What do Irish people think of the UK and Why?

Question

i like Ireland and most its people but i am not sure what they think of us.

So what do they think of us and our country.

Answer 1

In general we dont mind the UK but most of us dont like England. Its not the English people we do not like but the country. Its our history. We were oppressed for hundreds of years and that is not something you forget quickly. There are people still living who suffered and all of us had realitives who did. And it really does not help that the general English attitude toward Ireland is that you are superior to us.

Answer 2

i like the UK, have been to england countless times, met lots of really nice english people, can't fault it, nice country, wales is a nice country too, only been to scotland once though

Answer 3

The "UK" carried a lot of loaded baggage to the Irish people as a whole.

The Act of Union of 1800 was a contrived and bribe loaded impertinence.

The native population ( which was 98%  Catholic,) were disenfrachised  and forbidden to own property, enter the professions etc.  So therein lies a folk memory of resentment.

As many a UK village holds a war memorial to it's dead, in Ireland, it's our "treason" hanged who hold the heart of our allegiance and identity

As a country the UK has foregone it's  once snooty superiority and is now probably as modest as our own good selves.!!!  I sailed many years as Radio Officer on UK vessels and almost always  encountered really great UK friends. Granted, there were some unconscionable atrocities involved in NI related conflict, but I honestly know and believe the the UK people are admiringly regarded by everyday Irish folk

Answer 4

I think the public image of the Irish hating the British is way overeactive. I have plenty of friends from Britain. The only thing that I would be slightly bitter about is our economy. While Ireland was under British rule, they held back the Irish industry to help their own.

Their are loads of British in Ireland now so I suppose it makes up for all the Irish going to Britain in the 70's.

Answer 5

Strange to see so many answers relating to English matters rather than UK as the question was put. Maybe because when people talk of UK it's England first, then Scotland, Wales and NI? Who knows.

Well being from NI I find that I am a second class citizen in my own country. We don't have as much spent on our roads and transport systems as the rest of the country. We can be deported from the other parts of the UK. NI healthcare doesn't have as much spent on it as rest of UK. So why is this?

As a dual national I can honestly say I don't think much of the UK.

Answer 6

The Irish, Scots & Welsh hate the English.

Answer 7

The old Irish hated the English and my grandmother ( born in Sligo Ireland) still called the british military the black and tans ( black uniforms with brass buttons)  I can imagine the hatred of the old has dissipated with the young, but I can't tell you the present situation.  Want to know what caused the Irish animosity?Read the  book"Trinity".

Answer 8

Interestingly, it's usually Americans who are most rabidly anti-English when questions such as these are put, I have found in my own personal experience.

Most Irish feel that the past belongs in the past, and that it's time to look to the future. As the UK is our nearest neighbour, it is also our most important partner in trade and always has been, despite political disagreements and inequalities of the past.

I've only travelled through the UK (Wales and England and twice Northern Ireland) and the roads over there are much better than Ireland. More money has been channelled into preserving monuments and period houses, in the UK, while here in Ireland a lot of great houses have fallen into ruin, simply because the money wasn't there to keep them up.

I'd like to see more of the UK, personally. I'd like to do London properly, I never have. And go to Scotland.

Answer 9

Not much.

Most of you, mainly the English still have the attitude of looking down on us & like to think of us Irish as below you & still like to refer to us as Paddy & Mick's. Ye, sure you ruled us for a couple of hundred year's but we got over it. What do we think of your country? well we built most of it, so it's just an extension of Ireland.

Have we found a case of the jitters, ye it was the computer, LOL, the truth getting to you.

I have met & deal with British people almost every day in work & the English stand out as worst. If you don't beleave me ask people from other countries what they think of the British & you will get the same answer, we get on well with the Scottish(even they don't want to be part of the UK anymore) & Welsh but the English!!!!!!!!

Happy Christmas by the way.................................

Answer 10

I think now that Irish people are much more wealthier per capita than Great Britain, we just let all biggotry go as we dont care anymore.

I think in years to come nobody will care and we might get our counties back