The suggestion that Ireland should simply move on from its history with England has been branded as 'ridiculous' by one historian.
UCD historian Dr Mary McAuliffe was speaking after Sharon Osbourne described the treatment of the Irish people by England as 'despicable.'
The former X-Factor judge has opened up about her roots while speaking on a podcast by US talkshow host Bill Maher.
Describing herself as "half-Irish", Mrs Osbourne suggested "at some point, you've got to let it go."
Dr McAuliffe told The Hard Shoulder it is important to understand our past.
"Why are we speaking English on this radio programme? We're a colonised people and our language was denigrated and gotten away with," she said
"English was the language of power and of business and of culture, and speaking Irish would get you nowhere - and education was through English.
"That just is one explanatory note as to why you and I are speaking English".
'We just can't move on'
Dr McAuliffe said the past influences our present and our future.
"We just can't move on from history, it is all around us," she said.
"It impacts in so many ways in our present and influences our future.
"So to say that we need to move on from it is, in many ways, ridiculous - and also it would put me out of a job".
A British flag flies near Big Ben in London, England in April 2011. Picture by: Charlie Varley/Sipa PressDr McAuliffe said an understanding of history can bring resolutions.
"I don't think too many people are prisoners of history," she said.
"An understanding of it can also bring campaigns for restorative justice around certain horrendous happenings in history.
"We also have to understand that certain countries are still suffering under the impacts of being post-colonial.
"And then post-independence they have problems no more than we had ourselves, with war, civil war, etc.
"If we don't understand how that happened, we then perhaps can never move on to resolving that," she added.
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