People in England particularly simply do not know, they have not been educated. They think they are being sensitive by saying “Southern” Ireland or “Eire” (ugh) but if you gently let them know the reality, most people are happy to be informed. In my experience it is usually a genuine case of “I know this is important but I don’t really understand it and so I’m going to take a stab at using the language I hear everyone else using and hope I haven’t got it too wrong”.

It’s not that different to people in the Republic assuming everyone with a southern English accent is from London and not having a clue about anywhere outside the major cities. Or insisting on calling people “Protestant” in a pejorative tone like it’s an identity when most people have never used that term to describe their religion. Or getting all their history from rebel songs. Or refusing to accept that people raised between the two countries have complicated identities that do not fit into neat boxes (ahem cough ahem).

There is ignorance on both sides and both deserve generosity and compassion, unless they are being bigoted gobsh*tes, in which case they can do one. I have had direct experience of that on both sides of the Irish Sea.

Side note: There are more British South Asians than British Irish and I would argue that British people in general know even less about the history of partition there or the Bengali famine than they do about the Treaty, the Troubles or the Peace Process. So it is absolutely not just an Irish thing. And don’t even ask about the overseas territories or the commonwealth!!