Interesting thread this,
I lived and worked in London in the 50s -60s too and I remember well the indifferent acceptance of my fellow occupants,in a London Youth Hostel,of the arrival of two Southern Irishmen (my brother and I) among them. This lulled us into a sense of false security , to a large extent, and I can remember the shock of seeing "No Irish, No Coloureds" on the shop front advertising cabinets in areas like Maida Vale, Paddington, Earl's Court etc., etc.
There was a widespread attitude of "superiority" towards Irish people then, among Londoners, but we were mostly treated ( I think, provided that we behaved according to the same social rules, and why would we not !)like Pavlov's dog. Only once, on the Soccer pitch, did I receive racial insult from an English person (which I believed him to be)......well, I did kick him. Gratuitous offence , however, could be taken by anyone of a sensitive disposition, as it was constantly , mostly unwittingly, offered in every day conversation, newspapers, and radio broadcasts and, especially, at Speakers corner, Marble Arch. I suppose that these kind of attitudes did tend to force some of us into certain areas, Ghettos, almost, to adopt the language of the time.   
Nowadays , I find that the British Press, and not merely the "Red Tops", constantly adopt an almost sneering attitude , especially with regard to that of which we feel proudest. This would include our better international levels of sporting performance, economic performance and even our attempts to rationalise our relationship with Northern Ireland.
There has been no comparable , institutionalised, Anti English (or British) discrimination here for many years.
I also ran a small restaurant here in an Irish village for 10 yrs and was constantly being amazed by the number of middle-aged to elderly British/English people who came in and admitted that it was their first trip to Ireland and how wrong their preconceptions had been.
"We'll be back !" was the common attitude I found. I do not believe that has changed since those 90s although our roads sure have.