In the wake of Ibrahim Halawa's not guilty verdict in Egypt, social media comments have been questioning his Irish identity.
Do we have a tendency in this country to dismiss people of other ethnic backgrounds and religions as not being Irish?
Fintan O'Toole says we need to accept the fact that there is racism in Ireland: "It's somewhat hidden because there's no far-right political party in Ireland, but a lot of these views get expressed on social media."
"Like every other country, our history is a history of absorbing people - 17% of the population of Ireland was born abroad. We're a migrant culture."
TV presenter Baz Ashmawy adds: "There's a view that if both your parents aren't Irish, you're not Irish. It's okay if you're a national hero, like Phil Lynott or Paul McGrath, then you're ethnically entitled to be Irish."
"I've always seen myself as Irish, but at the same time I come from two cultures. A lot of it has to do with being absorbed in Irish culture. In Ireland we pride ourselves on being progressive and being this new voice of diversity, but we need to find a commonality with each other where there's a certain sense of understanding."
