I like this answer, since I actually am a native of Wayne County. 
I really do think that you’re right. It is a fairly small country and since the violence calmed down it is not in the news all that much. People could very easily think it is just the northern part of Ireland. To someone who lives there it may be obvious that there is a big difference between northern Ireland and Northern Ireland, especially if you are old enough to remember the previous problems there, but to outsiders, it is not at all intuitive.
I remember I once mentioned to a colleague (an intelligent, educated person) about having once been to Limerick. He said something about it being in England. No, no, I said, whereupon he “corrected” himself to “the UK”. I think there might have been a “Great Britain” in there somewhere, too.
So, yeah, there are a lot of ignorant Americans out there.
I suspect that most Americans don’t understand the difference between (or don’t even realize that there is a difference between):
- England
- Great Britain (England, Wales, Scotland)
- United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland)
Hey- I’ve never even been to Northern Ireland, and I protest that list for not including Gerry McAvoy!
Why not ask why Liechtenstein or Fiji is so underrepresented in pop culture, and misunderstood in America? The level of concern among Americans would be roughly the same.
To be fair, the political situation in the British Isles is complicated, with the boundaries of nations not corresponding to the boundaries of countries, and in different contexts it’s different things that matter.
But then again, to also be fair, the political situation in the US is complicated, too, with a sovereign polity composed of fifty different sovereign polities. We’re just used to that particular flavor of complicated (though there are still plenty of Americans who don’t grok that, either).
I don’t think this is an accurate analogy at all.
There are tons of Americans of Irish Catholic ancestry.
There are tons of Americans of Scots-Irish ancestry.
There are tons of Americans who visit the Ireland and/or the UK.
Most Americans are familiar with bits and pieces of Irish culture; English culture; and Scottish culture. Even if it’s only the most cursory information.
Many Americans remember when the conflict in Ireland was on the news frequently.
None of this is true of Fiji, Liechtenstein, or Nigeria (another example that someone upthread compared it to.)
Those places all might as well be on Mars as far as some Americans are concerned. I knew a girl in Texas who honestly had no idea where Mexico was. That may be extreme, but many Americans simply don’t care where their long-ago ancestors came from. I do, but a lot don’t. Or at least, they don’t care enough to find out if they don’t know.
No offense to the OP, but my family came from Hungary, which has five times the population of Northern Ireland and seven times the area. Most Americans not only can’t find it on a map, they don’t even know what part of the map to look at.
Northern Ireland has Van Morrison. The best Hungary can come up with is George Soros.
A distant relative, some sort of cousin of the branch of my family who had stayed in Switzerland, was Hungarian. A botanist with tame surname. He made it onto a postage stamp there in the 19th century.
I had never heard of him (my guesses would have been noteworthy politician, actor or the guy who invented cricket).
After doing a Google search (the first names that popped up after I typed Ian were Ian Cole and Ian Happ, both of whom I’d heard of), it seems that Ian McKellen is in fact an actor, none of whose productions I’ve ever seen. I asked a co-worker if he’d heard of Sir Ian, and got a blank look. After I explained (post-search) that McKellen had appeared in a Lord of the Rings movie, he looked a bit less confused and said “Oh yeah - was he one of those guys with the long beards?”
When it comes to attempts at you-haven’t-heard-of-X shaming, I go with what a truly famous UKer, Sherlock Holmes said when Watson got all incredulous because Holmes didn’t know that the earth revolved around the sun. Sherlock explained that as far as his work went, the earth’s behavior was of no consequence, and that he refused to clutter up his little brain attic with minutiae. Similarly, there’s stuff important to me to know, like my wife’s first name, anecdotes about all our previous dogs, and the latest inane re-classifications of lung tumors and pre-neoplastiic conditions.
I just can’t be bothered with obscure events in pissant countries.
*truly, my blissful ignorance of stage and screen knows no bounds. It was only very recently that I was informed (by Mrs. J.) that James Arness and Peter Graves were brothers, and that Goldie Hawn had an offspring that went into movies.
Don’t forget about Harry Houdini or Zsa Zsa Gabor, both born in Budapest.
Don’t worry, we have top men working on it. Top. Men.
Yes I was kidding, I really should have put a winking smiley in there.
Was that really necessary? This attitude from some Americans is one of the less salubrious aspects of your fine nation.
Not really tons of Americans with Scots-Irish ancestry, depending on how you define “tons.”
And (according to DNA/Genetic tracing) the percentage of Americans with Nigerian ancestry is about the same as the percentage of Americans with Irish Catholic ancestry. (The numbers I can find for Fiji and Lichtenstein are quite low.)
I’m not really seeing Ireland (Northern, Southern, or combined) as underrepresented.
Please tell us that you remembered her name when she told you that and didn’t have to resort to calling her “Mrs. J.”
I am most certainly not trying to shame you, I’m just really, really surprised, because Sir Ian is not only famous, but famous for three different things: X-Men; Lord of the Rings; and also being a very outspoken advocate for gay rights. I’d certainly count him among the best known contemporary British celebrities of any kind in the United States.
All of whom, sadly, are dead. Van Morrison is still alive.
And Eva!
Unlike his career.
He had enough of a career that he could have completely retired from music 20 years ago and still been in the pantheon of the world’s greatest modern musicians. So I cut him a bit of a break in that department.
He still tours regularly, plays big venues and charges top dollar. He’s considered one of the best songwriters ever and is very influential. Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame, knighthood and multiple other accolades and awards. To say that he doesn’t have a career is exceptional ignorance.