Bono and the baubles of empire

HISTORICALLY, one of the options open to a major power wishing to absorb or annex a smaller country over a prolonged period of time would have been gradually to integrate the elite and notables of the smaller country into the social and political establishment of the major imperial power.

Could this be what the British are trying to do, among other things, to the Irish State by awarding titles of nobility to selected Irish citizens and leading notables?

The latest Irish notable to receive a British state honour is Bono. He is to be awarded the title Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. There are some on this island who will share with Bono his “flattery” at the award.