I've been editing a joke book and there are a lot of Irish jokes in there. Some of them are tasteless and others hilarious, but it made me think about the fact of Irishness – and the way people who have been out of the country for several generations still think of themselves as Irish. They buy Irish gifts for St Patrick's Day, drink in Irish bars – the whole works.

I don't fully understand it myself – and I've got a hodgepodge in my heritage. In fact, there might even be some Irish, as most of the surnames in my family I've only ever seen in Ireland. Go figure!