Did he seriously insult his people further by calling them uncivilized country folk? Sure, they had been country folk, and some of them still were, but they were far from uncivilized. Their civilization was simply different than that of the English. Which this man undoubtedly was. English.
Ages of persecution of his people by the English had Sweeney's blood boiling just enough that he was almost willing to stand up and slug the man right there. Except that he didn't want to be kicked out of the bar just yet. Maybe later, if this man kept it up.
“Maybe you missed something, but this ain't the dark ages, man.” Not that Sweeney really cared if this man was from that era or not, it sounded good. “There's an entire holiday that celebrates this... paganness you seem to frown upon. Celebrated with costume, music and of course... our... swill... as you call it.”