Where to begin with this thread? Let's start with your first line: "I don't get the British media. I really really don't." This is a ceaseless Irish criticism of Britain, less so its media because the latter charge is so silly. The UK people, particularly its pluralistic media 1/ https://twitter.com/laineydoyle/status/1249127908876128259

almost assume we've screwed up, ie "Look how Ireland (or France, etc) has done this better". I'm sure there are times when the Irish public/ media do the same, ie Ireland has screwed up, look how the UK/France has done better. But as a general trend, I think not. 2/

We've had almost four years of cheerleading its government/EU when the very opposite happened in UK,. Almost a default UK assumption that UK is wrong. I wonder if your 47k likes are a mix of vast numbers of 'We're the best' Irish and vast numbers of 'We're the worst' British. 3/

Which is the more scepitcal mindset? It is hard to choose the worst moment of superior cheeriness in your wow-Ireland! thread, but I it this throwaway line "Not saying Ireland's a paragon of virtue! Loads to discuss & critique & make better!" Sorry, that is what you are saying 4/

It infuses your whole thread up to your ostensibly casual but smug "peek over the fence" end. You say of restrictions: "The seriousness of the situation was very very clear in Ireland and there was massive public buy-in" Like poll last week showing 89% UK backing for lockdown? 5/

Other people have pointed out that 20,000 Irish folk went to Cheltenham. It wasn't quite clear to them. Population density seems not to occur to you as a factor (I say so because the alternative is it did occur to you but you left it out because it doesn't fit your argument 6/

Note that in Europe the most densely populated countries, Belgium, Netherlands, England are among worst hit. In the US the most densely populated corner, the NE, is worst hit, including the most densely populated state New Jersey, which is second to New York in fatalities. 7/

I also see that sparsely populated Maine, where I was born, with no big city, has per capita death rate 7 times lower than Massachusetts, which has Boston and is just down the road. Which makes it like? Ireland/England. In fact the discrepancy between the two is twice as big 8/

Is that England's fault too? You mention testing. Ireland began mass testing and then had to retreat when it was overwhelmed and tightened criteria for tests. Why did you not mention that? Then you airily cite tracing as if this hasn't occurred to the dozy Brits. Did you know 9/

that almost all estimates of UK infections are now in the millions? (one to five), which means high millions of people to be traced. Hardly easy given that the best nations in the world for testing have still only tested 10% of their population. 10/

Your thread looks so clever about Britain, with its graphs. In truth it is an almost perfect example of an all too common condescending Irish worldview, from a country that has no shortage of people who are allergic to the slightest hint of such superiority in the British. END/