Having recently returned from Derry towards the north westerly tip of Ireland (Northern Ireland, if you insist) I can’t help feeling glad that people here in England may have finally caught up.

Taking a walk around the historic Bogside district is like wandering through an open-air art gallery all free of charge.

From scenes commemorating some of the darkest days of the (still relatively recent) conflict to more light hearted displays celebrating the town’s cultural heritage a short wander can quickly become a whistle top history tour.

But where the mural displays really distinguish themselves is in very clearly drawing the links between the still very raw memories of people here, who faced the armoured cars and tanks and guns only a generation ago, and those on the receiving end of such treatment today.

Of all the many international causes on display there’s none the people of those communities have taken up as their own quite like the Palestinian cause and the effect can take the uninitiated aback somewhat.

It’s fair to say a visitor from Britain would be unlikely to come across that distinctive red, black, white and green flag fluttering out the windows in deprived estates back home.

But it’s a very different story down in Derry, West Belfast and elsewhere where while the growing middle class may be moving ever closing to English approved ideas of respectability it’s the people in the working class, largely Catholic estates who prefer allies in very different places.

These are people who instinctively sympathise with those on the receiving end of harsh military authority. I’d argue its natural that paratroopers kicking your doors in and shooting people down in the street within living memory would tend to have a lasting effect.

And this is where I think, contrary to what some might say about insular, backward looking, communities obsessed with the past, I think people here have in fact been ahead of the curve.

Just look at how quickly so many respectable people across the UK, Europe and America took the Ukrainian cause into their hearts. As we passed the 500th day of the Russian invasion this month we’re sure to see further displays of support from all quarters.

Since they’ve discovered such a sense of solidarity with people bearing the brunt of modern Russian Black and Tans, we’d certainly hope they’ve been similarly moved by the plight of people in Jenin this week.

Or, as certain people in the more placid south of Ireland used to claim to think about their long suffering cousins up north in the bad old days, is that different somehow?