Chris Lyttle is a young MLA whom I admire and disagree with. He has recently set the wasps’ nest buzzing with a proposal about flags in public places.
Chris believes people are entitled to fly any legal flag on their own property. As for flags on government buildings, he thinks “the flying of the Union Flag on designated days is a balanced approach.” And with regard to flags flown on street lighting, it’s illegal.
I admire Chris Lyttle for speaking out on this topic. There are some words in our public forum which set the head-bangers a-quiver and frothing at the mouth, and the matter of flags is one. Ever since they voted for the flying of the Union flag over Belfast City Hall on eighteen days in the year – as did the SDLP and Sinn Féin – the Alliance Party has been subjected to vilification and threats from unionist blockheads.
I agree with him that people should have the right to fly whatever legal flag they want on their own property. I agree with him that flying flags on lamp-posts is illegal. I disagree with him that flying the flag on Belfast City Hall is “a balanced compromise”. You dislike apples and love pears, I dislike pears and love apples, so we’ll have a balanced compromise: we’ll both eat apples on selected days. A school-child could see that’s a long way from balanced.
Chris proposes three options: (i) The present Wild West situation continues, with flags, the vast majority unionist, hanging like symbols of impotence and imbecility on lamp-posts. (ii) A ruling on who’s responsible for the flying of flags on lamp-posts and how long they should hang there. (iii) That people get permission to fly flags for an agreed period, “to celebrate rather than demarcate”.
I’m in agreement that Options 2 and 3 would be better than Option 1. But I think all three options dodge two central facts.The first is that lamp-post flying of flags is illegal; and the second is that the PSNI are afraid to take them down.
Why the PSNI? Why not the Department of Regional Development, as Chris suggests? Because the PSNI are responsible for preventing crime and for pursuing those who engage in crime. If we’re agreed that flag-on-lamp-post-flying is illegal, it’s a no-brainer that the police should act. Try robbing a little old lady, try stealing a car, try beating up the postman: it’s a fair bet the PSNI will be on your case if they can. But in this case, because unionist paramilitaries may get annoyed, the PSNI says by their silence and inaction: “We’re not in charge on this matter; the unionist paramilitaries are”.
So well done, Chris, for addressing the flags matter. But rather less well done for not coming clean on the core abdication of responsibility that lies at the heart of the matter.
George Hamilton, are you listening?
just another example of nothings changed.
Much as I’m against the flying of flags on lampposts, I don’t think it’s necessarily illegal and therefore their removal is not a matter for the police, as Jude (I believe wrongly) claims. That’s why Chris’s proposals are welcome as I understand they will create an offence of flying a flag on public property without permission.
“The Minister of Regional Development confirmed there is no lawful way to get permission to display flags on street lights” – Chris Lyttle. What do you base your belief on, MT?
That doesn’t mean it’s unlawful. It just means there’s no legal mechanism to get permission.
Can you point to the law that makes it a criminal offence to fly a flag on a lamppost?
No, MT, I can’t. But if permission is required to erect them, wouldn’t that suggest that it is illegal without permission? If it’s legal, well, fine – no reason we shouldn’t have every lamp-post decorated.
Permission isn’t required legally. It’s only required in the good-manners sense that one would expect to ask someone’s permission to use their property.
That’s why Chris is proposing a mechanism that would legally require permission to be granted and thus presumably create an offence of flying a flag on public property without permission.
And I disagree with your view that there’s no reason not to have flags flying on every lamppost. It’s divisive, potentially intimidating, ugly and disrespectful. That’s why I support the Alliance proposal.
I’m still a little short of your rock-like confidence that it’s perfectly legal, MT. Why did Chris make reference to legal permission? As to ‘good manners’ to use someone’s property – I think you’ll need to go back and think that one through.
“Why did Chris make reference to legal permission?”
Because he wants to introduce a licensing system that would require legal permission to be granted to allow the flying of flags on lampposts.
“As to ‘good manners’ to use someone’s property – I think you’ll need to go back and think that one through.”
Why?
Oh dear – I know I shouldn’t but I will. If I get into your car and drive off in it, you think it would be good manners to ask you first? Or if a burglar wanted to use my laptop, he should show good manners and ask? The whole point of personal property, MT, is that it’s yours. And if someone uses it without your permission, it’s not bad manners – it’s illegal.
We’re discussing public property, not private property, Jude.
I think that we’re here debating the legality of it suggests that the law is far from clear on the matter. I don’t think I’ve ever heard an official PSNI line on this – I’ve also heard that flags on telegraph poles are a matter for BT whereas streetlamps are an issue for the council. A bit of clarity on the matter wouldn’t go amiss, so fair play to Chris Lyttle for eh, flagging it up.
I’m with MT on this – ‘It’s divisive, potentially intimidating, ugly and disrespectful.’ and I hate having to try and explain this horrible practice to my kids.
– ‘Please don’t grow up thinking that this is normal. It isn’t. This doesn’t happen anywhere else. Bad people do this.’
– ‘Why don’t the police stop them?’
– ‘I don’t know’
is as far as I’ve got so far.
“Can you point to the law that makes it a criminal offence to fly a flag on a lamppost?”
Flying paramilitary flags such as that of the UVF is illegal and it is very much breaking the law.
Flying either the union flag or a tri colour, the two equally legitimate flags for northern Ireland from any lamp post is not illegal but is disrespectful. I hate to see the tri colour flying from a lamp post.
The tri colour should be flown from every nationalist majority council building and removed from all lamp posts from then on
We should let only the union rag hang from lamp posts.
I agree with you Jessica, I think all majority Nationalist councils should fly the Irish Tricolour or maybe use the two flag option where both the Union flag and Irish Tricolour flies together respectfully. I’m surprised areas with vast Republican majorities like Newry or Derry haven’t already seriously considered this but I suppose flags are hardly top of the agenda like it might be when it comes to Unionist councillors.
I remember when Alex Maskey, the first Sinn Fein Mayor of Belfast took office. He had both the Irish Tricolour and Union flag in his office, I believe. Niall O’Donnghaile I believe put pictures of the Proclamation of 1916 up in the Mayor’s office when he was Mayor but also kept pictures of British Royals up. Again to show respect to both of the city’s main traditions. Of course no such action of mutual respect has ever been shown by any Unionist Mayor of Belfast or any Unionist Mayor of any town or city here.
“Flying paramilitary flags such as that of the UVF is illegal and it is very much breaking the law.”
I know, but we’re not talking about illegal flags.
“Flying either the union flag or a tri colour, the two equally legitimate flags for northern Ireland from any lamp post is not illegal but is disrespectful. I hate to see the tri colour flying from a lamp post.”
Tell Jude, not me. I’ve already said it’s not illegal but Jude thinks it is.
I think you are right MT coming up to a sensitive time like the celebration of 1916 or the twelfh of July will cause nothing but trouble by bringing down flags.
There should be an agreement were flags fly from the start of July to the end of August and in Republican areas the months which cover the easter rising.
Right about what? I support the proposals to restrict flag flying.
As do I but you have to have to community buy in if you don’t you have nothing
I disagree. If the Assembly were to pass the necessary legislation that should be enough.
It won’t happen, of course as the DUP and UUP won’t support it for fear of losing votes.
“It won’t happen, of course as the DUP and UUP won’t support it for fear of losing votes.”
Not that we needed any more evidence that unionism is bereft of leadership.
Interesting though that unionist supporters not only know this but seem quite content with the situation.
Exactly why I believe unionism is the problem here and wont play any positive role in its solution.
In any civilized society,the citizzens pay a police force to administer the law fairly and equally across the board. When this doesn’t happen ,as was blatantly obvious with the RUC , society stops functioning properly and eventually disintegrates. If George Hamilton ,that apparently omnipotent clairvoyant , believes he can negate his duty and only uphold laws of his choosing ,then the future looks ominous .Almost 20 years after the GFA ,loyalist paramilitaries seem to have been given an almost complete ” carte blanche ” ……everyone sensible wants a complete end to all paramilitarism ,loyalist and republican……loyalism is essentially a rudimentary drugs and prostitution criminality with few political concepts. Although I admire their tenacity and subscribe to their ultimate goal,I don’t believe that dissident republicans have any coherent strategy or winnable formula and are a very small thorn in the side of the Brits ,but a valued excuse for them to keep as many repressive measures here as possible.
Can’t disagree with that although I’d imagine that the PSNI don’t have the same cherry picking equipment DRD do and it is DRD property that’s being abused. The PSNI should record the display and protect the workers.
What does a compromise look like? If there are 18 designated days to fly the Union Flag does that mean there should be exactly 18 days to fly the Irish National Flag? Are there some days when both should be flown – days when all Ireland teams are playing, St Patrick’s Day, Remembrance Sunday when Commonwealtn flags are flown (which seems sensible as Ireland was part of the UK during WW1 at least). Any others? Are there other days when all four provincial flags should be flown?
So I looked for the list of Irish designated days for flag flying and there’s just four (St Patrick’s, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, Truce Anniversary). And if you left all the royalist birthday party celebrations there would only by four for the Union Flag in NI (St Patrick’s, Commonwealth, Europe, Remembrance).
I suggest we have three designated days for the joint flying of the Union and Irish flags – St Patrick’s, Europe and Truce.
I’m not sure Easter would be appropriate but then plenty of Brits are happy to fly the Stars and Stripes on the 4th July. Although the 4th July is the anniversary of the signing of a piece of paper, not an armed assault, so not quite the same thing. Too soon maybe. Although if Shinner councils want it at Easter I’d say work away.
That doesn’t mean people can’t also fly the Tricolour on private buildings if they want to see it more than three days a year. There were Tricolours outside a pub on Bangor High Street (rugby related) at the weekend and no one was protesting, so we’re moving on.
Happy Jude?
Not in this life, BYC…
You dislike apples and love pears, I dislike pears and love apples, so we’ll have a balanced compromise: we’ll both eat apples on selected days. A school-child could see that’s a long way from balanced.
Since when does the Irish flag have the same legal standing as the National flag in Northern Ireland?
Since when did the Ulster banner aka Northern Ireland flag have legal standing here Neill? It hasn’t been a legal flag since 1972.
Nearly a million Irish republicans/nationalists don’t care about “legal standing” Neill, the Irish Tricolour is our flag, it was still our flag when it was illegal to display under the Unionist Government and it will always be our flag and we will demand that our identity be respected regardless of “legal standing”.
You have to get this 1960’s Unionist mentality out of your head Neill, Unionism doesn’t rule the roost anymore, this state wont be just reflecting a British identity, Irish has parity and it will be reflected in society. I agree with Sinn Fein’s policy when it comes to flags: Both flags or No flags. Unionists should be grateful we are being fair. In places like Newry that are vastly republican strongholds I believe the Irish Tricolour should be flying on public buildings alone.
Sorry as much as i love reading your rants at least once answer my question?
I agree with Sinn Fein’s policy when it comes to flags:
Who would have guessed?
It wasn’t a rant but I was trying to drive home to you Neill that Irish people like me wont be going away, no matter how much you or the likes of the DUP want us to. I believe its very important for that message to be driven home to some Unionists because political Unionism is behaving in a way that suggests they just hope to wake up one day and all Catholics will be gone. Its not going to happen.
Quoting laws or whatever doesn’t matter to us nor will it advance your agenda of trying to maintain as much of the decaying Unionist dominance as you can. Trying to hold back the Nationalist tide just wont work.
Its time for you to move on Neill. Mutual respect, reciprocation and equality in all matters is the only way forward. Being a bitter lemon isn’t going to change anything and in the long run will actually make things a lot worse for Unionism.
Chris.and.you.jude.are.both.Great.men.
And.we’ll.Add.You.Jim.G.r.m.a.
Chris.and.you.jude.are.both.Great.men.
The word great must have changed overnight i must check my dictionary now.
Now you’re being a little silly, neill.
Sure what is wrong with a little silliness every day its a cruel place this world
You.bring.very.silly.pal.
As a people we are both very assumptive and presumptive. On the colony’s local government radio station on Monday morning a reporter was reporting on the restlessness of the natives in An Lorgan. His name was Kevin Sharkey. From a combination of his first and second names I surmised that he was from a CNR background and from his accent iwsurmised that he was colony-reared. He went on to explain how he was surrounded by lampposts, kerbs etc. painted in tribal colours of green, white and GOLD which he explained to the intellectual lowlife among his listeners that these were the colours of the Irish tricolour. Now the BBC’s job is to educate its listeners. Whose job is it to educate the BBC reporters? They can’t pronounce native names – of either people or places – that have a whiff of Irish about them but have no trouble with African, Polish or Chinese. If an incident happens west of the Bann it may be in Tyrone or Fermanagh or both. Anyway if this influential body can’t distinguish one flag from another then who will decide on a flag’s legality? It may interest your esteemed readership to know that but for a fickle turn of fate – namely a committee member absent from a meeting of Republican activists – that the flag of the Republic would have been the Gál Gréine or Fenian Sunburst. Keep er lit, jude.
Grma, Fiosrach. Btw, I think Kevin Sharkey is from Donegal. I THINK.
Go easy on him Ryan, it has taken him his whole life to progress from 1690 to 1960!
Jude
It is a very difficult situation to police to be fair. I think you are proposing a zero tolerance approach. Take down a paramilitary flag today,it reappears overnight,take it down again tomorrow and so on.
It would be a game for those who erect these flags and catching them is probably almost impossible.
Maybe it would work eventually but it is not a guick solution.
I don’t dispute that it might be difficult. But if it’s illegal – as I’ve always presumed and as Chris seems to indicate – we’re at a pretty low ebb when the police are paralysed on the matter.
But its not illegal (unless likely to cause a breach of the peace).
Jude
I think as MT says it is not strictly illegal. There is a protocol in place as far as I know whereby flags deemed to be intimidatory or likely to cause a breach of the peace are illegal.
It is not easy to find a clear statement of law but some flags may be legal and others not as far as I can tell.
There was a move a couple of years ago by the PSNI to make the proliferation of Union flags in a mixed area (Ormeau Rd?) illegal,but I am not sure much came out of it in the end.
But how would you suggest the PSNI deal with a situation where flags reappear overnight continuously and how much manpower should be devoted to policing this?
Be as specific as you like!
I thought the police got paid to do just that – address problems relating to compliance with law. But if you’re saying it’s legal, then it’s not really their business, is it? Or anyone’s but the flag-putter-upper. Frankly, I’m amazed that that’s the case. I thought you had to have a permit or something to use/decorate/deface public property. And I’ve always felt a small piece of those lamp-posts was mine. But if you say there’s no law agin it, then tough – we’ll just have to accept that it’s freedom of expression.
Why would you not want to introduce a law to outlaw it as Chris is proposing?
Not if there was one there already. I repeat (for probably the third time) – I am amazed that you can decorate public property and not be held accountable by law. But I defer to the superior legal minds on the site…
But if there wasn’t would you support Chris’s proposal to make it illegal to fly flags off lampposts without permission?
“Why would you not want to introduce a law to outlaw it as Chris is proposing?”
Because it is not dealing with the flags issue and therefore pointless.
Jude
That is the protocol agreed by various agencies including OFMDFM. And I think it falls to the roads deparment to do the removing.
But I did not say it is legal Jude it seems to be open to interpretation.
So how should the PSNI go about policing the flags that are onsidered illegal?
Post a car at every lamppost?
You raise the issue but you seem, like everyone else, to have no idea how to resolve it.
Raising an issue, as you put it, gio, does not presuppose you know how to resolve it. That’s what in this case the police are paid to do. But I repeat, if it’s not illegal, the police don’t enter the equation. It’s just that I can’t rid my mind of the possibility that it is illegal. In which case, I’d imagine they could arrest those responsible and fine or imprison them. If others put the flags up next day, and of course if such putting up were illegal, arrest and fine or imprison them. I suspect the enthusiasm for lamp-posting would diminish pretty sharply.
“You raise the issue but you seem, like everyone else, to have no idea how to resolve it.”
I do.
Give equal status to the irish flag and fly both from public buildings.
The flags issue would resolve itself.
Nationalists would no longer need to fly it in their communities as they could see it was represented at the proper level. Nationalists would also therefore no longer care about the union flag flying in loyalists estates which in turn would mean it would be pointless flying it in loyalist areas and would it would phase out. no costs involved.
The problem is not the flags, it is unionists refusing to accept the Irish flag is the flag of a majority of young people in northern Ireland.
jessica
I don’t think nationalists care at the moment about union flags flying in loyalist estates.
It is in mixed areas or shared spaces that it really bothers people,including myself.
Do you believe that flying the Irish flag on public buildings would reduce that problem?
I think if anything we might see more flags going up and i certainly don’t want that.
Jude
I suppose you could have checked the legal situation before you blogged that the police should be doing more!
But in all honesty I would like to see them trying to address the issue of the flags that do fall into the illegal category, even if it had little impact.
The agreed protocol seems to sideline them though, but I may be reading it wrong.
Perhaps Sinn Fein should be doing something about that (protocol) rather than the PSNI?
The legality of flags flying from lampposts appears to be a bit of a grey area, as I understand it. Is it implicitly illegal and simply unenforced by the PSNI? Or is the legality of it simply fudged, as so many things here are?
I’ve called the PSNI in the past to complain about flags being erected only to be told that “the PSNI don’t get involved as that would be seen to be taking sides”. I couldn’t find it in me to argue that allowing this nonsense to continue is precisely that. Let’s not beat around the bush here – the overwhelming majority of flags on lampposts are of the Unionist/Loyalist/UVF variety. Not to mention the confederate flags, Israeli flags and eh, swastikas that also crop up from time to time.
I refuse to shop at Sprucefield in Lisburn for precisely the reason that flags hang at its entrance. Is there really nobody at all in the management of that centre that would think to send a fella up a ladder to take them down? Doing nothing about it amounts to an implicit acceptance.
The ‘Discover Northern Ireland’ ads that regularly air on RTE coupled with the latest Tourism NI initiatives make me laugh as long as we continue to ignore this elephant in the room. Nothing quite says ‘sectarian shithole’ like a couple of Union flags on a lamppost.
‘The PSNI don’t take them down as that would be seen as taking sides’.
But they have no reluctance to remove tricolours!
When Uachtarán na hÉireann met with Queen Elizabeth II, the flags of both nations were treated with respect and courtesy. When An Taoiseach met with Mr Cameron recently, the flags of both nations were treated with respect and courtesy. In the north of Ireland, national flags tend to be treated with contempt, destruction or are left, like bundles of rags, hanging from lamp-posts. Many people were led to the tops of hills waving flags or gun permits, only to end up in prison or in the ranks of the unemployed.
The flag protests are flagging as some of the main protagonists are exposed to facts that have shattered many mistaken beliefs, allegiances and myths. The Chief Constable has reported that policing is in a “mess.” The actions of the RUC at Burntollet lives after them…
I believe that there’s basically no way of resolving issues of flags when it comes to them being displayed on lamp posts, whether they are Union flags or Tricolours (though most agree the majority flown are Union flags). Do you really think the types who put up these flags are going to phone up and ask permission or ask for a licence? And if they do go up without permission, whose going to take them down? we know the PSNI wont because they refuse to enforce the law here and as Stephen Nolan said if the flags are being removed then whose removing them could be attacked or intimidated.
We wouldn’t have an issue with flags being displayed on lamp posts if the current law was being enforced but the PSNI wont enforce it and if our own police service wont enforce the law then those breaking it when it comes to flags can do as they please, as they are currently doing. To be fair to the police they are not in an easy position.
Chris’s proposal to fly the Union flag on designated days is far from balanced or fair. Fair and balanced would be no flags or both flags or a new flag that we can all accept (There’s more chance of Neill putting forward a balanced, accurate view of the past than that happening).
Even the Irish Tricolour flying alone on certain days of the year, the same number the Union flag flies, for example the Irish Tricolour could be flown on St Patricks Day (San Francisco City Hall, Manchester City Hall, etc all fly the Irish Tricolour on St Patricks Day, why cant Belfast City Hall?). I consider it insulting at the proposal to fly the Irish Tricolour only when the Taoiseach visits here or when the Irish Foreign minister visits. That is Unionism trying to class Irish identity as foreign to this part of Ireland (have you ever heard the like of it? imagine saying a part of China isn’t Chinese, a part of Japan isn’t Japanese? Its ridiculous). The reality is nearly 1 million people here regard themselves as Irish and we wont be going away. If anything is foreign here it is British identity, Britain itself is an island completely separate from Ireland, obviously its foreign. That might be harsh to our Unionist commentators but its the truth and history clearly shows it. I’m not saying Unionist identity shouldn’t be reflected or displayed, I accept there’s many people here who are British, likewise Unionists need to accept there’s many here who are Irish.
Sinn Fein and the SDLP have to do more to push for equality for Irish identity and for its fair reflection in our society. Its shocking that 95% of Belfast City Hall’s emblems reflect a British Unionist identity when Irish Republican councillors number more than Unionist councillors. This legacy of Unionist dominance isn’t a healthy reminder for Nationalists or Unionists, the City Hall needs to move with the times and reflect change.
“Its shocking that 95% of Belfast City Hall’s emblems reflect a British Unionist identity ”
Do they reflect a unionist identity or do they reflect the history of the building? It was built fifteen years before Irish independence.
Mightn’t it do both?
S’pose so. It had a great big picture of Alex Maskey in last time I was there. What more do you want?
BYC, there’s “great big pictures” of all previous Lord Mayors of Belfast, I believe there’s not one but two pictures of Sammy Wilson because he served as Mayor of Belfast twice……and he made clear numerous times he was only representing the Protestant community while in the role, his “taigs don’t pay rates” comment and saying Catholics from the Old Park area are “sub human animals”.
But my favourite has got to be Sammy’s assertion that “there will never be a Sinn Fein Lord Mayor of Belfast”.
oh dear….
BYC, its one thing to remember the history of a building but to drape Belfast City Hall in Unionist emblems in order to ensure dominance is another thing altogether. The City Hall should be reflecting the City and its people and Unionism is pretty far from being 95% of the population of Belfast, I don’t think it has ever been.
I’ll need to go back and check Ryan. Most of the stuff I remember is to do with the industrial heritage of the city. I’m not sure we’d all classify everything in the same way though. Obviously as the council and city is majority nationalist now as you say then every icon or emblem that refers to the city must be a nationalist one. Tell you what – if it hasn’t got a union jack or a picture of the Queen on it I’ll put it down as nationalist and get back to you. What method are you using for your 95%.
If anything is foreign here it is British identity
That in reality is the crux of all your arguments.
No, I’m merely referring to the reference by many Unionist politicians that “Irish identity” or “Irishness” is “foreign” to this part of Ireland Neill. While I could state, very accurately, that Britishness and British identity is indeed as foreign to this island as Polish or Spanish would be. British identity obviously originates on the island of Britain, we live on the island of Ireland. The cheek of some Unionists to say being Irish is “foreign” here while in reality their own identity is what is foreign.
It doesn’t change anything if Unionists find that insulting or not. The facts will always be the facts, that goes for everyone.
Its important to remember its not Irish nationalists refusing to reciprocate when it comes to respecting each others culture and identity. The actions of Martin McGuinness compared to Peter Robinson/Arlene Foster illustrates what I’m saying.
What is British identity in 2016? There seem to be many different versions. I doubt that the Union flag would hold much weight for the average London teenager. For me the Union Flag represents domination and empire. Maybe it is different for you.
What law is it that you say isn’t being enforced?
Jude, you suggest the PSNI might be afraid to take loyalist flags down.
During our troubles, when guns were in use on a daily basis, they had no hesitation in going into republican areas with a show of force, to remove flags.
Nowadays the police seem to be more choosy as to what laws they will observe and enforce.
When it comes to Twelfth bonfires, we see megastructures which will undoubtedly cause danger to public safety. But they never move in to remove them or reduce their size despite the fact that safety of the public is within their remit.
They want to keep friendly with their loyalist paramilitary mates, so they don’t want to do anything to upset them. Yes, they’re breaking the law, but so what!
Policing the past is another project they’re not keen on doing. ‘We can’t afford it’ is the excuse given.
We have a policing board which is supposed to ‘hold the PSNI to account’ – rubbish!
Anytime you see a film clip from one of their meetings you get an example of waffling verbosity which must put the politicians to sleep, because no real decisions ever seem to be taken which affect the day to day workings of the cops – they just talk any opposition into submission.
As a result we have a police force which just decides for itself whether it wishes to uphold any laws.
Their only real target seems to be motorists – they are number one cash cow!
Funny, all the same, Esteemed Blogmeister, how April with a 6 at the end of the year marks the anniversary of the raising both of a flag and the lowering of the same flag.
The flag of course is the Union Jill (or, the Union Jack as it is commonly known when a king is seated on the throne in the largest room of Buckingham Palace) whose first fluttering in the breeze was the wheeze of King James 1 in April 1606.
The taking down, by British traitors, who disclaimed the flag, occurred at the pole over the GPO on Lionel Sackville Street in the second city of the Empah in April of the year of Our Lord 1916.
Whether it is called the Union Jack or the Union Jill it has been patently obvious , alas, that it has been on a downhill trajectory for some time, the same t. having grown markedly steeper since the Scots got a bit bolshie.
Many a pail of water has passed under O’Connell Bridge and many a crown has been broken on the eponymous street, since Wee Jammy first came up with the design. Which was designed to put the heart crossways into the United Kingdom while simultaneously expelling the cross words from the national, erm, conversation.
It was the year of The Big Shake Up at which The Great Shakes was more than an interested onlooker, as a recently published book, entitled 1606 by James Shapiro, reveals. Such was the political hurly-burly indeed of the time that the creative spirits of The Great Shakes, which had been, erm, flagging somewhat were given a shot in his writing arm.
Putting quill to vellum, he sat right down, being a man of letters, and wrote, by candlelight, before the year was out, in short order, King Lear, Macbeth and A.C. / D.C. aka Anthony and Cleopatra.
Re-spect.
It was the year which saw the Gunpowder Plotters ending up in a quicklimed plot, having first danced the Butchers’s Apron (supplanting the Mason’s Apron, which had hitherto held sway) upon the scaffold high before, lots having been first drawn, to see who would be quartered first. For Fawkes’ sake, what else did these guys expect?
The fate of these non-PC RC faithful would have been a lot grimmer, brothers, if they had found themselves in the Dublin of today. Where the Rainbow Warriors of the Facepowder Plot whose importance has been blown up out of (gasp) all proportion by their cheerleaders in the compliant communications industry, not. Many of the latter (who shall remain nameless) can proudly pin the be-laureled academic letters, Bachelors of Arts, behind their names.
That the HQ of these contemporary plotters is Dublin Castle is in close proximity to the twin cathedrals, St. Patrick’s and Christchurch, where the Union Jackeens placidly hang, being indoors, in the manner flaccid, may or may not be simply a geo-political coincidence.
But back to1606, when both the pen and the pennant proved mightier than the sword, the two buzz words of that fateful year were both of the daaarling variety, Joxer: recusant and equivocate. The first word describes those Papists who refused to bend the knee / genuflect in the presence of their betters and the second word is that what they did do and continue to do. And that which they do do very well.
The second word in particular infiltrated its word into the text of Macbeth. Wheras Wee Jammy’s ma, Mary Queen of Scots is generally credited with being the tart who put the t. into tartan, there is a secondary school of thought which holds that the first wee mon to make the tartan (of the Clann McEquivocate of which McVittie is a derivative) fashionable was indeed, nae other than wee Macbeth.
As The Perkin is primarily a Partick Thistle man, he has nae option but to remain neutral on this one. (If St. Patrick was a Welshman, the secular Partick was a Scot).
To conclude with The Great Shakes who was also The Great Symmetricist (he shuffled off the mortal coil on 23 April 1616 where the anti-royal rising came to the immortal boil on 24 April 1916 due to the ruffling of the featherbrained ): he had the number of the gilded butterflies of the broadcasting medium.
As evidenced by this utterance from King Lear after he had reconciled with his estranged daughter, Cordelia, even as both were being led in chains to chokey;
-Come, let’s away to prison, so we’ll live
And pray and sing and tell old tales, and laugh at
Gilded butterlies, and hear poor rogues
Tell of court news, and we’ll talk with them too
Who loses and who wins, who’s in and who’s out-
And take upon ourselves the mystery of things
As if we were God’s spies. And we’ll wear out
In a walled prIson poor packs and sects of great ones
Who ebb and flow by the moon’.
As recently as this morning, the same gilded butterflies of the broadcasting media in the Free Southern Stateen were, alas, shown in their true colours (!) and made to look like so many hairy caterpillars of the homogeneous hackitariat. When they uniformly took on, in a high dudgeon of hysteria, the big, bad Danish parliamentarians who passed some immigration legislation which made them ‘look like they were aping the way the Nazis maltreated the Jews’.
This is the same Denmark,btw, which has already taken in a couple of thousand Syrian refugees and the same morally superior Free Southern Stateen which has already taken in, erm, a couple.
To hear the Woodman of the, yes, flagship RTE radio programme, Yawning Irleand, being out-whacked with head-splitting force by a formidably weary Danish MEP who was wielding a newly-honed Viking axe was truly to feed on a breakfast of champions:
-I say to you, sir, you do so badly need to read a history book.
Ah, yes, the same gilded butterlies of the DOBlin media who are gumming, with, erm, rite and reason on their side, to have the Union Jill fly once more, as a gesture of great goodwill, over the GOP.
I don’t like seeing Union jacks flying from every lamp post. It makes the place look like an abandoned outpost of a forgotten colony. We see the same weird 1920’s style British symbolism in Gibraltar and the Fawkland Islands. Torn flags flying on a wind swept Island and die-hards that just can’t accept that the British Empire no longer exists.
must be illegal to tamper with a lamp post.
an oul r.u.c man pig maneely used to take his pocket knife out and cut my mas swing off the lamp post when she was a child.so there must be some oul law sure the pig wouldnt have cut the kids swings down for badness would he.
Most people living near Springfield Road police station knew badness was his only motivation!
“Pig Maneely”, billy …that really is a good one .He was probably worried that the wee girls and boys would get “blushings” on their legs from all the dog piss at the bottom of the post…or maybe he was just a bit thick , of course…didn’t that go with the job?
“Getting chased around the streets by Pig Maneely on his motorbike for the crime of being a living, breathing, working-class Catholic”.
http://beechmountareabelfast12.com/?p=1