Think of our great contributions to pop culture in the UK. U2, Boyzone, Westlife, The Corrs, B*Witched...obvious I could go on but they're just the ones from the 90s. Oh, I suppose there's Oscar Wilde and James Joyce and WB Yeats and people like that too, but y'know, c'est la vie.
Turns out it was all a waste of time anyway, because somehow 3% of British people haven't heard of us. Presumably they assume that the big green thing next to them on a map is just England 2: Electric Boogaloo.
The earth-shattering news was released by YouGov, the polling firm, whose website now boasts the confusing graphic that says that only 97% of Brits have heard of us at all. That means 3% haven't. Furthermore, 6% of Brits hold a negative view of us - the feeling is mutual a lot of the time, lads, what with the war and the invasion and youse ruining yourselves on a daily basis.
Of those who liked us, they said "Ireland is described by fans as: The people are great, Cultural, Lots of green space, Great music scene and Atmospheric." Good to know that our big hitters, greenness and music are well-represented, though quite what "cultural" and "atmospheric" mean we don't know. Like Celtic Park on a European night has a great atmosphere, but Portlaoise on a Tuesday morning...yeah.
They did find out that those who voted Remain in the Brexit referendum were our biggest fans: 77% of them said that they held a favourable opinion of us. Great - they'll be the ones we let in when we get control of our borders or whatever it is that they're spouting now.
We threw this one over to our Instagram to do an informal survey of Irish reactions. "You'd figure after 800 years of burning the place they'd get the picture," wrote one follower - clearly one who hasn't met many English people, as their interest in their own colonial past goes about as far as watching Sharpe with Sean Bean.
"Is Ireland the one with the volcanoes and the football fans that clap funny?" wrote another, which made me laugh at least. They'd be the ones buying their frozen food in an Ireland supermarket, I think.
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Topics: Ireland