I really think this is off topic, but there were no Irish people around to insult and I don’t see a plausible reason why that meaning would be relevant here. I’m a speaker who doesn’t use it that way (and who could be insulted by its use to derogate Irish people), and I provided evidence that it wasn’t originally meant that way. Defending particular phrases that could be insulting in certain contexts isn’t the hill I want to die on, but I think in a number of cases it’s a bit like the “that’s what she said” joke. It’s possible to say the same phrase in different ways or read meanings that were not intended, but it’s also possible to say things like “take the mickey”, “butthurt” and “pussy” without actually implying anything racist, mysogynistic or otherwise offensive. Where people insist on taking what I say in that way, I generally just walk away as there’s very little I could say that couldn’t possibly be taken as a euphemism.
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