Irish, English, British, Welsh and Scottish - what do we understand by these terms and labels - what are the differences? If more people took the trouble to understand, we might not have so much historical misunderstanding and assumptions. This article is not intended to highlight racial stereotypes but achieve the opposite! Neither is this a comprehensive history about these races; plenty is already available. However, some definitions are required to frame this article.

POLITICAL

The two islands comprise two independent countries;

• United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ("UK")
• Republic of Ireland ("Eire")

To refer to "Southern Ireland" is incorrect, since the northernmost county in Ireland is Donegal and belongs to the Republic! Confusion also reigns about the province of Ulster, consisting of the six counties of Northern Ireland listed below plus Counties Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan which belong to the Republic. The Irish provinces no longer have political or administrative significance.

The UK consists of three nations: England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland consists of six counties in Ireland, namely , Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Derry (or sometimes Londonderry) and Tyrone and is governed jointly from London and its own parliament at Stormont, Co. Down.

"British" people come from England, Scotland or Wales. Britain is governed from parliament in Westminster, London; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own assemblies or parliaments for local government.

"Irish" people originate from the Island of Ireland, the most westerly landmass in Europe. Irish people live in the Republic of Ireland or the North of Ireland. If the latter, and depending upon religious and cultural persuasion, some in Northern Ireland consider themselves closer to Britain since their ancestors were imported ("planted") into Ireland in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries from Britain, frequently at the expense of Irish native landowners who were evicted or expelled. Further draconian laws by the British resulted in more misery for the Irish; see Wikipedia's article on the "Penal Laws" to understand the issues (and why resentment against the English is still felt in Ireland).

Otherwise "Irish" people live north and south of the border. It is a misunderstanding to categorise somebody as Irish simply by their catholic religion (more below); many Protestants have served the cause of Irish republicanism, not least Wolfe Tone, Robert Emmett, Arthur Griffiths, W.B. Yeats, Erskine Childers and many more.

more to come on 1 June...

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Terms that annoy Irish people:

"mainland" = reference to the island of Britain from one in Ireland, suggesting that Ireland is subservient and inferior, and acknowledging Britain's dominance.

"British Isles" = this is still an official geographic term, coined when the two islands were under British rule. Nowadays it is a misnomer, not least since Britain never had any cause or reason to own its smaller neighbour.

Derogatory term historically used by Irish people to describe an Irish person with British sympathies (usually an Irish person); it is quite uncommon to hear it nowadays:

"West Brit"