Weird to be on the same side, but yes

Polity not policy, ffs. Damn autocorrect

Far from perfect in either case, of course. But doesn't waste time on unicorns

In theory, both should realistically have less agency than the UK. But there's a saying in Irish, "an té nach bhfuil láidir, ní foláir dó bheith glic" (whoever isn't strong has to be clever), which seems to fit with the self-image and leads to less intransigence, more solution-seeking

GFC, Brexit, Covid, the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But proportional representation seems to make it easier for governments to achieve a whole-of-nation response involving opposition parties. You may not be in coalition with them now, but you could be some day.

I think it (the feeling of helplessness) arises from the nature of the policy as much as the economy. Both Ireland and the Netherlands are open economies, though much smaller than the UK. Both have also been subjected to a succession of external shocks in the last 20 years.

"Market failure"

You beat me to it. Also: 99.4% did not.

It's also not often applied in the other direction, i.e. to the children of British immigrants, in Australia, New Zealand, USA etc. To take a purely hypothetical example, if you had a Scottish mother and committed thirty-four felonies, would Britain be expected to take you back?

Is this not just ... sisters?

It was also, for unknown reasons, the only time whole fresh coconuts were available in the shops. Nobody in 1960s Ireland had a clue how to open a coconut, so there was much deployment of heavy-duty ironmongery

In Dublin in the 1960s we had colcannon and barmbrack for dinner, masks, apple-on-a string (don't know if that counts as "bobbing") and extracting sweets from the neighbours with veiled threats. Our slogan was "Help the Halloween Party" rather than "trick or treat", but Halloween was definitely big.

Or as if you were being forced to play bass while your family is being held hostage in a cellar

The Musée du Moyen Age at Cluny is a treat - small, easy to get to and packed with treasures, including unicorn tapestries and great medieval stained glass

Brekkekek koax koax

It used to be a trick question, in my youth - "which is heavier, a pound of feathers or a pound of gold?" Of course you think "they're both the same ", but in fact it's feathers...

Troy weight is the system used for precious metal, as opposed to avoirdupois, which is the standard ounces/pounds/stones system. A troy ounce is heavier than an avoirdupois ounce, but a troy pound is lighter than an avoirdupois pound.