Guest seems to think the Irish would do anything to be different from their neighbours in the UK . Anybody who lives here in the south of Ireland - including I'm sure the vast majority of British people - would tell him/her that the opposite is true. The Irish are often opposed to British politicians , but British people shouldn't mistake that for some sort of insular hatred towards the way things are done in the UK . Guest , you should ask yourself why so many Irish people follow British soccer teams, watch British TV channels ,go to the same sort of holiday destinations as British people do etc etc.. (If your answer is "because we're so much better at everything in Blighty" , then the problem is coming from your end!)