Oh yes true you are right. They aren't even seen as "European" much from the continental perspective and are usually out of visibility from the local economic as well as cultural standpoint. Ireland as we see it from here is "a place where American corporations evade taxes and because of insane amounts of money they bring in, they pretty much rule there", correct me if i'm wrong. It has a lot more connectivity - cultural, economic, and travel-wise - with USA and UK than with EU it is a part of.