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People who still think Ireland is part of the UK

2456

Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,503 ✭✭✭✭Mad_maxx


    That's not what I said at all, but you can believe that if it makes you feel better.

    you argued against my point about ireland being massively influential abroad relative to its size and used Papua New Guinnea as a comparison


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 21,388 ✭✭✭✭dxhound2005


    New Britain and New Ireland are part of PNG. Big connection there.


  • Posts: 3,801 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    How relevant are the disapora really? The guy in the video OP linked claims to be Irish-American.

    Not really that much anymore.

    Some guy mentioned the troubles earlier and said Ireland was well known then - I think the second part of this is true. The first part may be why some people think that Ireland as a whole is part of the U.K.

    Not knowing where Ireland is is one thing. Knowing where it is, that it is beside the U.K., that it is in the British isles but not knowing it is independent is another. Just a small bit of extra knowledge. I understand that Northern Ireland complicated things a bit.

    Debunking The comparison of a sovereign nation to Isle of Man I’ll leave as an exercise for the reader.


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    Mad_maxx wrote: »
    you argued against my point about ireland being massively influential abroad relative to its size and used Papua New Guinnea as a comparison

    I argued that it was irrelevant, and you instead incorrectly said that I had implied that Ireland's global influence is less than Papua new Guinea's, which I never did.

    England has been more massively influential abroad than Ireland. If you asked the average person is England a country or is the UK a country, do you think there will be a significant number who get it wrong? And do you think that number is significantly higher or lower than the number who think that the Republic of Ireland is its own country? And of those who got it right, do you think the majority would say their answer confidently or with some degree of doubt?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 25,809 ✭✭✭✭Strumms


    My mates has lived in France since 1991.He tell's me that 99% of french people don't know that the Rep of Ireland exists,they think England rule us,in fact some don't see any difference between us and the brits,to them we're all English.And there's no mention on French tv/media about how Brexit has caused any problems/tensions to us here in Ireland with borders etc.Ireland as a country just isn't on their radar.

    He’s having you on...I’ve lived in France, all be it living and working with educated people and they all would have been aware that just like France, Ireland was a Republic..


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,382 ✭✭✭easygoing39


    Strumms wrote: »
    He’s having you on...I’ve lived in France, all be it living and working with educated people and they all would have been aware that just like France, Ireland was a Republic..


    My mate live's in Crest,having been to the place I believe him!!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,624 ✭✭✭✭meeeeh


    Not really that much anymore.

    Some guy mentioned the troubles earlier and said Ireland was well known then - I think the second part of this is true. The first part may be why some people think that Ireland as a whole is part of the U.K.

    Not knowing where Ireland is is one thing. Knowing where it is, that it is beside the U.K., that it is in the British isles but not knowing it is independent is another. Just a small bit of extra knowledge. I understand that Northern Ireland complicated things a bit.

    Debunking The comparison of a sovereign nation to Isle of Man I’ll leave as an exercise for the reader.
    If I tell people in Ireland where I'm from very often they either think it's some part of old USSR or confuse it with Slovakia (because Slovenia is just the same). So Irish have an advantage, people at least know Ireland exists.

    Those of us from small countries overestimate how much world knows about us. You can either get insulted by it or you can have some fun with it but whatever you do you won't change things one bit.

    Btw decades ago I was talking to someone who was studying at some American University. One of the students American asked the lecturer if Europe is part of Italy. Unless things dramatically improved in last 20 years there must be someone who thinks Ireland is part of Italy. it might be preferable to being part of UK.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,755 ✭✭✭cgcsb


    English and Anglo-Americans say these things as a wind-up because the older generation of Irish are still sensitive/insecure. This is perfectly understandable given that they are only one generation away from British occupation. Also even younger generations can recall the pre Good Friday Agreement Northern Ireland which was both a military occupation and a savage, primitive and brutal anti-Irish regime.

    It's anti-Irish sentiment essentially, wrapped up in 1970s life-of-brian style brit 'humour'.

    Sky News is notorious for it often claiming that Dublin is not only the UK but literally in England and that Irish athletes/celebs are not only British but 'English'. It gets them a few clicks and a giggle for early school leavers who follow them.

    Rest of the world is different. In China I was just a 'Westerner' or a 'European' if they were being specific (differentiate us from North Americans, Canada doesn't exist). In the rest of Europe Ireland is just Ireland, some people may not understand fully the 'Northern Ireland' situation but our independence is well known to all who can read write.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,755 ✭✭✭cgcsb


    My mates has lived in France since 1991.He tell's me that 99% of french people don't know that the Rep of Ireland exists,they think England rule us,in fact some don't see any difference between us and the brits,to them we're all English.And there's no mention on French tv/media about how Brexit has caused any problems/tensions to us here in Ireland with borders etc.Ireland as a country just isn't on their radar.

    That's stereotypical French willful ignorance. Hardly surprising, althoguh I doubt the 99% figure. The same people probably still call Brits, and even American's 'Anglo saxons'.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 691 ✭✭✭jmlad2020


    Even a large portion of english people believe this as they aren't taught Irish history or the role their country played in the Genocidal conquer of half the planet.

    They are only taught "we defeated the Germans - aren't we great?"

    I've even come across Germans who believe Ireland is in the U.K.

    Poor education


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,025 ✭✭✭3DataModem


    Some very stupid comparisons here so far lads, PNG and Andorra ffs

    "PNG" is bigger than Ireland. It's a perfect comparison. To you its a tiny wee country miles away. To most of the world, that's what we are.


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,513 ✭✭✭bb1234567


    Happens all the time. Some American lad on twitter was saying I was only applauding the UK vaccine rollout because I was British ! My location says Dublin on my profile.

    Having said that it doesn't annoy me. what do you know about other small countries worldwide, what do you know about Serbia , Uruguay , Oman , Kyrgyzstan , Georgia or Bhutan ? Would you have a keen awareness of any history of colonial border disputes in these places ? I doubt it unless you have a close contact who happens to be from there .. Compared to most of the world Ireland is extremely disproportionately over represented in terms of the knowledge and appreciation of our culture and history and current affairs people outside Ireland would possess compared to what they know of other small countries


  • Posts: 13,688 ✭✭✭✭ Noah Incalculable Rave


    There's no doubt that we tend to overstate our importance but comparisons to Papua New Guinea and Andorra along with statements that 99% of French people don't know that the Republic of Ireland exists...comical overcorrections.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,755 ✭✭✭cgcsb


    bb1234567 wrote: »
    Happens all the time. Some American lad on twitter was saying I was only applauding the UK vaccine rollout because I was British ! My location says Dublin on my profile.

    Having said that it doesn't annoy me. what do you know about other small countries worldwide, what do you know about Serbia , Uruguay , Oman , Kyrgyzstan , Georgia or Bhutan ?

    I would know that they are countries at least and where they are in the world, without having to know their entire histories.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 21,388 ✭✭✭✭dxhound2005


    A lot of Irish people would have been to the Canary Islands. But how many of them know that the islands are in Africa?


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  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 12,812 Mod ✭✭✭✭riffmongous


    3DataModem wrote: »
    "PNG" is bigger than Ireland. It's a perfect comparison. To you its a tiny wee country miles away. To most of the world, that's what we are.

    42806_60_news_hub_multi_630x0.JPG


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,624 ✭✭✭✭meeeeh


    Ireland has one of the biggest if not the biggest diaspora in comparison to it's population. So people will recognise the name, many will know about IRA but what is part of what can be confusing for people. And mostly they just don't care.


  • Posts: 3,801 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Strumms wrote: »
    He’s having you on...I’ve lived in France, all be it living and working with educated people and they all would have been aware that just like France, Ireland was a Republic..

    Yeh. He’s talking bollocks.

    Here’s Le Monde on the Brexit tensions re Northern Ireland. Just a week or so ago.

    https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2021/03/11/brexit-tensions-entre-londres-et-bruxelles-sur-le-statut-de-l-irlande-du-nord_6072737_3210.html


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,906 ✭✭✭✭Rothko


    Some people really like to downplay Ireland for some reason.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,277 ✭✭✭km991148


    Its normally American bs/ignorance.. which is weird given the amount over their claiming to be Irish...

    But they don't just do it with Ireland - Scotland (for example) is generally refereed to as "England" - where "England" means Britain of UK.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28,542 ✭✭✭✭murpho999


    We are an incredibly small country. If you asked people even what continent Papua New Guinea is in, let alone the currency, most people would get it wrong even though they have about twice the population.
    This is a ridiculous answer.

    Firstly, Ireland is small but it's not that "ridiculously" small.

    It's similar or larger than Denmark, Norway, New Zealand ets.

    Why do you pick a far off place like PNG?

    The point is that many people in closer by countries think that Ireland is part of Britain or UK.

    Lived in Holland and faced daily battles convincing people I was not English (everything in UK is "English" to them) and that I'm Irish and we're an independent nation.

    I find it baffling as I remember studying first year senior school geography in the 80s and learned about European countries, learned their capital, location, size, population, languages and major industries.

    For example don't you think most Irish people would know that Denmark, which is smaller than Ireland, is independent and not part of Germany.

    Clearly us speaking English doesn't help with our identity, but nobody thinks that Austrians are the same as Germans.

    I've even met people in the UK that thought Ireland was still in the UK.
    I do find it strange.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28,542 ✭✭✭✭murpho999


    A lot of Irish people would have been to the Canary Islands. But how many of them know that the islands are in Africa?

    I think most would as we have maps.

    I think people can distinguish between geography and politics.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,755 ✭✭✭cgcsb


    murpho999 wrote: »
    Clearly us speaking English doesn't help with our identity, but nobody thinks that Austrians are the same as Germans.

    Not really. The older generation in Austria would even refer to themselves as German as a secondary identity. Their primary identity is their state/bundesland. The modern Austrian state is a bit of construct, assembled from the German speaking parts of the former empire and kept separate from Germany by force as part of the terms of Germany's surrender in both wars. Bavaria and West Austria wouldn't really view eachother as 'different'. Although there is a view of Austrians being more backwards, which is generally true.

    Ireland's island identity is much older and much more distinct.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 21,388 ✭✭✭✭dxhound2005


    murpho999 wrote: »
    I think most would as we have maps.

    I think people can distinguish between geography and politics.

    Ireland is just a dot on the global map, with a tiny population. I doubt if too many people in the mega cities in Asia know or care much about us.


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,906 ✭✭✭✭Rothko


    Paddy's Day is celebrated or marked all across the world. I don't think Papua New Guinea has a similar day that gets such international recognition.


  • Registered Users Posts: 678 ✭✭✭Joe Don Dante


    no one gives a **** if your Irish except Irish people. we are a small country with no say in the world's affairs


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,570 ✭✭✭Tyrone212


    I've come across a lot of Irish people who didn't know Donegal was in the Republic. Some of them were teachers. Totally stunned and in disbelief when they learnt it was in the Republic.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,426 ✭✭✭maestroamado


    Tyrone212 wrote: »
    I've come across a lot of Irish people who didn't know Donegal was in the Republic. Some of them were teachers. Totally stunned and in disbelief when they learnt it was in the Republic.

    Sure its not border starts around Bundoran....


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,915 ✭✭✭Greyfox


    Yes we are a small country and it's understandable why this happens but I think Irish people should always make sure to correct anybody who makes the mistake and never just let it go. If I was to make a list of the most important things to know about Irish people then no.1 on that list is that were not part of the UK, its a very important fact that's built into our identity. I say this as someone who likes the UK a lot.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28,542 ✭✭✭✭murpho999


    no one gives a **** if your Irish except Irish people. we are a small country with no say in the world's affairs

    The country that has no say in the world's affairs that currently sits on the UN security council?

    So are you saying that people would only know about the G8.

    That's not how the world works.

    People know about countries for more reasons than politics.

    The arts are important. Ireland has a long literary history and 4 nobel prize winners as well as other famous writers such as Joyce and Wilde that are translated into many languages.
    Music, apart from our well know traditional music we have a long history in "modern" music U2 of course being the most famous. How could people not know they're Ireland?

    Sport: Often the most famous people on the planet, especially footballers and Ireland has produced a fair few of them, Roy Keane arguably the most famous one recently.

    My point is that Ireland, is small, as many here say but I think we punch above our weight interns of societal and cultural impact and influence and I do not understand how people think we're just English.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28,542 ✭✭✭✭murpho999


    Ireland is just a dot on the global map, with a tiny population. I doubt if too many people in the mega cities in Asia know or care much about us.

    Who mentioned mega cities in Asia?

    Why are people comparing Ireland to this places?
    Why are so many here obsessed with putting Ireland down. It really seems to a be strange Irish habit.

    I'm talking about people in UK & Europe not knowing that Ireland is not English.



    Only thing I'm hoping is that Brexit will help people see that Ireland is still in the EU and therefore must be different.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 21,388 ✭✭✭✭dxhound2005


    murpho999 wrote: »
    Who mentioned mega cities in Asia.

    Why are people comparing Ireland to this places?
    Why are so many here obsessed with putting Ireland down. It really seems to a be strange Irish habit.

    I'm talking about people in UK & Europe not knowing that Ireland is not English.



    Only thing I'm hoping is that Brexit will help people see that Ireland is still in the EU and therefore must be different.

    The OP is talking about one American who thought that Ireland is in the UK. It is hardly putting Ireland down to point out that this sort of ignorance is worldwide and applies to all sorts of similar misconceptions.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,874 ✭✭✭Edgware


    Triggering to Irish people who think the world revolves around Ireland and every nationality should have a potted history of Ireland in their head.
    You must admit we have the "best supporters in the world"


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    murpho999 wrote: »
    This is a ridiculous answer.

    Firstly, Ireland is small but it's not that "ridiculously" small.

    It's similar or larger than Denmark, Norway, New Zealand ets.

    Why do you pick a far off place like PNG?

    Because America is far away? I could have picked somewhere closer like Denmark, but I wanted to be fairer?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,811 ✭✭✭joe40


    Tyrone212 wrote: »
    I've come across a lot of Irish people who didn't know Donegal was in the Republic. Some of them were teachers. Totally stunned and in disbelief when they learnt it was in the Republic.

    That is surprising, I have yet to meet an Irish person that thought that.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,517 ✭✭✭✭whisky_galore


    Edgware wrote: »
    You must admit we have the "best supporters in the world"


    To many nationalities, we are just another pasty variety of farang/Western foreign devil who don't fare well in sun, like dutch, Russian or *clutches pearls* English.

    Some may have detailed knowledge of this country, some may associate us with a type of theme hostelry, a band, a soccer player or a certain black beer, some don't know or don't care what we are as they don't have a Western centric / Anglophone centric view of the world.


  • Registered Users Posts: 596 ✭✭✭bigar


    Belgium, then.

    How many people here would know the intricacies of the divide between the Flemish and the French speaking parts, and how deep the feelings between them run?

    I do :D

    Most annoying thing is that most think we all speak French as our first language while only 40% of the population does so. I blame Agatha Christie.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,462 ✭✭✭boardise


    Mad_maxx wrote: »
    Papua New Guinea is better known abroad than Ireland is


    got it :rolleyes:

    Not in Western Europe-but perhaps in Asia. Depends where you place your centre of perception.
    The point being made is that the political status of islands many thousands of miles away may not register as facts that people feel they need to be knowledgeable about.
    I feel I'm pretty well educated but I don't feel at all obligated to inform myself about details of remote territories.
    If the need arises -the relevant info can be readily obtained.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 21,388 ✭✭✭✭dxhound2005


    bigar wrote: »
    I do :D

    Most annoying thing is that most think we all speak French as our first language while only 40% of the population does so. I blame Agatha Christie.

    That's nearly as annoying as an American thinking that Ireland is part of the UK.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 299 ✭✭Five Eighth


    Many people in overseas countries just don't care enough to distinguish between Ireland, Northern Ireland, Britain and the UK. It's not anyway relevant to them and their lives. There is some recognition of Ireland as an independent state in the UK (geographical/political/ social reasons), in the US (diaspora) and within some sections of European society (EU membership/Troubles). It's hard to fault people in other countries for not giving a toss.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 691 ✭✭✭jmlad2020


    Some Irish people think Donegal is in Northern Ireland.

    Now that's a whole new level of stupidity on our doorstep.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,462 ✭✭✭boardise


    murpho999 wrote: »
    The country that has no say in the world's affairs that currently on the UN security council?

    So are you saying that people would only know about the G8.

    That's not how the world works.

    People know about countries for more reasons than politics.

    The arts are important. Ireland has a long literary history and 4 nobel prize winners as well as other famous writers such as Joyce and Wilde that are translated into many languages.
    Music, apart from our well know traditional music we have a long history in "modern" music U2 of course being the most famous. How could people not know they're Ireland?

    Sport: Often the most famous people on the planet, especially footballers and Ireland has produced a fair few of them, Roy Keane arguably the most famous one recently.

    My point is that Ireland, is small, as many here say but I think we punch above our weight interns of societal and cultural impact and influence and I do not understand how people think we're just English.

    For heaven's sake,who gives a goddam about who knows what about Ireland ?
    We know who we are .
    Don't know why anyone would be exercised about this sort of twaddle.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,972 ✭✭✭WesternZulu


    I don't necessarily mind when people from far off lands don't know the difference between Ireland and the UK.

    What does really grate me is British people who have no idea that Ireland is a separate sovereign nation. I lived there and was genuinely shocked at even well educated people who thought Ireland was part of the UK.

    To not know the borders of your own country is pretty damming!


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,784 ✭✭✭KungPao


    The saddest thing is Papua New Guinea and Andorra would probably beat Stephen Kenny's boys in green.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,733 ✭✭✭Duckworth_Luas


    KungPao wrote: »
    The saddest thing is Papua New Guinea and Andorra would probably beat Stephen Kenny's boys in green.
    Papua Smurf, Andorra the Explorer and the rest of the cartoon all-stars could do that.


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  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 2,254 ✭✭✭Nqp15hhu


    People in Great Britain rarely think of Ireland. I haven't met any who think that the Republic is part of the UK.

    Also I have noticed that people in the Republic don't use the proper meaning of the term UK, they use 'UK' to refer to the rest of the country excluding Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is part of the UK, the correct term is Great Britain.


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 2,254 ✭✭✭Nqp15hhu


    I don’t buy this argument because Britain is well known. Therefore any reasonable education system should throw in the fact that there’s two separate countries on those two islands. If they can be taught where Britain is (which they must have done because they know Ireland is close by) then that slightly extra information is all that’s needed.

    People in England in general rarely think about anywhere else but England (or America). They're just not that outward looking a people.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,128 ✭✭✭✭Oranage2


    I live abroad and I'm called British or English nearly every day, in the beginning I'd tell them Ireland is independent but now I don't care as much and just say yes,"fancy a cup of tae governor"


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,735 ✭✭✭wandererz


    Part of the problem lies in the fact that in many countries people were and probably still are taught that the UK is composed of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

    Rather than England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

    And there is no distinction made with The Republic of Ireland.


  • Registered Users Posts: 538 ✭✭✭B2021M


    I agree that a lot of the time British people hear about Ireland rather than NI and Republic of Ireland so there is not a clear distinction.

    The fact that there is a single rugby team representing the whole island must surely confuse many people.


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