'Since when have British people accepted the Irish living among them, Chris?' Well, I can only speak for the last 48 years so I would guess it was sometime before that. Sure, there have been more difficult periods, particularly around the time of the Guildford and Birmingham bombings. But still, I would much rather be an Irish person living in England than a Palestinian living in Israel, a Moroccan 'guest worker' in Germany or an Afican asylum seeker living in Ennis, Co. Clare.

You are quite right, of course, to point out that part of the problem stems from the Nationalist community having a 'British' identity forced on them gainst their will by the majority and the British State. However, how long is it since Gerry Adams last said that a United Ireland would be 'Socialist, Catholic and Gaelic'? Let's not forget either that Sinn Fein was founded by a notorious Anti-Semite (Arthur Griffith).

Ireland since the Republic's secession from the UK is not a society that has a particularly good record when it comes to accepting people from other cultures and traditions, certainly in the countryside and the small towns. Look at how Irish travellers are treated in their own country, for instance.

I don't see why Britain 'should' be in Ireland apart from the fact that a lot of people living in Ireland consider themselves British. Still, by that logic I suppose Earl's Court should be part of Australia.

I am, however, starting to get a little jaded by the insistence of people from one of the most affluent countries in the world on considering themselves as victims. That isn't to belittle the suffering of anyone who has been affected, directly or indirectly, by what has been happening since 1969/69 or even further back. Nor does it excuse any of the injustices that have been suffered as a result.

But anyone who wants to be accepted anywhere (which I assume you would like to be) needs to occasionally consider whether that acceptance is made easier or more difficult by constantly drawing attention to the chip on your shoulder. Especially when, to be blunt, there are plenty of people in the world who have it a lot worse.