The Irish people have spoken.
To begin with, it’s arguable that no other country has a closer relationship with England than Ireland.
Every single Irish family have some relatives living in England and in terms of the overall relationship that you have towards English people, it’s probably pretty amicable.
This being said, Christ, we love to f**king beat them at every possible opportunity and rightfully so.
Yep, that’s what decades of murdering our ancestors, attempting to dismantle our culture, and famine will do. Ok, Irish society and attitudes have moved on, but we’ll never forget.
All this without mentioning the wave of current British politicians whose understanding and regard for the Good Friday Agreement can best be described as ‘naive.’
Actually, scratch that, it’s not naive, it’s downright ignorant.
Ok, nobody is so ignorant as to tar an entire country with the same brush, but Irish people do have plenty of grievances with our neighbours across the channel.
All things considered, we’re fully entitled to hold a few gripes with ‘the old enemy’ and in Al Murray’s recent documentary, Why Does Everyone Hate the English?, the comedian provided a fair, balanced, and open minded take on Anglo-Irish relations.
Truth be told, it was an interesting and upbeat watch as the comedian was accompanied by Andrew Maxwell as they visited some notable locations.
"I'm going to teach Al about what an absolute pain in the arse the English have been."@andrewismaxwell explores Anglo-Irish rivalry with @almurray tonight at 9pm. #HateTheEnglish pic.twitter.com/O0NaY78hyz
— Sky HISTORY (@HISTORYUK) October 22, 2018
For example, viewers were treated to a very honest retelling of what an absolute bastard Oliver Cromwell was during his campaign in Ireland. To their credit, the filmmakers didn’t shy away from the devastation and death that the Irish people had to endure during the famine.
Aside from this, the Bloody Sunday massacre at Croke Park, the Battle of the Boyne, The Troubles and the uncertainty about Brexit were also mentioned.
Honestly, you could do 100 episodes about Anglo-Irish relations and not touch on every single grievance that Irish people have towards the English, but the show was conducted in the right spirit.
Educational with just the right amount of needle and laughs.
However, before the show aired, the producers of Why Does Everyone Hate the English? conducted a survey of 700 Irish people and asked them to list what they disliked the most about English people.
The top three answers are 1) Brexit, 2) Arrogance, 3) Football hooliganism.
In no particular order, here are the top 20 answers that were provided:
- Football hooliganism
- Brexit
- They think they’re the best at everything
- Arrogance
- Their obsession with winning the World Cup in 1966
- Drunken people singing very loudly in the streets
- Expecting everyone to speak English
- Their obsession about Royal family
- Binge drinking
- Rudeness
- Their tribal attitude to football
- Their general ‘pomp’ when it comes to tennis and cricket
- Going on about the war
- The fact they seem to have no intention to learn any other language
- Beer bellies
- How much they moan
- Wearing socks with sandals
- Why people feel the need for orange fake tan in winter
- They complain a lot
- Their obsession with soap operas
In the interest of some balance, here’s what Irish people like the most about English people; 1) Great music, 2) Their sense of humour.
Ah well, they’ll always be our neighbours.
Our survey discovered what Irish people really think of the English…
Catch up now on @andrewismaxwell and @almurray's trip to Ireland for Why Does Everyone #HateTheEnglish? pic.twitter.com/swliBOVlo8
— Sky HISTORY (@HISTORYUK) October 23, 2018
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