Sir, - Contrary to the experiences of Anne Gleave (January 25th) I encounter, in all but a very few cases, nothing but goodwill towards Irish people here in Britain (from Britons and from the many other nationalities I've met here), manifested in an enthusiasm and interest in the way of life and the people and a desire to visit or return.
I have learned however that in the wider world we Irish do not loom quite as large in people's thoughts as we would like to think, and the finer points of difference between us and the English, Scottish and Welsh are lost on most people. How many Irish people are conversant with the differences between the Flemish and Walloons, or indeed the Belgians and the French, Norwegians and Swedes, Spanish and Portuguese, Basque and Catalan?
Several years of living in an ethnically diverse cosmopolitan city like London have sharpened my awareness of other people's cultures to an extent which I feel would have been impossible had I stayed in Ireland where I often have cause to cringe at people's casual, almost unconscious xenophobia and where I doubt that black people would find the reception any warmer than that which Ms Gleave claims Commonwealth citizens receive in Britain. - Yours, etc.,
Dermot O'Brien, Cropley Court, London N1 7HH