With looming Brexit strains, Anglo-Irish relations are 'fraying'

In the tortured history between the two island nations, Brexit is just the latest in a long line of perceived slights the Irish have suffered at the hands of the British

When he crossed into Northern Ireland recently, Patrick O’Reilly felt his body tense up, a feeling that was once all-too familiar but that he thought would never return. Yet now, the fear and anxiety are creeping back, like a long-lost relative suddenly appearing out of nowhere, looking for trouble.
 
O’Reilly blames Britain for stirring up those grievances. Its expected departure — possibly a messy one — from the European Union, known as Brexit, is reopening old wounds and resentments in Ireland against its former colonial master.
 
“The British,” said O’Reilly, a retired pub manager, as he wove back