Why do the British know so little about us?

FrDougal

I just read the below RTE article about how little the British know about Ireland.

https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2020/0224/1117330-why-do-british-people-know-so-little-about-ireland/

It reminds me of the time that Beth Webster, a member of BBCs Eggheads quiz team, thought that the population of the Republic of Ireland was 24.8 million (when given multiple choice options of 4.8m, 14.8m or 24.8m). She is one of the best quizzers in the UK and she probably never got such a basic question so wrong in her entire quizzing career.

Are we the dark side of the moon to the British or something?

Church on Tuesday

...and why do we care so much about it?

Rodney Bathgate

Bloody eggheads. What have they ever done for us?

fleet_admiral

Their knowledge of us is the same way ours should be of them.

buried

Cant expect some people to know anything about anyone else when they don't even know anything about themselves.

How much do the Irish know about Britain? Or the British?

Collie D

The less they know the better. Keep them guessing.

I think we know a lot more about Britain (and US, btw), because we've been watching British (and American) TV shows and films for years - not that many Irish productions that travel outside Ireland, in comparison.

I know next to nothing about Wales or the north of Scotland. We are small in relation to Britain.

castletownman

bubblypop wrote: »

How much do the Irish know about Britain? Or the British?

Well at a basic level, I would hazard a guess that we know more about Britain than the other way around.

Like, anyone with a few braincells would make a decent stab of locating the major British cities on a map, and the counties. I'm not so sure the same can be said of an English person, save for Dublin of course. I do wonder is a lot of it due to the popularity of the Premier League over here though?

The fact that they struggle to pronounce Taoiseach even to this day smacks of patronisation though. They wouldn't be so blase about pronoucing words from other cultures though.

Working class heroes

FrDougal wrote: »

I just read the below RTE article about how little the British know about Ireland.

https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2020/0224/1117330-why-do-british-people-know-so-little-about-ireland/

It reminds me of the time that Beth Webster, a member of BBCs Eggheads quiz team, thought that the population of the Republic of Ireland was 24.8 million (when given multiple choice options of 4.8m, 14.8m or 24.8m). She is one of the best quizzers in the UK and she probably never got such a basic question so wrong in her entire quizzing career.

Are we the dark side of the moon to the British or something?

In fairness if it wasn't for the Genocide(Famine) it probably would have been around 24.8m.

TheBoyConor

or the way they refer to the country as Eire.

Everything about them is just looking down their big protestant noses at us here in Ireland. They always have.

Has to be the state of their education system. No joke, a few years ago we bought a car in London to import to Ireland. The salesman couldn't understand why we were getting a ferry from Wales "can you not just drive there?" We couldn't believe we had to explain that we were a separate island. Had obviously never seen a map in his life.

y0ssar1an22

whats the point here?

and even if it were the case, how do you prove that?? seems a sweeping generalization to me - something i thought was considered wrong these days.

i know jack **** about Scotland (exception is braveheart).

castletownman

castletownman wrote: »

The fact that they struggle to pronounce Taoiseach even to this day smacks of patronisation though. They wouldn't be so blase about pronoucing words from other cultures though.

It's a foreign word. Why wouldn't they struggle?
Pretty sure pronouncing words from any language other than English is not high on their priority list

murpho999

What other countries' people know much about us?

What do we know about countries like France, Belgium or Holland?

Remember we know a lot about Britain due to our history and mostly through the fact that most British media is widely available in Ireland whereas Irish media is not so common in the UK.

Either way, it's normal that with neighbouring countries that the smaller country would know more about it's larger neighbour. I know this is the case with The Netherlands and Germany. Probably a condition of trading.

The only thing that surprises me about the UK in relation to Ireland is how little they know of their history in Ireland and also that many seem to think that Ireland is still British in a way or some I have met still think that Ireland is part of the UK.

WesternZulu

I lived there and it's not an exaggeration to say they don't know anything about Ireland even the university educated ones. Most think we're part of the UK!

For instance, look at this video from Channel 4 news which asked people to draw the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland:

https://twitter.com/Channel4News/status/935599685611515904

Before people say why should they even know - it's their own border we're talking about. They literally don't know where the UK border is!
!

Badly Drunk Boy

bubblypop wrote: »

It's a foreign word. Why wouldn't they struggle?
Pretty sure pronouncing words from any language other than English is not high on their priority list

Five minutes before the News goes out, somebody says "There's a story about Ireland and it mentions their Prime Minister which they call the Taoiseach. It's pronounced 'tee-shock'. Can you remember that?"

How hard is that? It's not as if they're trying to pronounce 'Muireann' correctly!

Sunny Disposition

Britain has other close neighbours, such as France and Belgium, Ireland doesn't have any other country so close. British media is very widely consumed here, Irish media is irrelevant in the UK. The Brits are not stupid or illiterate or uneducated, they just have other things to think about. The real question is why are Irish people offended that people in other countries don't think about Ireland very often.

Harry Palmr

Big countries care little about small countries. Because they are small. You might say they ought to know more but for historical and cultural reasons but almost nothing that happens here has a measurable effect there.

WesternZulu

Sunny Disposition wrote: »

Britain has other close neighbours, such as France and Belgium, Ireland doesn't have any other country so close. British media is very widely consumed here, Irish media is irrelevant in the UK. The Brits are not stupid or illiterate or uneducated, they just have other things to think about. The real question is why are Irish people offended that people in other countries don't think about Ireland very often.

Well asking them to know that we're not part of the UK, or British, shouldn't be much to ask?

You see it all the time even in the media where they'll have the whole of Ireland covered in a Union Jack for a graphic.

It's not asking British people to know everything about Ireland but a basic comprehension would be good.

Feisar

Oscar Wilde: "The problem is the English can’t remember history, while the Irish can't forget it"

brightspark

Almost everyone in Ireland watches English T.V. Even in the pre-satellite days people would put up huge aerials just to watch BBC and ITV. Most people in England have probably never watched RTE.

The same would apply to newspapers, British tabloids are sold widely here (though have some localised content) I doubt if the Irish times has many sales in the UK.

If we were to remove all British media here there would be little to watch/read, remove all the Irish media from the UK and it would hardly be noticed due to the sheer volume of native media.

Emigration is another reason, few people in Ireland don't have any relations who are currently living in England, and while some English people have moved here they are a minority of the English population.


You could also say the same about the USA, I expect the average US citizen has no concept of where Ireland is, while many of us could name many states and have a reasonable idea of where they are located.

Aongus Von Bismarck

The citizens of smaller nations tend to have more knowledge of their larger neighbour than the other way around. They also like to make fun of their larger neighbour, whilst also being heavily influenced by them.

Canadians see themselves as a cut above the USA, but follow the same sports, eat the same food, and watch the same television as them.

It's the same with the New Zealand and Australia relationship.

TheBoyConor

Most countries are a cut above the USA in it's current form.

thelad95

Is there a certain entitlement complex in Irish people's heads that the whole world should know about us and our plight but although we economically punch well above our weight due to numerous governments that have been willing to bend over backwards to the needs of multinationals.

I was on Erasmus in Prague a few years ago and as much as we may hate it, a lot of Europeans view us as British and don't distinguish us a separate entity whatsoever.

But similarly, the amount of Irish people that I had to correct when they asked me how I was getting on in "Czechoslovakia" or "the Soviet Union" is also alarming.

Anyways we are a tiny nation on the periphary of Europe next to a global behemoth who formerly colonised half the world. A superiority has been passed from generation to generation in some British middle class minds so much so that when Brexit was at the forefront of everyone's minds, it was alarming how ignorant many British politicians were to not only the fact that Northern Ireland and Ireland were separate entities but also that they were totally blind to many terms of the good Friday Agreement which let's not forget is only twenty years old.

That Channel 4 video has been doing the rounds for many years. I'll put my hands up, I would probably make a poor enough effort at partioning Wales and Scotland from England too

chrissb8

Church on Tuesday wrote: »

...and why do we care so much about it?

Because then you don't understand things like why a border in Ireland is such a contentious thing. Y'know, relevant important things informed by the modern preceding history which is still felt to this day.

Or you end up making a comedy set in and around the famine.

Just off the top of my head.

Mr_Muffin

If I made an attempt to draw the outline of the county I've lived in most of ny life I'd probably make a mess of it.

Sunny Disposition

WesternZulu wrote: »

Well asking them to know that we're not part of the UK, or British, shouldn't be much to ask?

You see it all the time even in the media where they'll have the whole of Ireland covered in a Union Jack for a graphic.

It's not asking British people to know everything about Ireland but a basic comprehension would be good.

The vast majority of people in the UK do know Ireland is a separate country to be fair. They don't know or care about it though, no more than Irish people know or care about Iceland or Belgium. BTW they have the same sense of the North, no knowledge of it and don't care, your average person wouldn't notice or care if partition ended.

Gerry T

Deleted User wrote:

I know next to nothing about Wales or the north of Scotland. We are small in relation to Britain.

For starters you know where wales and scotland is in relation to ingurland. Only for NI has northern in its title most UK people dont know, where it is or where belfast / dublin are.

Rodin

TheBoyConor wrote: »

or the way they refer to the country as Eire.

Everything about them is just looking down their big protestant noses at us here in Ireland. They always have.

Éire is the official name of the state as per Article 4 of the constituion.

Rodin

Badly Drunk Boy wrote: »

Five minutes before the News goes out, somebody says "There's a story about Ireland and it mentions their Prime Minister which they call the Taoiseach. It's pronounced 'tee-shock'. Can you remember that?"

How hard is that? It's not as if they're trying to pronounce 'Muireann' correctly!

Lots of Irish can't pronounce Taoiseach.
Many add a 'h' after the T

Cal4567

Sunny Disposition wrote: »

Britain has other close neighbours, such as France and Belgium, Ireland doesn't have any other country so close. British media is very widely consumed here, Irish media is irrelevant in the UK. The Brits are not stupid or illiterate or uneducated, they just have other things to think about. The real question is why are Irish people offended that people in other countries don't think about Ireland very often.

Agree 100%. Again, if you have never left Ireland to live somewhere else such as the UK, Australia or the US, you only think about here. We are the whole world. There really is something to be had about immigrating for a year or 2 and seeing the rest of the world.

Yes, I have many examples of UK nationals not really having a clue about us, but why should they? Am I offended? Not in the slightest. Some of us though do want to be offended. Usually it is someone with extra republican tendencies I have noticed. It usually starts of with a deep distrust with all things UK based and just goes on from there.

Funny enough. I 've noticed it gets easier, the older you get. So, it's not a life long affliction!!

Fr Tod Umptious

TheBoyConor wrote: »

or the way they refer to the country as Eire.

Everything about them is just looking down their big protestant noses at us here in Ireland. They always have.

Hey, I know your reply to this is going to be something like "What do you mean a stamp ?, I don't use backwards things like stamp" but .....

Did you ever see a stamp ?

Cal4567

Rodin wrote: »

Éire is the official name of the state as per Article 4 of the constituion.

Actually, I think that is down to the UK education system. The few times we are mentioned, it is around the split in the early 1920s and how Eire came into being I think, in the 30s? Correct me if I am wrong on that second date.

Was told that once by an English teacher friend of mine. No reason to not believe him.

Thelonious Monk

Of course we know loads about Britain, our big brother across the sea, and nearly all of our culture is based on theirs. Tea, Coronation st, football, rugby, fry ups...
How much would the average Irish person know about Wales? Probably feck all.

Hamsterchops

bubblypop wrote: »

How much do the Irish know about Britain? Or the British?

Good question, it definitely goes both ways, although the balance is topped in our favour due to UK TV and media domination of the Irish airwaves, hence we have wall to wall coverage of what's happening with our nearest neighbour, while they do not have wall to wall RTE or TV3 News coverage of what's happening here.

4 Million Vs 67 Million.

WesternZulu

thelad95 wrote: »

That Channel 4 video has been doing the rounds for many years. I'll put my hands up, I would probably make a poor enough effort at partioning Wales and Scotland from England too

Fair enough, but the difference is that we don't share an international border with Wales, Scotland, or England.

Sheep_shear

WesternZulu wrote: »

I lived there and it's not an exaggeration to say they don't know anything about Ireland even the university educated ones. Most think we're part of the UK!

Nah, that's not true.

I think it's fair to say that Irish people know so much about Britain because of cultural impact (tv, soccer etc). It's very rare for your average Brit to hear about Ireland in passing on a day to day basis like we do, because well why would they?

The ignorance used to really annoy me when I first moved here but not at all now really.

The again some of the close bonds our countries have don't make things easier. Like at work I was asked a lot by colleagues about how I got on with my application to stay on after leaving the EU. Each time I had to explain Irish nationals were exempt, I think I pushed the confusion deeper into their minds! :pac:

mariaalice

Its do with the education system and how they study history.

Hisory was my favorite subject in school and we had

Europe Since 1870
Book by James Joll

And

Ireland Since The Famine
by F.S.L. Lyons

Therefore we had a very good all-round view of modern history.

Hamsterchops

Gerry T wrote: »

For starters you know where wales and scotland is in relation to ingurland. Only for NI has northern in its title most UK people dont know, where it is or where belfast / dublin are.

Most UK people :cool:

Talking of starters....

buried

The vast majority don't know anything about their history, the real history of their island, including the most darkest aspects of it. The vast majority of the people who worship the royal family aren't even aware of what they are and what they always were, an interbred clan of continental European caravan families that were constantly either marrying or at war with each other, and when the wars kicked off, it was the ordinary person from their own roads and streets that were sent to the slaughter

Church on Tuesday

chrissb8 wrote: »

Because then you don't understand things like why a border in Ireland is such a contentious thing. Y'know, relevant important things informed by the modern preceding history which is still felt to this day.

Or you end up making a comedy set in and around the famine.

Just off the top of my head.

I'm a Irish History grad, I have studied in detail all of those issues. I also lived in England for a time, so have encountered plenty harmless ignorance about Ireland. Most of it pretty funny.

It's just I don't have a chip on my shoulder or an inferiority complex that most Irish people born after 1985 don't have also.

I couldn't give a toss what the English know or don't know about Ireland or what they think of us.

Sheep_shear

buried wrote: »

The vast majority don't know anything about their history, the real history of their island, including the most darkest aspects of it. The vast majority of the people who worship the royal family aren't even aware of what they are and what they always were, an interbred clan of continental European caravan families that were constantly either marrying or at war with each other, and when the wars kicked off, it was the ordinary person from their own roads and streets that were sent to the slaughter

I think most British school children could tell you that the British monarch hasn't had the powers you describe since the time of Cromwell. Basic stuff really.

buried

Sheep_shear wrote: »

I think most British school children could tell you that the British monarch hasn't had the powers you describe since the time of Cromwell. Basic stuff really.

Most British school children wouldn't have a clue who either Thomas or Oliver Cromwell were. I'm talking about their history. The situation I have described happened as recently as World War 1, a thing they glorify to the hilt every November

Roger the cabin boy

TheBoyConor wrote: »

or the way they refer to the country as Eire.

Everything about them is just looking down their big protestant noses at us here in Ireland. They always have.

Absolutely and utterly untrue.

whisky_galore

TheBoyConor wrote: »

or the way they refer to the country as Eire.

Everything about them is just looking down their big protestant noses at us here in Ireland. They always have.

The way Irish people refer to Britain as 'England', the 'English' queen, etc.
The last 'Queen of England' was Elizabeth I.

ThewhiteJesus

i know i don't like them, England more so than Scotland or Wales.

whisky_galore

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

Of course we know loads about Britain, our big brother across the sea, and nearly all of our culture is based on theirs. Tea, Coronation st, football, rugby, fry ups...
How much would the average Irish person know about Wales? Probably feck all.

Something, something rugby, male voice choirs and maybe Tom Jones. That'd be about it.

Muscles Schultz

TheBoyConor wrote: »

or the way they refer to the country as Eire.

Everything about them is just looking down their big protestant noses at us here in Ireland. They always have.

Eire is actually on the Eire soccer shirt you know.

mick087

I lived in Birmingham and London and have to say they had as much interest in Irish History as they did in Scotlands history.

The English seem more interested in French/English history.
Every single English person knows about 1066 and the battle of Agincourt. ww1 ww11
Very few if any have any idea who Michael Collins or Eamon DeValera were. If you say 1916 they think its something to do with World War 1.
Im not saying all but 90% who i talked to on such subjects would be like this.