Lord Mayor of Dublin Hazel Chu says she still gets comments every day questioning her Irishness, despite the fact that she was born here.
The Green Party politician says a "small vocal majority" still targets her daily with such comments - but she draws a line when they make remarks about her child.
Both of her parents moved to Ireland - separately - from Hong Kong in the 1970s, before they met while working at a restaurant in Dublin.
Hazel was born at the Rotunda Hospital, but she told The Hard Shoulder there are still people who insist on making her feel different.
She said: "There's a small vocal minority that tells you you are different every day.
"Today it was 'you are a spy from the CCP' and 'no matter how much you try you're never going to be Irish'... yesterday was 'show us your birth cert if you really are Irish'.
"Every day there's something... some kind of comment about whether or not I'm Irish."
She said she receives abusive comments online, by phone and even in the post.
While she can often shrug off the trolling, there are some days it does get at her - especially when they focus on her child.
She observed: "There was a line about her being a mongrel, and there was a line about being deported back to China to get aborted... that's where I draw the line.
"I have no problem with you coming after me, but when you come after my family that's a different issue altogether."
There are days when she decides to 'drag' the trolls online, while she also has ordered a punchbag to let out some of her emotions.
She said: "That's going to be my therapy... Any way you can to exert some kind of release... it's always good."
Hazel has also reported some of the abusive comments she's received to gardaí, noting the force has been 'very supportive'.
She also believes the conversations that are had about online trolling and abuse can persuade people to look at their actions and change their behaviours for the better.
Being Irish
Hazel has plenty of thoughts about what it means to be Irish, including what she's learned from her mother's experiences.
The Lord Mayor told Kieran: "I always thought when [my mum] got naturalised she would have thought she was Irish... but I think the first time she really felt it was when she was able to go to a place without asking for directions.
"One day she was going shopping and somebody stopped and asked her a question about a place, and she was able to direct them. That was the feeling of 'I'm home... I know this place'.
"For her it's still very hard - I think anyone who emigrates to any country, in whatever circumstances, you never want to leave home unless you have to... she had to, so she left."
She said her mother always had "one foot in Hong Kong" after moving as her own mother lived there, and she still regularly went back to care for her.
Hazel added: "My granny was so stubborn she wouldn't move here... all her family moved here in the end."
For the Green Party councillor, not everyone fits under the same criteria of 'being Irish' - and therefore we shouldn't try to have a set definition for it.
She said: "If people feel the affinity to come to Ireland seeking safety, asylum, a better life, for any reasons... then it's our duty as citizens to welcome them, and to say 'OK, can we make this our home?'
"I'm sure that will go down like a lead balloon to a lot of people, but allow people come at me.
"If we are going to talk about freedoms and what we fought for and what our forefathers wanted for this country... they wanted equality and a certain sense of independence."
