Has this typically been a problem for people?

Ahem. It was, um, for me. But I majored in English not England.

Thanks, Dana "Goldtein"!

This is something you need to know if you are going to follow international soccer. Until I started following it a few years ago, I had no idea that England and Wales were treated as separate "countries" anymore -- I thought that fell by the wayside hundreds of years ago. (And I have since realized that the only real reason they maintain separate identities is so they can exert greater influence over the game.)

In fact, strangely enough, I was having a conversation with my kid about this over the weekend.

I'm left wondering whether another country is the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland.

Where do the Channel Islands fit in?

England? Many people don't even know about our friends to the north, and I intend to change that, hopefully before the Summer Thaw.

Well, illustrated like that, all I can say is... for God's sake, give Ireland back to the Irish. ;)

Count me among those who do not recognize Ireland as being part of the British Isles.

I actually knew all this, thanks to Norman Davies's excellent book The Isles. He specifically did not call it The British Isles ...

It was generally accepted, even in Ireland, that Ireland was part of the British isles. But rather recently one of the latest turns in Irish nationalism is to make the expression "British isles" unacceptable, resulting in rather amusing situations where Irish politicians in the republic casually use the phrase only to be shouted at and abused by other Irish politicians.

Rather pathetic, but that's nationalism for you.

But what about the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Man? Not to mention the Shetlands, Faroes, Orkneys, or even Falklands.

(And I have since realized that the only real reason they maintain separate identities is so they can exert greater influence over the game.)

I don't see how the existence of the Welsh squad helps anyone exert any greater influence over the game, except perhaps for whoever's playing them at any given time.

Otto, you should see the Wikipedia talk page disputes about use of "British Isles." (see particularly the 13(!) pages of archived discussion)

Ha! Just what I needed.

Next up, I expect you to explain the Balkans.

Irony for indignant Irish nationalists--the very word "Britain" is of Celtic origin. A fine representative of Brythonic Celtic peoples is Queen Boudica/Boadicea, who led resistance against the Romans in the first century AD.

Since when, Mr. weboy, are the people of Northern Ireland/Ulster not "Irish"? What makes them less so than their neighbors to the south? Is it that they aren't all Roman Catholics? Is it that they must be made scapegoats for centuries of British oppression of Ireland perpetrated by others? Is it that their families have only lived there for a couple of centuries? The people of Northern Ireland have expressed their democratic will to remain with the UK. Indeed, a substantial portion of the Catholic minority favors staying with Britain too. Perhaps now that Irish-Americans have largely stopped funding IRA terrorism there will finally be peace dropping from the veils of the morning.

I was in Surrey last week, just south of London, where all the terms fit. I assume it would have been bad if I were in Scotland and referred to the locals as English. And yes, those are distinctions most Americans are unaware of and don't think about.

Hrmphf. Just another example of the ongoing campaign to erase the Isle of Man from not just the history, but even the geography of the British Isles.

But what about the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Man? Not to mention the Shetlands, Faroes, Orkneys, or even Falklands.

The Isle of Wight is part of England and the Shetlands and Orkneys are considered part of Scotland. All are represented in the UK Parliament. The Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey are crown dependencies. They have their own parliaments but the UK handles foreign relations and defense. Man is part of the British Isles (i.e. inside the blue cirlce only). Guernsey and Jersey are historically part of the Duchy of Normandy and thus not part of the British Isles at all. The Faroes are an autonomous province of Denmark. The Falklands are an overseas territory of the UK.

I agree, why don't the British drop the support of the UK and let the Irish have Ireland back? The only reason the Protestant minority holds power is due to British backing. If it weren't for the ethnic cleansing of the last 90+ years in Northern Ireland it would be more Catholic than county Cork.

And while we're at it, the Europeans should get out of North America.

"I agree, why don't the British drop the support of the UK and let the Irish have Ireland back? The only reason the Protestant minority holds power is due to British backing. If it weren't for the ethnic cleansing of the last 90+ years in Northern Ireland it would be more Catholic than county Cork."

Sure.

Once all citizens of the US who aren't full blooded members of native american tribes form an orderly queue at ellis island to await transport back to their various homelands.
(note in some cases this might involve amputation).

As a full-blood Pottawatomie, I want freddiemac to stop squatting on the Great Spirit's land immediately. I do thank freddiemac for having put a house on it. He should also leave behind his car and his scalp (I can sell that to the Brits, who do seem to like to collect them).

Ettrick Sheppard said "The people of Northern Ireland have expressed their democratic will to remain with the UK".

This is not actually true, of course. There has never been a referendum on the matter, probably because the British government fears losing it. At present, the two population groups are almost the same size, and there's a good chance that some of the Protestant population would opt for reunification with the economically prosperous South. In any case, Catholic fecundity will take care of the matter and lead to democratic reunification within a generation.

Nice. Hit shift while drawing ellipses and you'll get circles.

"There has never been a referendum on the matter".

I wasn't aware that 1973 counted as "never". See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Ireland_referendum,_1973

Great venn diagram. I had no idea about the relationships of all of these countries within the British Isles, I guess I learn something new everyday, thanks.