"It's interesting how often the accent that journalists and such from other countries have acquired isn't English or American, it's Irish.". This rings a bell to me Kevin, though I'm no journalist. I started learning English when I was 13, so it was British English. In 1972 we were involved in a students exchange between my teachers' training school and Madeley College of Education that no long exists now. I was told "You have an awful American accent!" (it wasn't a compliment!) though I'd never heard anybody speak American in my life -nor native English either actually! I supposed at that time it was due to my strong Southern French accent that makes my vowels more open than "France French" (read "Northern"). The first time I went to the US, my friend's husband said "You sound somewhat Irish." When I went to Ireland I was told "You sound somewhat American or Canadian". The next time I asked my friend's husband he burst out laughing and said "Now you just sound French!". I suppose I have created my own brand of English!