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Do the Brits and Irish get along now?

Posted by flower5214@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 185 comments

Is it a more of a friendly banter relationship now?

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185 Comments

RishaanNarayanan13@reddit

Many Irish people don’t realise that lots of English people 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿have celtic irish ancestry
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Glittering-Round7082@reddit

We always did except for the minority extremists. The politics of governments and terrorists organisations was beyond most of us. The Irish People and British people have alway got on, this is testified by the amount of Irish people in the UK and the amount of people with Irish ancestors. I also served in an Irish Regiment in the British Army. English and Irish all working together and getting on.
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Existing-Platypus792@reddit

You need to lean some history pal
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SingerFirm1090@reddit

For the most part it was a 'friendly banter' relationship even at the peak of "The Troubles". It's a lazy trope to say the Brits and Irish were 'at war', in reality a lot of people from Ireland have migrated to the UK since 1921, seeking to improve their chances, my Mum included. Thousands of Irishmen came to England and volunteered for the British Army during WW2. You must remember that the IRA were not universally liked in the Republic and the meaning slogans like "Brits Out" were pointless, the Unionists in the North were not 'Brits', they were Irish.
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Existing-Platypus792@reddit

The unionists in the north are th descendants of British settlers, mostly describe themselves as British and are overwhelmingly anti-Irish.
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ThaiFoodThaiFood@reddit

I don't think there's ever been genuine *individual* enmity between British people and Irish people. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a British person who hates Irish people. Ireland's issue with Britain is with the brutal heavy-handedness of the British government the aristocracy and their enforcers. At the ground level we're all just peasants. We have far more in common than we don't.
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Front_Energy3629@reddit

Exactly. It was the British GOVERNMENT who were at fault.
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3Cogs@reddit

But sadly it was mostly ordinary people targeted by the IRA.
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pcor@reddit

For what little it's worth, it actually wasn't. They targeted and killed civilians in NI (in the likes of the Kingsmill massacre) but in GB their *targets* were of military or economic value. Where there were deaths of ordinary people, they were incidental (though obviously foreseeable) casualties who happened to be drinking in the same pubs off-duty soldiers frequented, or victims of warnings being too late or miscommunicated. And in total, a slim majority of all those killed by PIRA were security forces or loyalist paramilitaries.
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3Cogs@reddit

There was nothing incidental in what they did to our town. *two bombs exploded on Bridge Street in Warrington, about 100 yards (90 m) apart.[8] The blasts happened within a minute of each other.[10] One exploded outside Boots and McDonald's,[8] and one outside the Argos catalogue store.[1] The area was crowded with shoppers. Witnesses said that shoppers fled from the first explosion into the path of the second.[1] It was later found that the bombs had been placed inside cast-iron litter bins, causing large amounts of shrapnel.[12]* *Three-year-old Johnathan Ball died at the scene. He had been in town with his babysitter, shopping for a Mother's Day card.[1] The second victim, 12-year-old Tim Parry, was gravely wounded. He died on 25 March 1993 when his life support machine was switched off, after tests had found only minimal brain activity.* https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrington_bombings#:~:text=The%20Warrington%20bombings%20were%20two,and%2056%20people%20were%20injured.&text=The%20attacks%20were%20carried%20out,to%20withdraw%20from%20Northern%20Ireland.
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pcor@reddit

Yes, those would be amongst the "victims of warnings being too late or miscommunicated" I also referred to.
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3Cogs@reddit

I think of them as victims of cowardly criminal scum. Maybe that's just me, but I doubt it.
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pcor@reddit

You’re mistaken if you think I’m denying that the Warrington bombing was horrible or have warm feelings towards the perpetrators. I am talking solely about the IRA’s strategy, which did not involve the targeting of civilians in their GB campaign. I’m not asking you to find solace in that fact, there is no call for you to act indignant.
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Own_Art_2465@reddit

Oh yeah well known military institutions of marks and Spencer's and various local pubs
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Own_Art_2465@reddit

Utter nonsense.
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Front_Energy3629@reddit

And mostly ordinary people targeted by the opposing factions too.
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3Cogs@reddit

Indeed, but our town was bombed by the IRA so that's the one that comes to mind.
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eclangvisual@reddit

Yeah but let’s not let the civilian settlers completely off the hook
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OrganizationLast7570@reddit

Who were mostly Scottish 
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itsamberleafable@reddit

And anyone stupid/ evil enough to vote for Thatcher
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pjc50@reddit

Not just the aristocracy, there's still pockets of deeply anti-Catholic feeling. Orange marches are still held in Glasgow.
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pcor@reddit

>I don't think there's ever been genuine *individual* enmity between British people and Irish people. Not in recent history, but in the 19th century, when scientific racism was popular amongst the educated classes of Britain, the Irish were absolutely seen as a lesser people by Britons in general. [In post-war Britain](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/i29b9i/comment/g03lzw8/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button): >In some districts a fairly active discrimination over housing is enforced against the Irish. In Birmingham, Manchester and parts of London it is not uncommon to find notices offering accommodation that specify ‘no coloured; no Irish’. There is a strongly held impression that these groups, once they move into a street or district, will ‘lower the tone of the neighbourhood’ and, what is much more important, will ‘bring down property values.’ This wasn't forced from above by the government, the people harboured plenty of resentment themselves. Not that that's an indication of some moral failing that British people inherit or anything, but it is an attitude which the culture there, for historical reasons, incubated.
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Shawn_The_Sheep777@reddit

We rub along. We are like family members who try to ignore each other at a wedding.
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Sushiv_@reddit

A lot of brits have irish heritage, so yeah
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deltahybrid123@reddit

I've never had a single issue from the Irish and visa versa . Tbh most Irish I've ever met hate the UK government, as overall, they are to blame for a lot of heinous shit over the centuries . Tbh, on that one, kinda don't blame them. Most average uk citizens don't tend to like our government either.
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apeliott@reddit

I've never had a problem with the Irish.
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Azuras-Becky@reddit

Some of them did blow up some shopping centres and pubs before the Good Friday agreement, to be fair. It was a big thing.
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eclangvisual@reddit

And some of the Brits occupied their country for hundreds of years and starved millions of people to death
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3Cogs@reddit

It's a pity that they tended to blow up working class people who had no part in this policy. Brave men, killing little children.
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Front_Energy3629@reddit

People could also talk about the behaviour of the opposite faction in Northern Ireland, which mirrored this.
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kh250b1@reddit

The UDF etc never killed civilians on the British mainland. Or kidnapped families to force fathers to drive suicide car bombs
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eclangvisual@reddit

I remember a failed Loyalist bomb attack in Bolton in 2005. Maybe they just weren’t very good at it.
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caiaphas8@reddit

The UDF killed plenty of civilians though
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eclangvisual@reddit

Not really as most of the people they targeted were combatants
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3Cogs@reddit

Those famous toddler combatants in the famous ruling class town of Warrington?
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eclangvisual@reddit

Do you know what the words ‘tended’ or ‘most’ mean
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Thatchers-Gold@reddit

In Iraq and Afghanistan, us and the Americans mostly targeted the Taliban, so those handfuls of weddings and family gatherings we bombed don’t really count because it’s the thought that counts really
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3Cogs@reddit

I do. I also understand that language can be used to minimise evilness.
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eclangvisual@reddit

You used the word ‘tended’, not me. I pointed out that this was not the case. That’s not minimising anything. That’s you using language to distort reality.
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HatOfFlavour@reddit

Well they did try for Thatcher.
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3Cogs@reddit

Twice iirc. Brighton, and the attempted mortar attack on Downing Street.
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jki-i@reddit

you do realise that certainly many working class english, scots, welsh also starved to death in 1800s courtesy of Corn Laws plus 'the Brits' were more probably Norman (ps don't get so excited, does nothing for your BP)
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eclangvisual@reddit

Ah right that’s fine then, checkmate Ireland!
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jki-i@reddit

(chess in 5 dimensions 😂) politically not moved on that much tories still living up to their name my main beef on Irish is that I can't provide documentation that I have maternal & paternal grandparents born in Ireland 🇮🇪 so my next passport will be blue /navy /black 💙😰 🖤
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Moogatron88@reddit

To be fair, one of those things happened over 100 years ago (200 for the famine), and the other happened within living memory. They're not quite the same thing.
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Byotick@reddit

If you want more recent examples, you can look up the history of 1 Para in Northern Ireland? They were responsible for both the Ballymurphy Massacre and Bloody Sunday (1972). Between both events, they killed 25 unarmed civilians protesting for equal and civil rights. The UK judiciary has recently (comparatively) confirmed that neither was justified and that the killings were unlawful. Over the course of the Troubles, 29 children under 16 were killed by the British army. https://aoav.org.uk/2022/civilian-casualties-from-british-military-the-troubles/ Or you could look up why Irish nationalists might have had sympathies for the IRA's cause, if not their actions. The Northern Irish Civil Powers Act of 1922 might have been repealed in 1973, but that didn't change the fact that NI was, essentially, a two-tier bigoted state. I'm not trying to justify the IRA attacks on civilians, but the idea that they were solely motivated by events a hundred or more years earlier is laughable.
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Moogatron88@reddit

I never said they were? I was commenting on the differences between the specific incidents that user brought up. If you're going to compare the IRA attacks, do it with something more recent.
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eclangvisual@reddit

Yes, fortunately Britain has committed zero atrocities in Ireland since then
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Moogatron88@reddit

Never said otherwise. I was commenting on the two you brought up.
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AtebYngNghymraeg@reddit

So... let's call it quits?
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kh250b1@reddit

Strange that 2 little boys were blown to bits in Warrington because of something Victorians did 100+ years earlier ffs
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caiaphas8@reddit

British people were also killing innocent Irish people in the 90s too
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OrangeRadiohead@reddit

Really. Want to also explain about the English and Dutch invading their land? The mass murders, the black and tans, the shops with 'no blacks, no Irish' signage?
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Azuras-Becky@reddit

I'm Welsh. Feck off with your guilt trip.
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Ambitious_League4606@reddit

They did. But let's forgive them. 
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Spiritual_Loss_7287@reddit

Neither have I, except for a very small percentage who made life "interesting" back in the day.
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Ambitious_League4606@reddit

I love them. And wish to adopt several this year alone. 
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Ok-Following-7591@reddit

Same here. Bit of banter, maybe a rugby grudge, but overall it’s mostly good vibes these days, just don’t bring up the 800 years unprompted.
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Front_Energy3629@reddit

Same here - no problem whatsoever with them. A lot of us have Irish Ancestry somewhere along the way anyway.
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Sudden_Star_5130@reddit

I've never had an issue with the Irish, guessing your post was to stir up something that maybe isn't there.
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AdFamous1351@reddit

It isn't an unreasonable question. Have you seen what's been going on in Ireland? According to the BBC, people were putting up union jacks in their windows to prevent their houses being attacked.
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matomo23@reddit

That’s in Northern Ireland mate. The poster is asking about the country called Ireland.
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Byotick@reddit

That's not actually true though. The OP asked about British and Irish people. With the Good Friday Agreement, people in Northern Ireland might be one, the other or both. I think it's about 10% of people on the island of Ireland who identify as Irish are from Northern Ireland.
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AdFamous1351@reddit

It's all one country to me fella.
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OrangeRadiohead@reddit

No, it is not. Because England, Scotland, and Wales share the same landmass, we don't call it Scotland, do we. Éira and Northern Ireland are different countries...because of the English.
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matomo23@reddit

I accept that you want it to be and that’s fine, I don’t disagree. But don’t distort the actual reality as it just makes you look a little dim.
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slicineyeballs@reddit

That was because people (in Northern Ireland) were attacking (Romanian) immigrants, if I understand correctly.
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OrangeRadiohead@reddit

Agitated by the same type that caused riots in England - all immigrants are bad BS.
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LJF_97@reddit

The flags are to show that Irish people live in the house (union flag due to a 'loyalist' area) so that their house and car aren't targeted in the riots against Romanis.
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Whulad@reddit

I think the Irish have a bit of an understandable annoyance with many Brits historical ignorance about Ireland and the UK but we have a lot of shared culture and, although we don’t shout about it like the yanks nor does it define us, a lot of Brits have Irish heritage too.
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nogeologyhere@reddit

I work with a lot of Irish folk and we get along incredibly well. I feel very welcome all over Ireland. Despite the historical tensions, I feel we get on very well and view each other as family in a strange way. I'd say Scottish-English relations are worse than Irish-British, and even that is mostly reasonably playful.
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Puzzled_Record_3611@reddit

>I'd say Scottish-English relations are worse than Irish-British Really? That's not my experience at all
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nogeologyhere@reddit

They're not bad, but in my experience Scottish folk are way more likely to give English people a bit of a semi-playful ribbing than Irish people are.
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MerlinOfRed@reddit

I'm as Scottish-English as they come - Scottish dad, English mum, spent nine years of my childhood in Scotland (aged 0-5, 15-18) and the other nine in England. I've lived my adult life pretty much half in each nation as well. I'm too English for the Scots and too Scottish for the English. Whilst I might occasionally get a Scottish joke aimed at me in England, it's far more common in Scotland (even living in Edinburgh where everyone seems to be from England anyway). English humour directed at the Scots is no different to English humour directed at those from Yorkshire or Birmingham, or Germany or Spain. It just feels like light-hearted banter. Scottish humour directed at the English tends to have a bit of a smug superiority and/or chip on the shoulder attached to it. The Scottish side of me is slightly embarrassed by how obsessed people are with the English, particularly during the football when I think it's perfectly acceptable to support both teams (Rugby is a slightly different story). But yeah, that's just how the humour shapes. It's still just a bit of friendly ribbing on both sides. With the single exception of a very drunk Glaswegian at a train station who not-so-politely told me to "fuck off back down south where I belong", I've never noticed a single person who had an actual issue.
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Ok-Alarm658@reddit

Scottish humour is smug superiority and chip on the shoulder? They are both completely opposite things Also in what world is it acceptable to support both England and Scotland at football? It’s the longest standing and most played rivalry in international football
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sparklybeast@reddit

Why would you not support a home nation team? Assuming they’re not playing your own home nation team, of course.
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MerlinOfRed@reddit

That's a very English point of view to be honest. In England, you'd support England first, and the other Home Nations second. You might even have a soft spot for the Republic of Ireland after that. In Scotland, there's an belief that Scotland and England are historic football rivals and you don't want your rival to win. Nobody in England actually knows about this supposed rivalry, which comes as a shock to some Scots who move down south and expect it to be a two-way thing.
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sparklybeast@reddit

>Nobody in England actually knows about this supposed rivalry, which comes as a shock to some Scots who move down south and expect it to be a two-way thing. I suspect because Scotland haven't really been a proper rival to England at football in level terms, so England supporters look elsewhere for their rivalry (probably towards France). This one-sided rivalry doesn't explain why Scots and English folk wouldn't support Wales or NI though.
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MerlinOfRed@reddit

> They are both completely opposite things Exactly, yet somehow we master them both when talking about the English. > Also in what world is it acceptable to support both England and Scotland at football? Scotland are a great bunch of lads and you want them to do really well because it's great that they qualified. England are also a great bunch of lads who have an actual shot at winning. Look at the last two Euros. In both, it was a cause of national celebration that Scotland scored one goal in the tournament. In both, it was a cause of national celebration that England got into the final. It's like supporting one of Celtic/Rangers and also supporting your local club - they complete at different levels and it's a different kind of enjoyment to follow them. I manage to support them both as long as they don't play each other. It's not difficult.
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The_Flurr@reddit

English but studied and lived in Scotland. Your experience is fairly accurate to my own. There's especially an attitude, mostly among the young and the students, that Scotland is just more enlightened and tolerant and progressive than England. I've seen people complain about racist incidents in Glasgow and be told "oh, that's more of a n English thing" There's also a *lot* of revisionism about Scotlands participation in the empire. That said, I do still love the place, and the people are as nice as any.
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Whulad@reddit

Yes this. Scotland (and Ireland too ) have historically had far less immigration and are far ‘whiter’ than England and with far less integration so their ‘oh the English are all racist’ crap is a bit laughable
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Resident_Pay4310@reddit

I'm Australian and lived in Ireland. This wouldn't be my take. In my experience there's still a lot of anti-British sentiment in Ireland. A lot of people won't bring it up around the Brits because Irish culture is even more non-confrontational than British culture, but it's there under the surface. The majority won't have an issue, and will happily visit or move to the UK, but I think the amount of Irish people who have a problem with the British is a lot higher than the British think.
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Whulad@reddit

Which part of Ireland out of interest because I think sentiment towards the Brits varies between say Dublin and Cork
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Resident_Pay4310@reddit

I lived in Dublin so there were people from all over the country.
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daniluvsuall@reddit

(I am far more educated now) but as a child, we learned nothing about it at school or Northern Ireland. I'm 35. But we did absolutely nothing on modern history outside of WW2.
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TheRemanence@reddit

Didn't you cover the origins during Elizabeth 1 and Cromwell? I feel like when people say this its because it was covered in only one or two lessons and therefore it didnt stick with them.  Also when in uk we learn industrial revolution we don't go into the parliamentary politics and the famine at the same time. More likely to learn the transatlantic slave trade, french revolution, bit of empire stuff. As tragic as it is, when studying 1750-1900 there are a lot of things happening that have more global significance than the famine.  I just think in ireland its a huge local impact so its a huge part of the syllabus whereas in UK its told as backdrop to other things we learn about. So unless you are really paying attention its easy to not click at all.
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daniluvsuall@reddit

We did do Cromwell, but after that it was much more.. Henry the 8th's time (the tudors) also learned nothing about Scotland or Wales.
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TheRemanence@reddit

You did tudors after cromwell? I thought the syllabus was generally taught in rough order. Maybe different from school to school. I would have thought in tudors you would have learnt about james I and VI and mary queen of Scots at least and also henry tudor is welsh (born and grew up there, spoke Welsh, big power base.) Of course, i'm a weird nerd so...
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daniluvsuall@reddit

No no, apologies - I am just generally talking about things we covered. The order, I can't remember because it was 20 years ago! but there was huge gaps. Naturally only know what you do at that time, so didn't think much of it. Can remember all of his wives though lol
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TheRemanence@reddit

Sorry i just took you literally. Its more than 20 years ago for me now!
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Familiar_Radish_6273@reddit

Same! We learned nothing about Ireland or British colonialism, we spent years on both World Wars. I knew more about Archduke Franz Ferdinand than I did about the whole of Irish history.
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The_Flurr@reddit

It's quite crazy to me, as an Anglo, just how little we learnt about our "history with Ireland" in school.
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Taucher1979@reddit

Yes and any British person with Irish ancestry almost always has much more recent Irish antecedents than the average American with Irish heritage which leads to some weirdness.
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feersum@reddit

I think the Scottish/Welsh never had a problem with the Irish, nor vice-versa. I think the English never had a problem with the Irish either - which not cool, as the Irish rightfully had a problem with the English. I hope now the Irish are largely good with the English - but I’m English, and you’d have to ask the Irish. You’re asking this question in the ‘AskaBrit’ subreddit though…..so the Irish might have a problem with that, as they are not British!
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dwair@reddit

TLDR - Everyone had / has a problem with the English.
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feersum@reddit

Probably correct! 😭
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Maximum_Scientist_85@reddit

\> I think the English never had a problem with the Irish either - which not cool, as the Irish rightfully had a problem with the English. Hits the spot exactly, IMO. In my experience, it's all been reasonably friendly between us in recent years (2000s onwards). Obviously the Irish might think differently, you're probably best off asking on r/AskAnIrishman or something, but just in terms of interacting with Irish folk on a day to day basis, my experience has been that it's generally been very friendly & cordial.
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feersum@reddit

Thank you.
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reginalduk@reddit

Honestly you people have no clue about history and Scotland being one of the main drivers of sectarianism in the north.
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feersum@reddit

I went to University in Scotland; my girlfriend was Northern Irish; I have many friends from both Northern Ireland, and Scotland - in both cases from both sides of the sectarian divide. I may not be right, but I also realise that this area has a large amount of nuance, and many joins/divisions can be drawn on both sides of the North Channel. Here’s some history, for example: https://qpol.qub.ac.uk/scotland-and-the-northern-ireland-troubles/
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InZim@reddit

The Scottish did and definitely still do have problems with the Irish, no idea why you'd think they didn't, considering their role in the Ulster plantations and the sectarianism that exists today.
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feersum@reddit

I stand corrected.
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3me20characters@reddit

Which Irish? The chill guys or the religious fruitcakes up north?
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ClockOwn6363@reddit

Does it matter? It is all part of the British empire.
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Familiar_Radish_6273@reddit

....Which died about 100 years ago, move on
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ClockOwn6363@reddit

Not really, still the British guard their waters.
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Unacceptable_tragedy@reddit

Aside from shared culture, many British people have some degree of recent irish heritage anyway. We live very close to each other. The Scots and Welsh have no reason to dislike the Irish since they also got fucked over by GB, but even English people get along fine, at least in the north of england. The only folk I've ever really seen issues with are Americans calling themselves Irish because their great great grandma once saw a photo of Cork through a bus window, but tbf everyone hates that.
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wtf_idk_maybecheese@reddit

As a Brit, I would say most Brits are completely oblivious to why the Irish might not be keen on us, but we tend to really like them.
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Bose82@reddit

I’ve been to Ireland a few times and quite a few different places that aren’t your typical tourist spots. I’ve never had any hostility shown or made to feel unwelcome. Obviously there’s a rocky history, but I think most people are grown-up enough to understand that any one person isn’t to blame for that. Weirdly, it’s the American plastic paddys (or patties as they stupidly call it) that think hatred of the British is in their DNA. Weird cunts
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OrganizationLast7570@reddit

Most English people are far more Irish than any plastic paddy seppo anyway.
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MrPhatBob@reddit

Upvote for the use of the term seppo.
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TheRemanence@reddit

I can confirm I've had some very weird conversations with Americans that call themselves irish. What makes it particularly weird for me is I'm half american, quarter english, quarter german and within my american half that is half irish descent. So essentially I'm as irish as I'm english by their heritage based yard stick. But then... the way history is taught in US its basically english = bad guys until the nazis turn up. 
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loki_dd@reddit

The Brits and Irish never really had a problem. The British govt and the Irish is a different matter entirely. And tbh iim on their side on that one.
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Successful_Repeat_52@reddit

Visited Northern Ireland, got a stern look when I said 'Londonderry' to a waitress in a restaurant. She didn't get angry but rather, corrected me.
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Dizzy_Guest8351@reddit

We always did. I have never in my 50 years met an Irishman who had any animosity towards me in the slightest. Our leaders however ...
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zibafu@reddit

I dated a girl in Ireland for a few months long distance who lives in Tuam/Galway and found the Irish people to be mega friendly. They poked fun at me being a city boy as they were a farming family but there was never any issues
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EthelLinaWhite@reddit

I love the Irish. They’re funny, kind, and generous people (for the most part).
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Deadend_Friend@reddit

Barring a few bigots and ideologs on either side working class Irish and Brits have mostly got along.
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DaveTheWraith@reddit

you mean the ENGLISH and the Irish. I think we get on ok now, my Protestant Irish dad married my Catholic English mum
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secretvictorian@reddit

I've never had a problem with the Irish. Like many of us I have Irish ancestors who came over in the famine...not that I go to anyone Irish and say "oh I'm one of you" because I'm not. However the few times I've gone on an Irish sub to ask about a family holiday there I've been unequivocally told that me and my family will be targeted and beaten up. That they hate us.
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Dumuzzid@reddit

Lived in both countries extensively. It's a pretty one-sided love affair, as Brits generally like everything Irish and often fancy themselves moving there. Irish people on the other hand still have a bit of a post-colonial resentment towards Britain, especially since they keep on occupying and administering the north of their island. But, they are also entirely in the cultural and economic orbit of Britain, though much less so since Brexit.
View on Reddit #58773303

jki-i@reddit

1 the troubles go back to 1066, Normans ran out of land in England to pay off supporters so started portioning off Ireland 2 in various conversations with Irish and with apologies to any sane people in NI, it seemed very obvious than neither of us wanted anything to do with the north of that island. Brexiteers didn't even know it existed 3 I do love what the name of tories means in Irish
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wholesomechunk@reddit

Have you stopped beating your wife?
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pcor@reddit

... Is the implication here that Brits and the Irish have never failed to get along? Because if so there's 800 or so years of history you may want to look into.
View on Reddit #58773625

jki-i@reddit

shouldn't lump 4 distinct nationalities into one I think there's still strong religious connections between N Ireland & West Scotland I'm not aware of any specific link to Wales except both invariably support whichever team in whichever sport England are playing English seem blissfully unaware of any of this, except maybe if you have any Irish ancestors.
View on Reddit #58775104

pcor@reddit

>I think there's still strong religious connections between N Ireland & West Scotland There are strong links between the Presbyterians in Scotland and in NI because the planters who were given lands once they had been ethnically cleansed of the native Irish were disproportionately Scottish non-conformists. >I'm not aware of any specific link to Wales The Herberts, the Perrots, and the Bagenals, amongst others, would have something to say about that! >English seem blissfully unaware of any of this On that we can agree...
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RimDogs@reddit

What is this referring to?
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mister_rossi_esquire@reddit

It's used as an example of a Loaded Question.
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CourseCold9487@reddit

Scots and the Irish always get along.
View on Reddit #58772257

jki-i@reddit

apart from very very strong on religion, still refer to Fenians & Taigs
View on Reddit #58775759

rtrs_bastiat@reddit

Which is weird since most of the colonists in NI were Scottish.
View on Reddit #58773580

jvlomax@reddit

Yes, has been so for a while. However, if you go somewhere along the irsh/northern Ireland border you might find a smattering of people who are not so friendly
View on Reddit #58775752

coffeewalnut08@reddit

I’d say yes
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D_ntt@reddit

Most Brits on the mainland have Irish roots. I personally see them as I see Brits, we are all British after all, the island of Ireland is part of the British isles. My grandmother was a British citizen but born in Eire., before separation
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Front_Energy3629@reddit

Probably best to say: "British and Irish Isles"! ;)
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Familiar_Radish_6273@reddit

Yes, Irish are not keen on being lumped in with Britain like that. I make that mistake from time to time even though I'm Irish and get pulled up on it! Quite rightly. It's a throwback to the days when Britain ruled Ireland.
View on Reddit #58774807

Front_Energy3629@reddit

I can understand, tbphwy. I see it as being respectful - the Island of Ireland is an island in its own right (with a few smaller islands off its coast)! Plus, the Irish Sea is situated between both countries!
View on Reddit #58774991

Familiar_Radish_6273@reddit

I have British and Irish nationality and it's never been a problem for me. It might be more of an issue in Northern Ireland where there's still some tension over British rule, but the rest of Ireland has pretty much moved on from hating the Brits, apart from in a sort of jokey way, and most of the UK has quite a fondness for Ireland from what I can see. I've only once encountered anti Irish racism in my life, but I appreciate that's only my experience.
View on Reddit #58774305

WeDoingThisAgainRWe@reddit

Depends where you look. There’s an actual meme/trope of “the brits are at it again” and constant moaning about brexit on Irish subs on Reddit. Online we’re not great about the British. I’d say from my experience the Brits are far more chilled about it. In person is much more varied. And I wouldn’t believe some of the nonsense on here about online being Americans etc. it’s not. It’s one of the many trendy virtue signalling things and one trait of the Irish online is we like to virtue signal. Brexit has a surprisingly big part in it if you look at the comments as well. Stuff about NI is surprisingly less.
View on Reddit #58774228

Puzzled_Record_3611@reddit

I'd say so, on a personal level. Where I'm from, prob more than half the population have Irish ancestors 2 or more generations back. We have a similar humour and I like to visit. I have family there and have met loads of lovely Irish folk over the years. However, when I was last in Dublin a few years ago, I got some abuse when folk overheard my (Scottish) accent. "Fucking Scots", "fucking Brits" said to my face by young guys in a couple of different situations. I was shocked at the vehemence tbh. I think the Scottish, English and Welsh don't really think about Ireland that much and aren't taught the history between the 2 countries at school, but the opposite is true for Ireland, in general. It was a bit of an eye-opener.
View on Reddit #58774032

BG3restart@reddit

I grew up on a Council estate in the middle of England where loads of Irish had settled for work. There were never any problems between the Irish and English there. I've been to Ireland on holiday and felt welcome.
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Admiral-snackbaa@reddit

The people are fine and dandy with one another, it’s was the land grabbing aristocracy that was the problem.
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WeDoingThisAgainRWe@reddit

Depends where you look. There’s an actual meme/trope of “the brits are at it again” and constant moaning about brexit on Irish subs on Reddit. Online we’re not great about the British. I’d say the Brits are far more chilled about it. In person is much more varied.
View on Reddit #58773984

RevolutionaryHat4311@reddit

I live in middle England and our Irish neighbours/locals are some of the nicest people in the area. Always friendly, always starting conversations in local shops and takeaways. Every race and creed of peoples has good eggs and bad eggs, I don’t care who or what you are if you’re a good egg we’re good but if you’re a bad egg we’re not, that’s it and that’s all that matters
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Effective_Quality@reddit

Well I’m off to Ireland next week for 4 days. Will report back.
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Remarkable-Ad155@reddit

I think something that often gets overlooked by people not so close to the situation is the *vast* numbers of family ties across both islands.  Go to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, London, Glasgow, Edinburgh etc, you will find *millions* of people across the UK with Irish and irish/British descent. Large numbers of Irish people come to the UK to work, same in reverse, particularly in Dublin which is obviously a major services/tech centre and has been for some time.  Music, literature, tv, films, football, rugby: huge cultural crossover. Food, most popular beer in both places? Guinness, originally a "London porter" style, now synonymous with Ireland.  Obviously we can't change history (much as a lot of us on both sides probably wish we can) and there are very real grievances and historical trauma on both sides that can't just be wished away but the reality on the ground, certainly in my life time including growing up in the back end of the troubles, has always been more nuanced. I was never brought up with a blanket dislike of the Irish, I don't know anyone who was. I've never lived in Ireland but I know multiple Irish people living happily here.  Doesn't mean people just forget the historical context but it does mean people recognise real life and politics are two separate beasts. Best example? Sadly cancelled this year but in an average year go and check out the St Patrick's Day parade in Birmingham. A city synonymous both with the absolute worst of the atrocities committed in the UK during the troubles but with a large, visible, vibrant Irish community that's fully embraced and part of the identity of the city.  In other words, it's complicated but no, British and Irish people are generally not like cats and dogs in my experience, quite the opposite tbh. These days, I'd put Irish folks along with Aussies and New Zealanders as foreigners who kind of get put in a slightly privileged class of immigrant here. 
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Slobberchops_@reddit

My grandfather was Irish. I'm going to guess that about 90% of my fellow Brits can say the same thing.
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ClemDog16@reddit

I’m Irish and my Mrs is English, main issue we have is that she supports England in international football and I support the Republic Made Senegal’s 3-1 victory a great source of joy for me
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No_Gift_3499@reddit

Most of the Irish people online who hate Brits seem to be from the USA. From people who have Irish ancestry and many also likely have British ancestry as well. Look at Biden who always claims to be Irish but his peternal ancestry is English. Many people in the UK have Irish ancestry, famous people like the Beatles, Ed Shireen, Piers Morgan, Tom Holland, Tom Hardy, David Bowie, Oasis, Daniel Day Lewis. Even U2 who are Irish band and half the band members are British. So the average Brit and Irish have always got along. It's the elites of the Monarchy, Religous leaders, Government who caused the problems.
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LilyPraise@reddit

I’m Welsh and I tend to get on with Irish people very well.
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havaska@reddit

Well my wife is Irish and we seem to get along ok. 👍
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Front_Energy3629@reddit

Glad to hear it! Lololol!
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healeyd@reddit

Today's grievance over the troubles and the sectarianism that comes with it is mostly restricted mostly to a small hardcore niche (a fair amount of it is embedded in criminal gangs), and even they don't seem hate the English as much as they hate each other.
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Yooustinkah@reddit

I’m a Brit who moved to Ireland when I was 8 and lived there until I was 20. In those 12 years, I was never made to feel like an outsider, they were incredibly welcoming. I left in 2009, and my sister stayed. She noticed a shift in attitudes towards the English a while after that. The Irish are justifiably proud of their country and heritage but she noticed it sometimes teetered over the line to blatant English-bashing. She says it’s now an accepted attitude to be vocal about hating the Brits. She’s since moved back to England. Disclaimer: This is my and my sister’s perceptions. Other’s experiences may vary.
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El_Senora_Gustavo@reddit

I have a mate who is Irish and he's a bit weird but okay
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Front_Energy3629@reddit

You say he's "a bit weird" ... Yet you're friends with him. What does that say about you?!
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Stunning-Profit8876@reddit

Most of my friends are a bit weird. Normal people are boring.
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moofacemoo@reddit

That he's open minded.
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Feisty_Outcome9992@reddit

My GF is Irish and can confirm she is also weird.
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kreemy_kurds@reddit

Well it means they're obviously both a bit weird but mates. Standard British friendship imo
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Maximum_Scientist_85@reddit

Was going to say the same thing. Most of my mates are a bit weird. I'd not have them any other way.
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kreemy_kurds@reddit

Damn straight
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NotABrummie@reddit

There's definitely still people with extreme opinions on both sides, but most people aren't interested in that kind of rhetoric. Overall, we recognise that we have a lot of shared history (not necessarily positive history), a lot of shared culture, and a lot of exchange in terms of music and the arts. We can also very much agree on the fact that all of life's problems can be solved with a cup of tea.
View on Reddit #58773263

Feisty_Outcome9992@reddit

Town I grew up up in had anti-Irish Riots in the 1880s but it seems relationships have improved since then
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Gold_Contribution_97@reddit

You say Brits and not English so I will say if you were to believe everything you read online then the Irish, Welsh and Scottish like to team up a some sort of 'celtic' union and express their disdain for the English while insisting they're universally loved and the English hated (could be true). In real life i doubt there are many issues though. Most English people love the Irish but as others have said are too ignorant of history and what Britain put Ireland through.
View on Reddit #58772718

PiotrGreenholz01@reddit

Working class English always have. Drank together, worked together, married each other. I'm an ordinary English bloke with an Irish aunt & Irish ancestors on my dad's side. It's as you went 'up' the classes that it got iffy.
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First-Lengthiness-16@reddit

Yeah mostly. There is a small amount of hostility from the Irish to the English, but nothing major and it is entirely understandable, the Brits still own part of the land. I have been to Ireland a fair few times and as a young man, it wasn’t too rare to get shit from the locals whilst out drinking, but nothing major
View on Reddit #58772532

BaitmasterG@reddit

Yeah sure, they're a bit annoying but what can you do?
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AlpsSad1364@reddit

Bots gonna bot https://www.reddit.com/r/AskMexico/comments/1l3q4q0/do_the_mexicans_and_americans_get_along_now/
View on Reddit #58772352

Nosferatatron@reddit

It would probably surprise some people to know that the last IRA bombing in the UK was in the late nineties - I mean, is that ancient history now or relatively recent? If you put that into context, Oasis's home city was being blown up at around the same time as their third album (I don't believe it was related)!
View on Reddit #58772315

ClockOwn6363@reddit

No!
View on Reddit #58772212

cp2chewy@reddit

I think a lot of the bad feelings between Ireland and england or Scotland and england are over events that happened 100’s of years ago, carried out by the monarch or government of the time, that a minority of people are still are still banging their drum about. So generally no, irish and English people get along just fine
View on Reddit #58772209

BlackJackKetchum@reddit

As one wag once put it, ‘the memory of the British is too short, and that of the Irish too long’.
View on Reddit #58772167

musicistabarista@reddit

On the whole relations are very friendly, there are lots of Irish people living in the UK and vice versa. There's a cultural closeness that people from other nations don't come close to matching. But still I think a lot of Brits have a poor understanding of Irish history, which can piss Irish people off when we make potato jokes for example. For sure, there is still some bitterness towards Brits in Ireland, which is forgotten about on an individual level, but can easily come to the surface if someone shows themselves to be ignorant.
View on Reddit #58771859

Front_Energy3629@reddit

Interestingly, I think the number of British Citizens living in the Republic of Ireland is similar to the number of Irish Citizens living here now. Due to the CTA, we get treated the exact same as Irish Citizens when we're in the Republic and they get treated the exact same as British Citizens when they're here. Win-Win
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Goatmanification@reddit

Yes
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SaluteMaestro@reddit

We'll I'm 50 plus and I've never had a problem with anyone Irish, depending on where you live in the UK you'll find some of your extended family are either Irish or of Irish descent.
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Front_Energy3629@reddit

Exactly this. A lot of us have Irish Ancestry somewhere along the way.
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Guerrenow@reddit

It's mostly online stuff, I've never found anomosity in real life. You have to remember that the two countries have been involved in each other's history for years and years, good and bad. Millions of us Brits have Irish ancestry with or without knowing it. I'm not ignorant enough to pretend I don't know why they would have negative feelings towards us but most Irish would hate our government/establishment rather than us as people
View on Reddit #58772018

Jack-Rabbit-002@reddit

I'm assuming this is an American asking!? Despite our history and some minor banter the UK and Ireland are pretty bleeding integrated but then that's only due to our geography and migration I mean I imagine there's more Brits who have a Irish Grandparent or a close relative etc than most Americans who had one Great Great Great Uncle or something back in the 1800's Don't mean to be cruel there Especially Cities like my City Brum (Birmingham) literally every White & Mixed Mate I know have some Irish connection again including my own cousins Awful history between us sadly and some circles still may have bad memories and may harbour some hate/discrimination But personally I see the Irish as more akin to us then anyone else
View on Reddit #58771961

dallasp2468@reddit

Not really, there are pockets led by that Irish guy Garron on Youtube, but I think he could be American, some say he's delicious as well, so that could be his selling point
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jake_burger@reddit

Yes I think so. The Good Friday Agreement seems to have resolved things for the most part.
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AdFamous1351@reddit

I imagine there's probably some people that have a problem, same as anywhere else. I personally don't. The Irish are alright in my book, especially with their views on Israel/Gaza.
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aurora_ethereallight@reddit

I've never had a problem with Irish people.
View on Reddit #58771588

qualityvote2@reddit

Hello u/flower5214! Welcome to r/AskABrit! --- For other users, does this post fit the subreddit? If so, **upvote this comment!** Otherwise, **downvote this comment!** And if it does break the rules, **downvote this comment and report this post!**
View on Reddit #58771142