A few months back Len McCluskey, general secretary of the Unite trade union in the UK, said the following in an interview with the Guardian:

One of the things you might notice, with regard to the Stability Treaty referendum campaign in Ireland, is the way the issue is presented as a purely Irish affair.

It's a disorienting and frequently disconcerting sensation to live between two countries on the European periphery and witness the striking similarities but also the glaring differences.