When my Grandfather came over from Dublin, that was a common sign to see at some of the "Better" boarding houses around London. Have you ever heard the term INNA or Irish Need Not Apply? Again common for the "higher class" jobs. Then there are the jokes. "Heard the one about the paddy who was so thick he thought......". But it's alright isn't it because good old thick Mick can take a joke? What about the scene in the Commitments where Jimmy Rabbitte says "The Irish are the niggers of Europe and the Dubliners are the Niggers of Ireland". You don't remember that bit? You probably wouldn't unless you read the book, they changed it to "Blacks" for the film. Just a bit too harsh for a nice family film.
But us plastic paddies and you real ones can't get upset about all of this, oh no. You see, if you get upset you've got a chip on your shoulder. Now if you are a well balanced plastic paddy like me, you have a chip on both your shoulders. So I'm 1/4 Irish - how Irish do I feel? Well I used to share a pint or two of Guinness every night with my mum. I go to Church. I go and see the Pogues every year at Brixton Academy? How Irish is that?
I'll tell you how Irish I am. I'm Irish enough to feel proud of my ancestry. I'm Irish enough to have read about the Celtic Church and how that was the intellectual hotbed of Christian thinking, when freedom of thought was the trademark of a Celtic Christian. I'm Irish enough to know about the famine. I'm Irish enough to know about the struggle for freedom. I'm Irish enough to know about my mum's cousin, Kevin Barry, who was executed by the British government at 18 years old.
I'm Irish enough to know that when the British politicians start saying that the Irish are British, there is something bad afoot. There was a BNP - That's BRITISH National Party broadcast on TV today. In it the BNP leader included the Irish in the "British Family". I'm Irish enough for this to ruin my evening. I know all about the contempt with which the British Aristocracy hold the Irish in. I've seen Irish friends racially abused for their nationality. Probably the only acceptable form of racism is against Irish Travellers.
Given my Australian/Irish background, I've always felt more comfortable in the company of immigrants of all shades than with self styled "British Patriots". Strangley I've usually found immigrants often to be more patriotic. My Dad was proud to be a Commonwealth Citizen. The BNP talked in their broadcast about the sacrifice of the British - again they airbrushed out the contribution of the Commonwealth soldiers & the Imperial Army.
My Dad flew a Wellington on 40 missions for the RAF over enemy territory. On his 40th mission, the last in his tour of duty, he was shot down over Romania. His best Friend and rear Gunner was killed - his name Flying Officer Andrew Murphy. Any guesses as to his ancestry?
Britain has moved on. These days it's only the poor old doggies that don't get into guest houses. To any Irishmen tempted to Vote BNP in the Euro elections I say this. If the blacks get banned, who will be next? If you need reminding get the DVD of the commitments out, it's a great film for a Friday Night !
And none of all that anti-Irish nonsense was all that long ago. It's funny how the BNP are trying to reach out to the Irish vote these days - 15 years ago their idea of Irish outreach was to cause a riot at an Ireland-England football game through their Combat 18 mates!
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