An anecdote - no doubt true given Northern Ireland's bitter history of sectarianism - is often told to sum up the years of violent conflict.
A man of Asian ethnicity is walking down a street in Belfast. He meets a local man who stops and asks him where he is from. 'I'm Chinese,' the Asian man replies. The Belfast man then asks: 'But are you a Chinese Catholic or a Chinese Protestant?'
Nothing could summarise better the conflict, or 'the troubles' as they are also known, involving Northern Ireland's Catholics, who seek a united Ireland, and the Protestant community, which supports the union with Britain.
To say the Irish can be a little inward-looking is an understatement, but it makes the achievements of Anna Lo Man-wah all the more amazing.
Not only has Lo worked tirelessly for ethnic minorities in Belfast for the past 38 years, but she was also the first ethnic Chinese person to be elected to a legislature in Europe when she won a seat on the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2007.
'At first it was like this place was not made for me nor I for it. I was initially looked upon differently by locals and they would stare at me, as they had never really seen a Chinese person before,' Lo said. 'But this was soon replaced by the warmth and humour of the Northern Ireland people, who accepted me for who I was.'