`  :What I mean by offensive, guys (and BTW I don't share that view) is that British Isles is used very often in as a subtext for British which offends many people (and not just Irish people) who don't view themselves as British and find the implication that they are as offensive and demeaning to their own nationality. Mikhail Gorbachev in 1989 caused considerable offence to Irish politicians when he misinterpreted the claim that Ireland is part of the British Isles to mean that Ireland is part of Britain (ie, the UK). Some asshole in his Foreign Ministry told him that Queen Elizabeth was the Irish head of state, presuming that the British Isles = the UK. When an annoyed Taoiseach, Charlie Haughey, told him bluntly that the Queen has nothing to do with Ireland, Gorbachev apparently asked ``so why then do you call yourself part of the British Isles?`` Haughey at that stage lost the head and growled ``we fucking well aren't. The Brits keep calling us that. And then people like you keep thinking we are part of Britain.`` As far as the Irish are concerned, we are no more part of the British Isles any more than Belgium is still part of Holland. It doesn't bother me much. (Heck. Look at all the stuff I write about the British monarchy.) But it does offend a lot of people. Nancy Reagan, again hearing that Ireland is part of the British Isles, put her foot in it when she asked how often the Royal Family visited Ireland. She was told that they didn't (they do now, but not then) and said something along the lines of ``But you are part of the British Isles. Aren't you linked to the Royal Family?`` A more diplomatic Garret FitzGerald simply told her that we had had nothing to do with the British Isles and the Royal Family since 1922.   :Similarly, people regularly say that U2 are from the British Isles, therefore they are British. As Bono memorably said at an awards ceremony after hearing a five minute speech about how he was the best of British, a member of the biggest band from the British Isles, ``I'm Irish. We're Irish. That is I fucking R fucking I fucking S fucking H. We have nothing to do with Britain, nothing to do with the British Isles. We are Irish.`` That is why references to the Republic of Ireland being in the British Isles is such a sore point. People hear British Isles and think that means part of Britain, ruled by Britain, or with the British queen as our head of state. Which is why, for millions of Irish people, when asked if they are from the British Isles, are likely to say ``fuck off``. Theoretically British Isles may be officially a geographic term, but in practice it is used to refer to politics, culture, history, identity, you name it. Irish people are fed up saying ``we are not British``. They then go ballistic when the next question is ``but why then are you in the British Isles?`` The response of most people is ``we fucking well aren't.`` \ `