I didn't read it the same way you are, obviously. For some people the memories are still immediate, even though the law itself has changed.
For an American example--I live in SW Virginia. You cannot convince a majority of my neighbors that the Civil War is over, much less that the last Presidential election has already been done and dusted. So for someone to say, "I grew up in Ireland, where we weren’t allowed to speak our language or participate in our culture in any way by English law," that statement makes perfect sense to me, even if TODAY that is not the case. It is a true statement whether it was the case while she was pregnant or not. She says, "we WERE not allowed," not "we ARE not allowed." I think you're trying to pick holes where none exists.
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For an American example--I live in SW Virginia. You cannot convince a majority of my neighbors that the Civil War is over, much less that the last Presidential election has already been done and dusted. So for someone to say, "I grew up in Ireland, where we weren’t allowed to speak our language or participate in our culture in any way by English law," that statement makes perfect sense to me, even if TODAY that is not the case. It is a true statement whether it was the case while she was pregnant or not. She says, "we WERE not allowed," not "we ARE not allowed." I think you're trying to pick holes where none exists.