Brexit Reality check from an Irish perspective.
1. The UK has ITS border with the EU on an island . The border was IMPOSED by the UK .
2. Many people from USA (Neale, Boyle, Pelosi, Mitchell, Clinton) WARNED in 2016 that THAT british border would be affected by brexit.

3. Irish politicians (Aherne, Richmond, Kenny) warned the UK that its border and the Internationally binding PEACE agreement (highest UN standard) would be affected by Brexit.

4.. UK politicians refused to listen and took the post colonial redundant view that it could and would engage bilaterally with member states. ( Deal with France over wine and fish, deal with Germans over cars, Italy for prosecco.... roll over Ireland with threats).

5. For the UK , still in its East India mercantilism mode of 19th century, only trade and money matters, the rest is dealt with by bribery and bullying. They call it "sense will prevail".

Many in the UK are never going to be convinced that the world has changed.
The world was flat for so so long.
Trade does NOT dictate all.
That is fine in the greengrocer "english of shopkeepers" mind but it is NOT reality.
Those days are gone.

Irish Politics are not a branch of British politics, not for 100 years. From Corbyn to Johnson , Mogg, Francois, Bridgen, Raab etc etc... all deluded that owning a fraction of a country and calling it the "northern" seeks to diminish the "southern". It might for them,only them.

UK wants trade ?
OK, USA is ireland's second largest trading partner.
EU 26 is 53%.
USA is 27%.
UK is 8.8%. UK figure is because of a border, geographical and customs ease. That is the ONLY reason.

Within the EU.
Ireland biggest trade is with Belgium and UK and Germany are on a par.
Post brexit, belgium, France, Germany grow as UK vanishes . Any importer/exporter has the choice of paperwork, tariff, SPS, regulatory free trade ( cost=0) or UK trade with COSTS.

Ireland will always sell to the UK if we can make a profit. We won't sell to be nice .
UK has an awful problem re Ireland. It has a €19 billion trade SURPLUS . If the UK wants us to buy their things, it needs to change its tune. We can and will buy elsewhere.

If the UK had not invaded, not imposed a border, I doublt if Ireland Inc would care that much about brexit in terms of trade.
Our families and people are different.
We are more intermarried than that family in Alabama , tis complicated.
Our people are intertwined.

English nationalism is all very well to a point.
A nice Biggles story.
I think Britain should stop being blind to friends before it loses them forever. https://twitter.com/emireland/status/1191742010677436416