West Brit, an abbreviation of West British, is a pejorative term for an Irish person, stereotypically living in an affluent part of South Dublin, who is perceived by his or her countrymen as being too anglophilic in matters of culture or politics.[1]
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The term originates from 19th century Ireland and has evolved over the years. Nationalist leader Daniel O'Connell used it in the British House of Commons in 1832:
"West Brit" came to prominence in the land struggle of the 1880s. D. P. Moran, who founded The Leader in 1900, used the term frequently to describe those who he did not consider sufficiently Irish. It was synonymous with those he described as "Sourfaces", who mourned the death of the Queen Victoria.[2] It included virtually all Church of Ireland Protestants and those Catholics who did not measure up to his definition of "Irish Irelanders".[3]
In the early years of the Irish Free State, the term was used to indicate those who had a friendly attitude towards the United Kingdom and to be afraid to cut ties with what had become a foreign country. The term was applied mainly to Roman Catholics, as Protestants were expected to be naturally unionist (although this was not automatic, since there were, and are, also Anglo-Irish Protestants favouring Irish republicanism (see Protestant Irish nationalism).
"West Brit" is today used by Irish people to criticise a variety of perceived faults:
Castle Catholic was applied more specifically by Republicans to middle-class Catholics assimilated into the pro-British establishment, after Dublin Castle, the centre of the British administration. Sometimes the exaggerated pronunciation spelling Cawtholic was used to suggest an accent imitative of British Received Pronunciation. This was applied particularly to wealthier residents of south Dublin City who lived in expensive Georgian era residences.
The old-fashioned word shoneen (from Irish: seoinín, diminutive of Seán, literally "Little John") was applied to someone who affected the habits of the Protestant Ascendancy. P. W. Joyce's English As We Speak It In Ireland defines it as "a gentleman in a small way: a would-be gentleman who puts on superior airs."[8]
The term is sometimes contrasted with Little Irelander, a derogatory term for an Irish person who is seen as excessively nationalistic, Anglophobic and xenophobic, sometimes also practicing a strongly conservative form of Roman Catholicism. This term was popularised by Sean O'Faolain.[9]