This is hilarious, given the fact the UK was quite happy to break the Good Friday Agreement to achieve Brexit. Luckily, the EU are not willing to sign a deal that does that.

I find it quite upsetting that you seem to think the better option wouldve been to let the Nazis form their empire & hope they didn't come for the UK/Ireland.

Try reading what I wrote instead of ascribing whatever suits your agenda to me.

The UK did a good thing, as did the French, Chinese and Americans. You seem to have a really hard time even acknowledging this.

Given that wasn't the question to asked me, why would I have commented on the moral value of the Allies fighting the Nazis? For the record, I think fighting the Nazis was a good action by the Allies. That doesn't mean joining them would have been right for Ireland. Perhaps if Ireland had joined the Allies, they would have been a target for invasion at an earlier stage. If this had happened before the USA declared war, the likelihood of the UK falling would have been high.

Ireland doesn't have a history of colonising nations that couldn't defend themselves no, but as soon as we got rid of the british we put the catholics in charge. We're emerging from that horror now.

I am Irish, I was born in Ireland, I lived abroad for many years in different parts of the world, and I have now just moved back to Ireland.

I am absolutely sick to death of Ireland complaining about what England did to them. So many neighbouring countries invaded each other around the world. I went to visit Poland, polish people were treated horrifically by the Germans in the past, bow, they have moved on!

Ireland has the biggest bunch of whingers, and a big victim mentality. I am sick of the sheer hatred in Ireland towards England. It is pathetic. Move on!

@Muser314 get over it! Nearly every country was invaded around the world.

I think that Irish people seem to just get pleasure out of hating England.

@ Sarahpaula - The severe, severe abuse of women and children.
I have talked to MANY people who were raped as a child in Ireland

Unfortunately, none of that is unique to Ireland.

@OchonAgusOchonO actually in Europe - Ireland was one of the worst countries to women. The marriage bar (married women not allowed to work) was lifted everywhere else in Europe in the 1950's, it was kept in Ireland until the 1970's.
And they only got rid of it after Europe pressurised Ireland - telling Ireland that they were abusing women's rights.

Ireland was behind many other countries in Europe on abortion rights.
Ireland is still behind many other European countries on having women in government. We still have an 80% male government

Ireland's neutrality is its 'bad past' is it?

@Howallergic No Ireland's abuse of women and children - locking women up as slaves - is Ireland's bad past

[quote Sarahpaula]@Muser314 get over it! Nearly every country was invaded around the world.

I think that Irish people seem to just get pleasure out of hating England.[/quote]
Get over it?! I was not saying anything about the united kingdom. I was saying that Ireland had not colonised. That's a fact surely? Also, I said that Catholicism did not immediately set us on the road to freedom. So, balanced I thought. I think @Sarahpaula your post is very defensive and unnecessarily so.

I am Irish, and I just can't stand this "look at all the bad things English people did" talk.

When Irish people committed horrors, in Ireland. I know far too many people in Ireland that were raped as children by religious people.

Ireland first had to get out from under the thumb of Britain and then from the Catholic Church. Now that we are truly free, we are in fact a progressive nation, leading the way in plenty of areas. For a small country, we are punching way above our weight. Very proud to be Irish.

@Sarahpaula - I absolutely agree that those are not things to be proud of.

@sarahpaula, just read your previous post. You need to stop assuming what people think. I lived in the UK for years, I liked it there. I fitted in easily, I was happy, I made good friends. You have no idea what I think but you are leaping in to some narrative where YOU alone are the balanced one. Slow down a bit there.

Sarahpaula - yes the Catholic Church were and are an abomination.

I have a friend in Ireland, who just moved to ireland from Pakistan. He said he paid for a boat trip somewhere in Waterford, and that the whole way across and back, the man running the boat trip told him how much he hated the English,and that they are all bastards and he would love to kill them all.

I just think that the level of hate in ireland is absolutely ridiculous.

I am just angry because I know of people's lives who have been ruined by hate:

I know Irish people who received hate in England,
And I know English people who received hate in Ireland.

I know people who's lives were made a misery from this hate.

None of the people alive in England today did anything to Ireland. They cannot be blamed for the past.

It would do Ireland and England a lot of good to both move forward

@Howallergic

Ireland first had to get out from under the thumb of Britain and then from the Catholic Church. Now that we are truly free, we are in fact a progressive nation, leading the way in plenty of areas. For a small country, we are punching way above our weight. Very proud to be Irish.

I agree with this. It's not plain sailing and there is always going to be room for criticism (and there should be no holy cows) but we are doing ok.

Before Brexit,Ireland and the UK were falling (eventually) in to an identity as two neighbouring european nations. We could share a lens in some ways. The only two European nations who understood why Graham Norton's narration of the Eurovision Song Contest was funny. But then Brexit brought up a load of old issues.

I have moved forward. I live in London :)