Pictures by Noah Dixon

TO say that over the years the Irish and British have not always been best of friends would be something of an understatement.

So who would have thought that in a country where shops and boarding houses once displayed signs saying "No blacks, no dogs, no Irish", a new breed of Brits would be flying the flag for Ireland?

These are not people who have taken up jigs and reels or decided to learn "cupla focail" out of a sense of nostalgia for a country they have ties with a few generations back. They are British through and through, have no known roots in Ireland and some had never even visited before becoming hooked on Irish culture and sport.

We met four British people who are so passionate about all things Irish . . . from two-hand reels to Mayo footballers to Padraig Pearse . . . that they're fast becoming more Irish than the Irish themselves.

Leila Marini (above)

The aspiring Irish dancer Nine-year-old Leila lives and goes to school in Wembley, north London. Her Italian mother and Iranian father moved there before she was born. Leila's mum Fabiola often tries to interest her in Italian food but Leila prefers good old British fish and chips or failing that, just chips. Leila has never visited Ireland but three years ago she fell in love with Irish dancing and ever since, she's been practising at home in her room every day.

Leila: "A few years ago my mum and dad were watching Lord of the Dance on DVD. I was six at the time and I had never seen that kind of dancing before. I knew I wanted to do it too. One of my schoolfriends was doing Irish dancing lessons so I asked my mum if I could join the class. I started going to the Guilfoyle Academy of Dance near where I live in Wembley every Saturday morning.

"I don't think my mum believed that I would keep it up. She didn't buy me the proper shoes for a few months because she thought I would get bored. Now I have been going to class for nearly three years even though my friend who I started with has dropped out.

"I have danced in loads of feiseanna and I have won four trophies and lots of medals.

When I'm waiting to dance at competitions I feel a bit nervous and my stomach hurts but once I start I'm fine. My mum and my dad are very proud of me. They always say that taking part is what's important, but I think that one of the best bits about Irish dancing is winning medals and trophies.

"My dancing teacher's name is Tracey Sweetland and I like when she teaches us new steps. At the moment we are learning a twohand reel and it is difficult but we have lots of fun. I have made lots of friends at class.

Every Saturday I really look forward to seeing them and practising together even if sometimes Tracey thinks we talk too much.

"I love Irish dancing so much that I practise my steps in my bedroom every day. My mum says she can hear the thumping of my feet through the floor but she doesn't mind because dancing is good exercise."

Alison Dallywater (above)

The honorary Irishwoman Alison, 43, works as a PA in London and comes from a proudly British family. Her dad was in the Royal Navy and her mum sent her out to wave the Union Jack when the Queen visited their town in the '70s. Her mother was never very keen on the Irish because of the Troubles and Alison admits that she was brought up thinking that "the Irish hated the English and would murder us all given half the chance".

Alison: "How my opinions have changed since I was a kid. Next October I'm moving to Ireland to work in the Gaeltacht so that I can improve my Irish. My friend in Carraroe is a supervisor in a factory and she can get me a job on the production line where I'll be speaking Irish all day. You can imagine what my parents think of that.

"I'm on the lookout for an Irish man. I won't go out with anyone English now. I've signed up for the dating website AnotherFriend. ie, but for some reason the only men contacting me are farmers over 60.

My ideal man would be the Mayo footballer Ciaran McDonald. I think he's gorgeous.

Failing that I'd quite fancy meeting someone in the west who has a bit of Irish.

"I fell in love with Ireland more than three years ago. I was on holiday, got lost and ended up wandering around Carraroe in Connemara. A local family took me in and I heard Irish spoken in the shops, on the buses and in the pubs. I couldn't believe it.

I thought the Irish language was just a novelty.

"I promised this family that I would learn Irish so that I could speak to them in their own language when I returned. Every time I go back I have a little more and my friends find it very funny. Last year I went to Ireland eight times and at this stage it feels as if I from there. The language is a delight and I have so grown to love Ireland and the feeling that spreads over you when you arrive, it's better than Valium. It ought to be on the National Health.

"My first Irish lesson baffled me completely but my teacher has such a love for the language that he kept me going. I would have lessons every day if I could. It's hard to find people in London to speak Irish with so sometimes I just talk to myself 'as gaeilge' when nobody is listening.

"You get some people who pretend they can't speak Irish, as if they're almost ashamed of their own language. They don't realise that the English almost took it away from them and they need to protect and nurture it.

"Irish is so beautiful, charming and expressive. When something as basic as 'thank you' in English translates from Irish as 'may you have a thousand goodnesses' . . . well how could that be rubbish? Or 'God be with you' instead of 'hello'. It makes the English look almost inarticulate.

"My dream would be to write a regular column in an Irish-language newspaper about life in Ireland from an English girl's perspective or to work for TG4 or Udaras na Gaeltachta and I will one day, le cunamh De."

Richard Schofield (right)

The self-taught gaelgoir Richard, 43, is a driving instructor and has been living in St Albans, Hertfordshire, since his parents moved there from London when he was a baby. Recently he's become interested in finding out more about his family background. Most of his relatives are from Suffolk and Yorkshire and he's sure that there's no trace of Irish blood in his family. He spent holidays in Ireland as a child but he stayed always with friends of the family as he had no Irish relatives.

Richard: "On my last visit to the Galway Gaeltacht one of the locals heard me speak and said that I must be from the town over the hill. It was a big compliment to be mistaken for a native speaker, but I have put in a lot of work. Hardly a day goes by when I don't read a bit of Irish or listen to Radio na Gaeltachta. I have a subscription to Saol and every time I go to Ireland I buy books.

I really enjoyed reading Padraig Pearse's short stories in Irish. One of my friends in Carraroe says that I put his countrymen to shame.

"I have made enquiries about working as a driving instructor if I moved to Carraroe.

It would be a big step to give up my business but I definitely need to live in the Gaeltacht for a while to put what I think is called 'the snuff ' on the language and it's something I'd really like to do.

"I have never taken regular Irish classes as such. I just practise and study at home. My first encounter with the Irish language was more than 10 years ago. A priest at a local church was starting a conversation group for parishoners who had learned the language as children. I had always been interested in languages at school so I went along out of curiosity. I admit that when I told friends they thought I would be learning to speak English with an Irish accent.

"Nobody asked about each other's backgrounds but I think I was the only person there who wasn't Irish. After a while the numbers dwindled but I wanted to keep learning. I contacted another member of the group, Sean Murphy, a native speaker from Tuam. At first he was a bit doubtful about an English bloke wanting to learn Irish. But we ended up meeting once a week to converse about everything and anything and over the years we have become the best of friends.

"I had been speaking Irish for around five or six years when I joined Colaiste na nGael.

It's an organisation that runs weekends away in the UK throughout the year so that Irish speakers can meet up and converse.

You do a bit of sightseeing and have a few Irish classes. Now I'm even teaching some of the classes. I'm flattered that people think I'm good enough but it's all just down to hard work."

Ceris Owen (right)

The up-and-coming Gaelic footballer Ceris, 26, was born in St Asaph, north Wales, where most of her close family still live. She moved to South Wimbledon in London three and a half years ago to train as a teacher.

Ceris has always been a fan of her country's traditional food . . . especially Yorkshire Pudding and afternoon teas . . . and her favourite band is the Beatles, making her a traditonal British girl at heart. That is until she became obsessed with Gaelic games.

Ceris: "A few years ago I had never been to Ireland and I didn't even know what Gaelic games were. So it's funny to think that last year I was captain of my football team, the Round Towers, when we won the Ladies' Junior Championship. The other girls on the team voted me in so it was very encouraging and I even train new players when our coach, Kelly Ann, is away.

"Since starting to play Gaelic I've been to Dublin, Cork, Kerry and Achill. I haven't seen a match in Croke Park yet but I'm definitely going to go this year with some of the other players. As it is we all watch the big games in Ganley's Irish Bar in Morden together.

"The team was set up three years ago and I have been playing from the start. I was friends with Kelly Ann and she invited me to come along to watch the boys' team play football. It was nothing like any other sport I'd seen. It was so fast and there was so much going on.

"Kelly Ann was setting up a new team for people of all abilities and she was very welcoming but I did feel a bit left out at first.

Everyone was asking what relatives I had in Ireland. Then a Canadian girl called Natasha joined so I didn't feel like the odd one out. She went home recently and I don't think she intended to keep playing Gaelic football but I can't see myself ever giving up.

"My family were confused about why I was learning to play Gaelic but I had fallen in love with the game and I got them watching it too.

Now they all think it's fantastic and it's a big part of all our lives. You do get a bit obsessesed with Gaelic. I teach design and technology at a boys' school and I go in and tell my students all about it. I've even started teaching them how to play and I'm trying to get a regular after-school team going."