Eleanor Tiernan: The English receptionist asked 'are you from the bit we own or the other bit?'

Being an Irish immigrant in the UK is tricky, writes Eleanor Tiernan 

Eleanor Tiernan: The life of an Irish immigrant in England is a game of ‘Can you make a difference in a culture without ever being seen to utter a positive word about it?’

Any other country would be fine. I could say, “American people are the best”, and I wouldn’t feel the bile coming up in my throat. I could say, “The French can make even orthotic footwear sexy”, and get on with my day. I could say, “I love how the Germans are so practical”, and it wouldn’t cost me a thought. But express any positivity about England and a big part of me wants to slap myself across the face and drag myself back to Kilmainham Jail for a ‘See what those bullies did to those young boys’ history lesson.

It wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t for the fact that I, along with 400,000 other Irish people, live here. And that it’s normal to say nice things about the country you moved to.