My point in all of this? The Protestants in Ulster are every bit as Irish as the Catholics there are. Ireland is a republic, yes, but it's also a cultural identity, regardless of one's political affinities. To claim that the Unionists aren't Irish is unfair. You can (and should) say that they're not Republicans, but that's not the same thing at all. One refers to a people, the other refers to a current government.
In the other thread that was my point. Their all Irish so the British are not protecting their citizens unlless you consider all Irish to be British. This truly as you say is where we americans get confused. What exactly is The British? Is it the English? Their system is so damn confusing.