Since Queen Elizabeth’s passing yesterday, we’ve been laser-focused on the Black community’s reaction. And while some are genuinely mourning the passing of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, most have used her death to remind us that the legacy of the British monarchy is seriously tainted with racism, slavery and colonialism. But believe it or not, there is actually another group of people out there just as passionate about the damage the Brits have done to the rest of the world – the Irish.
So I was today year’s old when I learned that Irish Twitter was even a thing. But ya’ll, let me tell you, these people have more in common with Black folks than you might think. A quick search for #irishtwitter will reveal a host of tweets, both serious and seriously funny.
Some, like @hannawanebo are here to give the rest of us a quick history lesson on the real cause of the Irish potato famine of the mid 1800s, in which nearly one million Irish people died of starvation.
And there are others like @LittleRedHeidi who posted a photo someone throwing up the peace sign in front an image of a headstone with the Queen’s name imposed on it to point out the collective trauma the Irish share with groups like Blacks and Indigenous people.
And not to be outdone, there’s @AuthorNNBrown who tweeted a now-viral video of a group of dancers doing a pretty funky Irish jig to Queen’s hit song “Another One Bites the Dust.” Although the video was recorded months before the Queen’s passing, it could have just as well been recorded today, judging by the shade coming out of #IrishTwitter.
And some, like me and @hkaaayyyy, are just here for the comments.