You people getting so worked about nationality jokes won't be too much fun on flight deck. I certainly would dread flying with such touchy, self-righteous individuals. You might also consider whether getting so wound up over what is clearly a non-event is a good trait for a pilot to possess.
For the record, Cityjet is far from recruiting only Irish nationals, we also have:
French (the biggest grouping I'd say)
English
Scottish
Welsh
Northern Irish
German
New Zealander
Australian
Swedish
Danish
Icelandic
Faroese
Swiss
Libyan
Dutch
Belgian
South African
Latvian
Philipino
And probably a few more who ive forgotten
Diddler
What you got in your interview sounds fairly standard.