Antóin, like you I know backwaters of Ireland where people haven't got the first idea of their own history and heritage and have had their minds closed to politics (often by catholic clerics, who did a pretty fine job of propping up the British Empire in years gone by). Sounds like you've yet to explore the bars of Dundalk, Crossmaglen and west Belfast, among others.

Fiolar, I also thought DtG's feeble anecdote had a somewhat implausible ring to it, but maybe his grandad had adopted the traditional Irish greeting "Top o'the morning!" in which case you can see how the confusion could arise.*BG*

Dave, possibly the Tans did, inadvertantly, let the occasional decent geezer slip through the net and into their ranks, but they were sent to Ireland to behave like murdering thugs, and lived up to the task fairly convincingly. The idea that they fraternized with, and passed seamlessly into, the local population is frankly risible.