Why the Irish still have to explain England’s history to the English |
KATE Nash walks towards the Houses of Parliament holding a large white duvet with the words ‘The English don’t know their history’ written in big, black letters.
The statement from the English singer, whose mother was born in Dublin, is as bold as it is accurate, and will ring true to any Irish person who has spent significant time across the water.
The striking visual was part of the music video for Nash’s cover of Sinead O’Connor’s ‘Famine,’ a song that, since its release in 1994, has taught more people the truth about An Górta Mór than any British history book.
England’s ignorance of their own history is a much a part of their culture as football hooliganism, pork pies or afternoon tea (see, it’s not nice to be stereotyped).
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Indeed, it is so prevalent that the opening verse from O’Connor’s song – “I want to talk about Ireland. Specifically, I want to talk about the famine, about how there wasn’t actually a famine” – went viral on TikTok.
It was used in videos by Irish people discussing their experiences in England, where they were confronted with a very English knowledge gap regarding Ireland and the two countries’ entwined histories.........