Is the Margin becoming hypersensitive, or has coverage of Baltimore's troubles by media across the pond made greater play of its "Irishness" than was ever the case when it was a darling of the dotcom boom?

Familiar ground really. It often seems that Formula 1 driver Eddie Irvine is "Irish" when he fails to get off the starting grid, but "British" when his endeavours land him on the winner's podium.

And who can forget the exploits of cyclists Stephen Roche and Sean Kelly - often described as "English-speaking" rather than "Irish" as they blazed a winning trail across the roads of France and beyond.