Sure, it's unhelpful to dwell too much on the past, but I don't think the Ireland of today is as consumed by victimhood or anti-Britishness as you are making out. I don't doubt there are pockets of society where anti-British sentiment is still strong but there is no society in the world without similar pockets of backwards, racist thinking. By and large, Irish people do not dislike or begrudge British people. While Brexit stoked some of the old tensions (again, we were far from the only country getting frustrated with Britain during those negotiations) we have, both before and since, largely regarded the British as our friends and allies.
The famine was a huge event in our history. Our population still hasn't recovered from it and the mass emigration it triggered still has an impact on our relations with other countries, particularly the US. We shouldn't be (and aren't) consumed by it but it would be madness to forget it. The same goes for our broader struggle for independence, which is literally the origin story of our country.
> Yes, I know that's hard when a quarter of the geographical landmass of Ireland still belongs to the old oppressors. But that's another thing we need to let go off. The people living in the North voted, several times, to remain in the UK. It's their choice, not ours. If they look like they're leaning to vote differently in the future we can restart the conversation.
The Irish position on the North is clear and has been since 1998. We don't lay claim to it so there is nothing to "let go". No one questions the right of the North to choose its own way, but equally we have a relationship and a history with that part of the island that we cannot just ignore.
The famine was a huge event in our history. Our population still hasn't recovered from it and the mass emigration it triggered still has an impact on our relations with other countries, particularly the US. We shouldn't be (and aren't) consumed by it but it would be madness to forget it. The same goes for our broader struggle for independence, which is literally the origin story of our country.
> Yes, I know that's hard when a quarter of the geographical landmass of Ireland still belongs to the old oppressors. But that's another thing we need to let go off. The people living in the North voted, several times, to remain in the UK. It's their choice, not ours. If they look like they're leaning to vote differently in the future we can restart the conversation.
The Irish position on the North is clear and has been since 1998. We don't lay claim to it so there is nothing to "let go". No one questions the right of the North to choose its own way, but equally we have a relationship and a history with that part of the island that we cannot just ignore.