I doubt whether relatives of the judge and senior RUC officers (who I seem to remember being murdered because of information from someone in the Garda) would agree. Also there was a lot more if you talk to people 'in the know'.

A simple example was the number of extradition requests that failed because papers managed to get 'lost' in Dublin.

If you're talking about the Dundalk Garda station incident, it seems there may have been one lone rogue Garda passing information to the IRA. I'm surprised if anyone would think there was widespread collusion between the Gardai and the IRA : the two sides were practically at war with each other and the IRA were the leading criminal organisation in the Republic during the Troubles involved in bank robberies, kidnappings, theft, intimidation, money laundering, smuggling and forging bank notes.

You only had to see the hunger strike riot outside the British Embassy in Dublin in July 1981 to what Irish Republicans really thought of the Gardai. 15,000 hardcore Republican protesters decided to go into pitched battle against the Gardai leaving 200 of the policemen injured, which shows us they regarded the Irish police force with absolute hatred and contempt.

Just speak to anyone on the British side who dealt with the Garda, they did not trust them. The infamous incident where a British Army patrol was arrested is typical, police and army from both sides regularly strayed over the border and were quietly directed back to their own side but a Garda patrol made an issue out of a British patrol that made a minor mistake.

Flippin' 'eck, this is just getting silly now! People in the know? Can you not hear yourself?

Are you telling us that you are someone "in the know?" Or that you know people who are "in the know?" Or just that there are people who are "in the know," that exist somewhere?

There a many good reasons to not trust the Garda and I can assure you many minority groups in Dublin have justification for such acrimony, but to say that the British police did not trust them, because they were Irish, says more about their bigoted prejudices, than it does about any real perceived collusion.

I never wrote that they did not trust them because they were Irish, they did not trust them because they were the Garda and from past experience they knew that they could not be trusted.

When you are dealing with lives, particularly your own, you only trust a very narrow range of people (some of whom could be in the Garda).

Each to their own indeed.

Hold on to your twin set and pearls but the Brendan O'Carroll episode achieved Who Do You Think You Are's highest ratings in over three years so they may well intend to feature more foreigners in the future.

Rather like all Germans not having been NAZI sympathisers in post war Germany.

The mainstream Irish political parties, including those in Government were already pushing the Irish nationalist agenda and sticking up for the Catholics in Northern Ireland during the troubles. The Irish population had no reason to support the IRA's terrorist campaign.....most people saw it as way too extreme and quite wrong and immoral.

We can actually put a figure on it too : Sinn Fein's (the IRA's political wing) support in general elections in the Republic was very small, usually only 5% or something.

It's very possible there may have been a few rogue IRA sympathisers in the Gardai in the border counties, but we're talking about about a very small minority.

Gardai in Dublin and throughout the rest of the country would have regarded the IRA as dangerous criminals and thugs (and the IRA in return would have had nothing but hatred for them).

The only RUMOUR I ever heard about the Gardai & the IRA colluding was about the murder of The General, but I think this is just Dublin folklore.

Boris Johnson was born in New York, ergo he is technically a foreigner.

I don't think most have any problem with someone British who is born abroad, but lived in Britain. There have been few who have been born here and had most of the career abroad.

O'Carrol was born abroad, is a foreigner and has done most of his work abroad. He just happens to have had a TV series that appeals to some people but which many can't stand. I don't think he is distinguished enough to warrant appearing on the series, leave him to the RTE version.

A couple of friends of mine went on a motoring tour of Ireland at the time of Bobby Sands and the hunger strikers. There were black flags flying everywhere, and the landlady of a B&B said she couldn't understand where all the tourists had gone.

Well, with the reported ratings for his episode, I would say that most viewers disagree with you, quite a lot. There have been a number of foreigners featured in the show's history, how critical of those episodes have you been? Or is it this particular foreigner you have an issue with?

Are there degrees of foreignry that you apply to your criticisms?

What did you have to say about Dervla Kirwan's episode for example?

I'm not a fan of O'Carroll's comedy either, I don't watch his show but from what I gather it is a ratings winner for the BBC (blame the GBP for this) he's not the first person to appear on WDYTYA who was born abroad, Gurinder Chadha was born in Kenya and I found her history amazing, never knowing before the episode aired about the Indian migration to East Africa. Graham Norton was born in Dublin, grew up in Cork & went to university in Cork, I also enjoyed his history. There have been other "foreigners" on the show Dervla Kirwan, Jason Donovan, Hugh Quarshie.

I have enjoyed the majority of the stories that I have watched, if you don't like a certain personality that's fine just don't watch that episode.

Oh and the RTE version ran for 2 years in 2008 & 2009, it hasn't aired since.



Perhaps that was in areas of Northern Ireland, I don't remember seeing any black flags for Bobby Sands

That period (summer 1981) was the absolute extreme of republican support in the Republic, either before or since......feelings were running high because of the death of Bobby Sands and other hunger strikers. But they soon shot themselves in the foot with the full scale riot near the British embassy in Dublin in July 1981 : a mob of 15,000 protesters went to battle with 1500 Irish riot police, left 200 policeman injured and caused wholesale damage to businesses and houses in the area. People could see for themselves that that the hardcore republicans were just a mob of thugs and hooligans who had contempt for the Irish police and state, and Sinn Fein's peak of support that summer rapidly melted away.

My wife's cousin runs a B&B south of Dublin: her busy time is at the time of the Ulstermen's marching parade season, when her guests are nearly all from "the north", (and not necessarily Catholic either)

Agreed my husbands parents are Protestant from Northern Ireland & they always go on holidays in what they call 'silly season', last year they went to stay with my mum who lives in the Republic as they are getting too old now to come & visit us.

What is a "technical foreigner"?

Fact - Boris Johnson is British.

Stop trying to make things up, it's just silly!

Eeeek, is that Sheridan's Da or Granda ?

Father. Was thinking the same, both her parents look older than you'd think. Maybe she was a late arrival?

What a lovely warm lady, but...this is so boring. A guy who looks like her grandad plays Country and Western. Yawn

May Fanny Doubleday...sounds like a special public holiday!

I'm struggling with this series. Haven't managed to sit through a whole episode yet and this looks like its going the same way. They seem so dull after previous ones Kim Cattrall, Graham Norton etc.