A Brief History Lesson (a.k.a., What's with the new name?)

I know, after making a big deal about Katie winning the blog naming contest, I went back on my word... I still think she is exceptional and talented and lovely, but I realized that "Irish you were here" was a little misleading.

For one thing, several incredibly smart people I've spoken to didn't actually know that there's a difference between Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (it's not just like in the States, where we refer to things directionally, e.g., "Up North", Midwest) and I feel like having "Irish" in there just added to the confusion.

I'm also trying to be careful about the words I choose as I learn about the politics of everything... I'm not going to walk you through the hundreds of years of conflict (not today, at least), but you can brush up on Wikipedia if that's your jam.

By contrast, Norn Iron "is an informal and affectionate local nickname used by both nationalists and unionists to refer to Northern Ireland, derived from the pronunciation of the words 'Northern Ireland' in an exaggerated Ulster accent (particularly one from the Greater Belfast area). The phrase is seen as a light-hearted way to refer to Northern Ireland, based as it is on regional pronunciation." (Wikipedia)

Don't you feel smarter already?