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.

These experiences ranged from a lack of understanding as to why six counties of Ireland were part of the UK, to believing the famine was caused by our unique love of potatoes. All with a good amount of Hibernophobia thrown in.

During the decade I lived in London, I could fill a book with my experiences, especially as a person from the north of Ireland.

After telling someone I was from Belfast, the question of if I was Irish or British would usually come next.

When I’d answer Irish, I’d wait for the ‘but you’re not really’ rebuttal.

I also often found myself having to answer questions about my religion, my personal experiences of the Troubles, and, of course, having my sentences repeated back to me in a childlike, whimsical voice.

Sometimes I’d bite my tongue and try my hardest to imitate an English stiff upper lip but the longer I found myself inside England, the more I embraced being an outsider, becoming the person who had to explain the who, what, and why of my home country’s situation in the country that caused it.

In a place where it feels like there’s an Irish pub every few miles, many English will tell you, with a smile on their face, how much they “love” Ireland.

They love the pubs and the ‘craic’, they love Paul Mescal’s tiny GAA shorts, and they love singing along to CMAT.

They also love a drunken St Patrick’s night out, dressed in green with oversized leprechaun hats.

What they don’t love is having this ‘appreciation’ called out for the Paddywhackery it is.

Like having a pint of Guinness poured over a ginger wig, it really dampens the party.

When leprechauns or our love of drinking are called out as stereotypes that were created to dehumanise us and justify centuries of oppression and cultural erasure, it either leads to confusion or anger.

Over there, anti-Irish sentiment is seen as a thing of the past, not something that has now been packaged into a ‘good-natured’ celebration of neighbours.

But we can’t blame the average English person for their lack of education.

England has always loved to keep its history a closely guarded secret from its people, pretending that the past is the past and the present is just happenstance.

Far from understanding empire and colonialism, the myth of Merry Old England becomes the good old days that the most ill-informed are fighting to get back to, and Churchill an example of Englishness at its most saintly and heroic.

While the effects of colonialism are still being felt around the world, England marches on in blissful ignorance, wondering why their flag is the one that can’t be celebrated.

They wander blindly through their multi-cultural cities missing every signpost that got them there.

Trying to educate a man tempted to attend a Tommy Robinson rally because he can’t hang a St George’s Cross outside his home about the history of the flag might seem like a waste of time.

But it is this lack of knowledge that leaves the country caught in a culture war where the right rallies the most misguided to fight for a society that never existed.

We shouldn’t have to do it, but Ireland will always be the one holding up a mirror up to England, reflecting how their past continues to impact the present.

Far from just remembering history, we commit to art, through stories and songs that resonate through generations, still battling ignorant questions posed by the very people who hold all the answers.

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© The Irish News