Irish racism in England

[angell84]

I am shocked. I am half English, half Irish. My Irish mum lived in England for a long time, gave birth to us children there with her English husband, and then moved back to Ireland.

The reason that she always gave me for returning to Ireland, was that, "she could not take the nastiness to her anymore". She described one incident of many to me: she went to my brother's primary teacher in England, and said that he had lost something, he must have been six at the time, and the teacher said to her , "sure what do you expect - he is half Irish".

I always thought of it in an abstract way, I never really understood what she meant. Until I spent quite a long time in the U.K this year.

I was absolutely shocked at the hatred and nastiness, and calling Irish people stupid.

How can it be possible? The U.K stole alot of Ireland's land, committed mass genocide during the famine, eradicated the Irish language,

And yet instead of apologising, many people are going around calling Irish people stupid.

Isn't it nearly unbelievable? It would be like a German going up to a Jew and calling them stupid. That it was their fault , thhat everything happened the way it did.

I am really shocked

Are you on acid?

Or do you think you are being very very funny??

When we mention being Irish, we mean Irish, not Northern Irish. But people often mistake the two or presume they're the same country.

@DoTheHop why do you seem to dislike Northern Ireland so much? Yes, it’s legally a different state from Ireland but (as I think you know already) people from Northern Ireland can (legally) self-determine as Irish. So please stop drawing distinctions between “Irish” and “Northern Irish” and implying that Northern Irish people may not also define as Irish.

I can define as male if I like. Doesn't mean the women in the Ladies toilets have to like it.

I love the 'I'm a middle class educated catholic'

Ye, cos the rest of us are uneducated is it? Do me a favour?

@DoTheHop ok ok - have the full measure of you now.

DoTheHop
The three other counties of Ulster are Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan. They belong to Ireland. Apparently their land wasn't worth fighting for

Actually, they were excluded for two reasons.

Including them in the state that became known as Northern Ireland (over the objections of the Unionists, who wanted the name Ulster) would have meant a RC majority. The six counties are the minimum number of counties/ square miles needed to form an economic entity and the maximum number that would yield a protestant majority.

@DoTheHop why do you seem to dislike Northern Ireland so much
I am disappointed too. Not that you'll give a feck. Many in NI are Irish from passports to sports to culture.
DP and his family are Catholic Nationalist from NI.
The word nationalist kind of explains it.
You're being unnecessarily aggressive.

Under the GFA, people born in NI can identify as Irish citizens, carry an Irish passport and still live in NI with full rights including the right to civil service employment, and becoming a local government representative on any level, or MP.

@dothehop, ok then - you just ignore the law. That right of Northern Irish people to define as Irish is enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement.

Given how ignorant you are, however, I struggle to believe you’re be able to read.

Imagine someone from Ireland denying a Northern Irish person’s right to define as Irish. Honestly - you’re an absolute disgrace.

Imagine someone from Ireland denying a Northern Irish person’s right to define as Irish. Honestly - you’re an absolute disgrace
Absolutely this with bells and tinsel.

for Marriage equality (gay marriage i ask ye) or Female bodily autonomy (abortion) in our referendums? The point is that the majority of us voted yes and as a nation of referenda holders, voters and experts you lot in the British place should have listened to us when we told you that yours was not a good idea but ye dont listen and now - Brexit. Meh.

If that was directed at me (as I said it was Roscommon not Donegal) ....I am Irish so dont ye brexit me , I didn't say it mattered what county it was either, I just remembered it was Roscommon because I remember Chris O'Dowd giving out about it as hes from Roscommon

Sweet Jesus this thread as can off in a right tangent!!!!

Gone off

Correct: @DoTheHop has changed it into an “Irish racism against the Northern Irish” thread.

I was born in Belfast,and lived there for thirty years, I lived in England for seven. Yes I am ancient. I'm also from a protestant family, but most of my relations lived in the republic. My grandparents moved north at partition,and regretted it.
My in-laws are Catholic, they live in Belfast, they are from a republican background. They prefer to stay in the UK, with its perceived benefits, and make digs at us about living down south! We paid through the nose for braces for our dd, her cousin got them free on the nhs. This is a case in point, not a diversion.
There is an element of northern racism towards the republic, from both communities, in my experience.

With a side order of ‘on the drink/on glue’ successions of comments where he or she is essentially talking to him/herself, @Piglet89. Not to mention a weird combination of disbelief in and intense dislike of affluent, educated middle-class Catholics. And Anglo-Irish people.

I love that I inadvertently turned this into an orthodontistry thread.

How interesting, @eggandonion. I’d love a documentary about the experiences of people who made the decision your grandparents made at Partition.

It was an option for civil servants to move north or to the UK. They thought it was a safer option for protestants , but easy to get the train home. Another part of the family moved north, and the next generation made it back via tcd.
I feel more at home in the republic, maybe because my kids grew up here and all have good jobs. and good teeth. I admit that the cost of orthodontic treatment was high,and there are awful issues with the public and private health services in roi.

How can it be possible? The U.K stole alot of Ireland's land, committed mass genocide during the famine, eradicated the Irish language,

@angell84

First of all OP. Stop wallowing in the past. There is no point. Why not hold a grudge against the French for the Norman invasion and mass genocide they committed !!!

I've got several Irish friends. Asked them what you experienced and they never have at all so I really don't think it is widespread. Unlike anti semitism and other racism

First of all OP. Stop wallowing in the past. There is no point. Why not hold a grudge against the French for the Norman invasion and mass genocide they committed !!!

It's this sort of reaction that is the reason why we "wallow in the past" because alot of British people can never just say, "yeah that was pretty shit of Britain wasn't it?" just a simple acknowledgment is too much to ask, it's always yeah but this lot did worse, stop living in the past etc etc also just because a few Irish people you know said they've never experienced any anti Irish sentiment doesn't mean it doesn't exist ffs

I would never deny the importance of history, my own family is a mix of British military, planter, huguenot, and judging by names some who took the soup! My granny worked in Clerys, I was at the GPO exhibition recently and was imagining her in the midst of the 1916 chaos.
I am dismayed at some of the current racism amongst hopefully a very small sector of the population - I suppose it has always been there but social media gives it a voice.
I recently had an English builder who was very pro Brexit, and very anti Eastern European, whilst not seeming to be aware that he needed to replace his UK driving licence soon. Yesterday, someone else told me a similar story, about an English colleague who was happy Brexit would end immigration. This is decidedly weird!

Loads of it. My mum was Irish and bullied relentlessly in her nhs job by managers who would say they couldn't understand her (she had a soft Irish accent and was well spoken). Ira jokes, famine jokes, paddy this, paddy that. Irish and thick. Alcoholic.

My mum owned many of the derogatory terms though and would be heard to say things like paddy built America.

It still goes on in my opinion (pikey and gyppo being pretty common insults in some parts).

Ps I look like an armardaite as do most of my cousins. Very dark hair, very blue eyes. It's a definite Irish look.

@marieg10, what an arrogant, xenophobic, blinkered response.

When was that ? I was known as 'the Scottish girl', as my accent confused people (sort of BBC Radio Ulster). I couldn't say eight or flake in an acceptable way though.
There was a local Irish community (many railway workers, or people who had stayed post war) and an Irish pub. But I never heard any negativity about them, or the Polish or Ukranian communities who were also post war 'remainers'.
Gypsies were seen in a bad light though I assume both local and Irish travelers, while I was there there were issues with 'antique dealers' handing over tiny amounts to elderly people for items worth a lot. And tarmac gangs doing bad, expensive work.