US author Bonnie Greer says people in the United Kingdom do not seem to understand Ireland.
The playwright and journalist said people in the UK are not aware of history here or in Northern Ireland and seem to be stuck in 1939.
Her comments came after a clip of her saying "that Ireland owes the UK nothing" during a Brexit debate on BBC's Question Time went viral this week.
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast today, Ms Greer said the UK is caught up in a "finest hour" mentality and that it believes it is in a leadership position which Ireland is rebelling against.
She said: " A lot of English people are walking around actually stuck not in 2019, but in 1939.
"They think somehow they're in some sort of leadership position and Ireland is in some sort of rebellious position with them and they own Ireland.
People of the United Kingdom don't seem to have a lot of understanding about Ireland."
She attributed this in part to the Conservative party and their relationship with the DUP.
"They [UK politicians] go around looking at Ireland like it's some sort of evil, sneaky, treacherous entity, when Ireland is Europe, Ireland has enormous power, Ireland is a major trading power.
"I mean, how stupid can you be?"
She said Ireland's place is in Europe and this is something that should be respected by the UK.
"Ireland is Europe and is very much a part of Europe; they are equal if not higher partners at this table than the United Kingdom is because it has to do with their soil.
Ms Greer went on to say that she found it "shocking" that there are groups in the UK who fail to understand this.
"There's people in the United Kingdom who don't get that and who haven't been taught that and I just find that shocking, frankly, and I'm still shocked about it.
Northern Ireland
In addition to this, she said the majority of people in the UK don't understand Northern Ireland either.
"They don't understand anything about Northern Ireland.
"Somebody wrote to me [saying] the United Kingdom voted to leave, and I said you need to read about devolution, it would be a very interesting subject for you to explore.
"And this is a citizen of the United Kingdom - they don't understand any of that."
‘Ireland owes this country nothing’@Bonn1eGreer says Britain cannot ‘shaft’ Ireland if they want a post Brexit trade agreement with the US. #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/nL66tXiSas
— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) October 3, 2019
Ms Greer was lauded in Ireland for her comments earlier this week which called for attention to be paid to the Good Friday Agreement.
She said: "The Good Friday Agreement, in spite of its rather benign name, the Good Friday Agreement is a truce.
"And it’s a truce because the United States of America and the EU sat down with this country to make it happen. We have to be much more serious about this."
She told a live show in Liverpool that she often hears people in Britain talking about Ireland as if it is owned by the UK.
Ms Greer said: “Ireland owes this country nothing. Ireland owes this country no concessions, it owes it no quarter, it owes it nothing."
