The Fundamental Interest of the English People

That doesn't upset me in the slightest.

What bothers me is when people use it as an excuse to try to deny me my national identity.

You claim Irish heritage btw

This seems to mean that the Irish label means something in reality and the English label is almost meaningless (just a word)

I'm finding it hard to imagine why you feel you have any cause for complaint. You are a UK citizen with Irish Heritage. Why do you need the English label to be meaningless enough to include you? There are Irish citizens who don't have , or claim, Irish Heritage and they seem to be happy

Me being English doesn't make English meaningless.

The question for me is why you and others are working so hard to try to take my national identity away from me?

I never said that there is no such thing as English ethnicity, I'm saying ethnicity isn't the sole determinant of nationality.

Using the hypothetical example from earlier, a kid with two ethnic English parents born and raised in France, never set foot in England and doesn't speak a word of English. According to some here that kid would be English.

But in the real world, how many people upon meeting him would immediately recognise him as English? My guess is precisely zero.

And to suggest that kid would be more English than me is just plain fucking stupid.

You did say English is not an ethnicity it is a culture way back on page 1. All I am trying to determine is why you find the thought that English as an ethnic group and as a heritage is something that you find unsettling.  You refer to Irish heritage as something different but find English heritage a potential problem for you and wish to deny English people the same right you claim. One cannot be of Irish heritage and claim to be English in every respect as that denies English heritage people from having an identity that is like yours, specific. That does not exclude you from joining in but if identity is claimed all over the place, it is unfair to teh English to say, no you are purely a National identity that anyone can be.

None of that is the point. I am not saying you are Irish but you state quite clearly you have Irish heritage. Which is inclusive and exclusive at the same time. A man in Ireland with English ancestry is not ethnically Irish even if he speaks with an Irish accent and dances like Michael Flatley most especially if he says he is of English heritage. Ask any Irishman of Irish heritage in Ireland.