I understand the UK’s basic make up might be slightly confusing, although not really that complicated any more than the United States is made up of 50 different states but is one nation, but this guy is a well-paid financial expert, who had just returned from the UK and had visited Scotland and was unable to understand where he was.
Plus the point is this is not really about the UK at all, it’s about Ireland, the guy’s name is Irish, has he never read any Irish history at all? Did grandma not tell him any stories about the fight for independence in the oul’ country?
We’re not talking about the difference between Upper Basutuland and Lower Basutuland, this is Britain and Ireland we’re talking about, two nations that we might expect any basically educated American to know a bit about.
Well to make things even more complicated, Highland Scotland was settled by an Irish tribe called the Scots. There were already a Celtic people in Scotland. The Picts remained mostly in the lowlands.
Then a bunch of lowland Scots were settled in Northern Ireland. So much of Scotland was settled by Irish and Northern Ireland was settled by Scots who became known as Scotch Irish.
On one of my business trips to NI, a fellow employee was being quizzed at customs @ Gatwick. He was asked how long he was going to be in the UK and he replied... “About another hour, then I’ll be landing in Derry”.
She replied...”Since when is Londonderry not a part of the UK?”
LMAO!
His last name Henderson!
I have done a little bit of research on my genealogy. Among the geographical places that my ancestors came from include England, Ireland, and Northern Ireland (I believe- my grandmother said that she was Scots-Irish-I understand that to mean Northern Ireland). There is a large amount of erroneous information in the US Census data regarding Irish versus Scots-Irish Immigrants- they are mostly all called “Irish”.
I had a grandmother who was of Irish ancestry, but we didn’t live near her. Who knows what Kernen’s family situation was.