Punk rockers? No. Mods? No, some people just think that because of Quadraphenia. They were just a pop band. Not a rock band, there was no such thing in 1964.

Pop, got it?

@Siobhan_OH there is a simple reason why people refer to that country as the Irish republic or the republic of Ireland. It is to avoid confusion.

I know several Irish nationals who refer to their country as "the republic" (as if there were only one) and Ulstermen who talk about it as "the south". Why? Because Ireland (or Eire) to many still exists as the whole island and the Irish are the people who populate that island. If these people talk about Ireland or the Irish they are not differentiating between north and south. And that's why names like the republic of Ireland are in common use.

You may have an Irish name, but you do not have an Irish heart if you use the name "Ireland" only to refer to the republic.