Anti-British Xenophobia and Hatred in Ireland

It's not history that rises people's ire. It's willful ignorance today.

Anyone who could go leaving was the story of Ireland for centuries and had little to do with independence since it was true in the free state and true under British rule.

I doubt much needed to be said about the famine. Just point out it was under British rule so that doesn't really suit your point. If you want to Stoke anti British feelings you can point to the 1916 executions and atrocities carried out by the black and tans (which shocked the UK public nevermind the Irish). They could point to the outright racism in the North. So again there is little need for the famine to be a propaganda tool.

You seem to be trying to absolve blame of the UK which as Biden has said the buck stops here. It happened right on the doorstep of the richest empire in the world. So it was clear that the UK had little interest in Ireland. Certainly we have had corruption issues and issues with religion but it meant that Ireland had a serious voice in sorting out its own problems and well the corruption/religion problems were already there.

How many former colonies in the 20th century immediately prospered upon gaining independence? I can't think of any.

Protectionism and religion were damaging, but Ireland was a dirt poor, downtrodden colony, that traumatically lost about a quarter of its population from famine less than a hundred years earlier, and then was gutted by wars, prior to independence. Blaming Ireland for 'going backwards' after independence is undeniable victim-blaming.

The victors write history because the losers are normally not around. The losers here are the British who are very much still around. It still seems like you are trying to absolve the blame massively and I think you know Irish history a lot less than you think.

Polulation 1921: ROI, 3.1m, Scotland 4.9m, Wales 2.65m,

2021: ROI, 5m (+ 62% on 1921) Scotland 5.4m +11%, Wales 3.25m +22%.

2021 GDP per capita: ROI €96k, Scotland 37k, Wales 30k.

So today Ireland's GDP is far higher than Wales or Scotland when we were poorer than them both when part of the UK. Our population has grown 62% since leaving the UK while Scotland and Wales has grown 11% and 22% respectively. It is obvious that leaving the UK was successful.

London is the money laundering capital of the world.

Oh I agree, that is why I support Scottish independence.

It does raise a question for me though, despite the success, some of the posts and posters on this thread seem to be "wallowing in victimhood" - why is that?

If you get impression I think Ireland is "unique" and I'm trying to take a "Most Opressed People Ever" (MOPE) point of view of Irish history (incl. the Famine) and that is what you are "taking issue" with in my post you are wrong. Quite sorry I started this to be honest.

Maybe some truth in that. The UK does not govern Ireland any more. It does not control the education system or the narrative around our history. The blushes of UK institutions/govt. when it comes to Irish history are not going to be spared here or left for people to learn about later themselves if inclined or covered in a 3rd level history course. Post independence there was probably a tendency to overdwell on the past evils (i.e. MOPE as above) + who was responsible to bolster justifications for fighting for independence and therefore the legitimacy of the new Irish state. I think that has died down a lot though (less to prove now, independence paid off in the long run).

Ruth and her like (Eoghan Harris + Barbara etc etc) would not deserve respect in any society. Hypocrits and agenda driven as they are.

I can respect a British person even though I might vehemently disagree with them but save me from high moral ground partitionists with deep rooted generational inferiority complexes.

They didn't treat it like that though.