As James McClean is in the news showing the darker side to being an Irishman in Britain, Off The Ball was joined by comedian Ardal O'Hanlon and Sky News' Enda Brady.

Both have spent significant portions of their lives in Britain - with Brady still living there - and gave us nuanced perspectives on a nation with whom Ireland has a complex and difficult history.

O'Hanlon lived in London from 1994 to 2006, and believes that the cultural impact of Irish music like The Corrs, or shows like Father Ted or Ballykissangel made it 'cool' to be Irish even as the Troubles flared.

He did, however, note a change in atmosphere after the Canary Wharf bombing in 1996.

Ardal O'Hanlon

"It wasn't until the next night when I was doing my show in a notorious club called 'Up The Creek' in Deptford, one of those legendary places where if you could make it there you were never going to struggle again.

"I remember going on and this table at the front started shouting - and I mean really roaring - calling me an 'Irish c*nt' and saying 'is that Semtex you've got in your pocket?'

"They were just heaping abuse on me and my reaction wasn't to run off the stage, I got quite angry. Irish people of our generation didn't cower, we were quite confident.

"The thing that I remember most, and that gratified me enormously, was that the rest of the audience rallied around me and more-or-less ushered that table out of the door."

Brexit

That balance, of it being a loud minority within Britain rather than any majority of note, was echoed by Brady, who also had some great tales of people coming up to him on the street in London to compliment his coverage of the news.

But if a lull in English nationalism coincided with the mid-1990s, then June 2016 has seen a reiteration of the worse aspects of English nationalism.

"My mother-in-law said to me 'You should get a British passport in case they make you go back' and I was thinking 'that's just not going to happen' but I have had people say things to me.

"Not that long ago I had a man in his seventies in the street telling me that he doesn't watch me on the news anymore. I asked why and he said 'This is England.' I said 'Oh right, well, best of luck to you.'

"I felt this kind of entitlement - social media has given absolutely everyone access to everyone."

Hate snail mail

O'Hanlon echoed this point, explaining the difference between sending hate mail now and back in the mid-1990s.

"I would have got the odd bit of hate mail, the odd letter threatening to kill me or whatever - somebody sharing some anti-Irish material explaining what bogtrotters we are.

"They would have copied loads of pages from fringe publications, and make it into a collage. So they had to go to a fair bit of trouble to do that - they needed a photocopier, an envelope, a stamp, the address of my agent.

"They were the trolls ten years ago, so you only got a certain amount of it as an outsider in England. Now, with social media, those trolls are enabled in a hugely different way."

Poppy argument

Both have experienced some semblance of awkwardness around wearing the poppy, though usually at the behest of someone in production presuming that wearing it will not be an issue.

Brady explained why his covering the World Cup in Russia posed an issue for some England fans.

"I would check my social media and it would be clear that a lot of people did not like the fact that their team's World Cup was being covered by an Irish person.

"I have never turned on EuroSport or BT Sport and questioned 'why is he or she doing that match?' - but it was directed towards my Irishness.

"I actually wrote an article about it because I found it so funny that these big tough guy English nationalists, not one of them did I meet in Russia because they were so scared."

The lived experience

Brady and O'Hanlon gave excellent insights into the lived experience of Irish people in Britain, and how the vast majority of experiences are positive, and that Irish people's experiences pale in comparison to other minorities in Britain.

O'Hanlon believes that James McClean continues to pop up in the news for this for a number of reasons.

"They are very sensitive about their military, and you don't dare 'disrespect' it in certain quarters of the British media particularly.

"With James, it is different from me in comedy, in football you are going to get heaps of abuse anyway, no matter who you are and no matter what you stand for or against.

"By daring to question this version of history or daring to bring it up would make it far worse than normal than any footballer gets."

But last word to Enda Brady, who sums up the tenor the general discussion.

"Two little islands, if you look at us on a map - right beside each other. People rub along well for the most part.

"I met an elderly guy on the street in Ealing yesterday, an Asian man of about 70, who was smiling his head off.

"I said 'you're happy today!' and he said 'two reasons: I've just had my jab and I've met this charismatic Irishman!'

"I thought 'God bless you' and it really lifted my spirits!'"

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