For such a small geographical area, the people of the UK and Ireland have managed to spread themselves far and wide.
Their diaspora reaches every corner of the world, from Australia to the Americas. It's no surprise, then, that traditional dishes native to both Ireland and Britain have also travelled the globe.
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Yet there's one particular country whose population can often boast about ancestral ties the loudest whilst simultaneously missing the mark on a lot of things from this side of the Atlantic - food included.
Yep, the US is home to a notoriously large amount of people who have a warped idea of modern Ireland and Britain.
To them, the Irish are either drunken farmers or God-worshippers, the English are either tea-drinking Mr Darcys or chimney-sweeping Berts, the Scottish are either Irish or English but with kilts and bagpipes, and the Welsh seemingly don't exist.
These people tend to show a particular keenness to connect with Ireland and what they believe Irishness to be but there's little basis in reality.
Their pageantry has led to comically vague declarations of family history ("my great-great-grandfather's cousin's husband's sister's dog was Irish!"), superpower-esque references to 'Irish genes' ("that's why I can drink anyone under the table"), inappropriately-named drinks (the 'Irish Car Bomb') and displays that seem like a big waste of time and money (turning the Chicago River green for Paddy's Day ).
One person who had to learn the hard way about the disconnect between Ireland and that which calls itself Irish-America was Gordon Ramsay, thanks to his 'Kitchen Nightmares' series.
In the very first season of the US version of the reality show, Ramsay went to Westhampton, NY, to help a struggling Irish restaurant.
The episode, which aired in 2007, introduced us to retired policeman and owner Buddy Mazzio, Buddy's sons Brian (chef) and Jason (bar manager), Jason's wife Melissa (waitress) and other members of the team at Finn McCool's.
The restaurant of course gets its name from the Irish mythological figure of Fionn mac Cumhaill. While we know the name is largely Anglicised like the restaurant's name, the accents of the show seem to strip it of its mysticism and glory.
No longer is he 'Fyunn MacCoowl', leader of the Fianna and possessor of the Thumb of Knowledge. He's now Finn McCool, who may or may not go to high school with McLovin.
And yet ancient Irish names aren't the only thing that get butchered in this episode.
After meeting the team, Ramsay does his usual carry-on of ordering some items off the menu, which in this case include "Irish spring rolls", roasted salmon and a shepherd's pie.
A quick Google search will tell you that Irish spring rolls are an American invention that, much like those found in Chinese takeaways over here, take the form of fried egg wraps. So what makes them Irish, you ask?
Well, their filling consists of corned beef and cabbage along with a variation of either potatoes, sour cream, mustard, mayo and other veg.
Ramsay describes them as "very strange, bizarre-looking spring rolls" and we'd be inclined to agree.
Chef Brian, whose confidence has been described as arrogance by his own family, is shocked the rolls weren't to Ramsay's taste. He sends him out an unfortunate salmon that went from swimming in fresh water to swimming in balsamic vinegar.
Ramsay says such a large amount of drizzle signifies a "very insecure chef" and asks the waitress if his shepherd's pie will be free of the dressing. She assures him it will, and he breathes a short-lived sigh of relief.
Next we have the final course of Ramsay's order, the pie generally loved by millions across Ireland, the UK and diaspora communities across the world. Not this one, though.
An alarming shot of the gravy and mince tray in the kitchen shows a large amount of oil seeping to the surface of the mixture.
Ramsay calls the finished product a "big ball of grease" and after a couple of mouthfuls and disgusted expressions, he begins to cough and splutter.
Gulping a pint of water isn't enough to save him so he rises from his chair and asks where the loo is. We then get a shot of the post-box-green bathroom door soundtracked by Ramsay's retching and vomiting.
After bringing back up his courses, he storms into the kitchen to tell Brian that there's major "issues".
"When a chef can't make a f**king shepherd's pie, it worries me," he laments to the stunned American.
Brian then takes to a confessional to say the 16-Michelin-star chef has no idea what he's on about, explaining: "My shepherd's pie was taught to me by somebody who learned it from somebody who went to Eye-yur-land."
It's a bit like when you were in primary school and you'd claim your dad was friends with Liam Neeson because your aunt's best friend met him in a lift once.
"It's an American-Irish pie," Brian insists as though this is a winning combination, only for Ramsay to say it "tastes like cough mixture".
The next day, the celebrity chef inspects the kitchen and is horrified by its condition. He discovers one particular dish that resembles wet cat food and wonders how old the pie he ate must have been sitting in the back.
With his work cut out for him, Ramsay starts by teaming up with the staff to give the kitchen a good aul' clean that'd make any Irish mammy proud.
The rest of the episode sees some classic 'Kitchen Nightmares' moments such as a disastrous night of service, a chef walk-out, a family bust-up, a Ramsay-lead reconciliation and a decor revamp that takes the restaurant out of its 'post-funeral tea and sandwiches in 1960s Ireland' vibe.
Yet despite the well-received redesign of the restaurant and menu brought by the show's production team, Finn McCool's is no more today.
Buddy reportedly sold the restaurant in 2009, but it kept its name and staff members until it shut its doors in 2012.
Moral of the story? Don't get your shepherd's pie recipe from somebody who got it from somebody else who briefly stepped foot in the country it comes from and decided they were the authority.
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