Reading comments from “MT” “BILLY” and “JOE BLOGGS” is a depressing experience. They are devoid of charm, wit or civility and they have convinced me that they are activated by **** of most people living in Ireland or whose allegiance or sentiments are Irish. Billy extends his **** to people who grow beards or wear a Burka.
When I lived on the Hill of Howth my neighbours to right and left and on most of my road were Protestants. Most were Irish but some were English and they were very good neighbours.Coming to live in London 52 years ago I worked, played and socialised with people of all colours, religions and nationalities, and when I needed medical or dental treatment or other help found that by virtue of my humanity I was deemed worthy of first class care. The carers came from all backgrounds.I’ve gone drinking with Orangemen in London, sometimes in Irish pubs, and to Ceilidhs and the craic was good. And on my few visits to Northeastern Ireland was never attacked. So I assumed the attitudes of “MT” etc. were freakishly rare. But then, maybe I’m a simple Dublin Jackeen?But I’ve just been reading a statement of another Jackeen, “Born February 9 1854, Dublin, Republic of Ireland” according to Wikipedia. He had little contact with Ulster until 1910, when he was 56.-“I ask my Ulster friends when they go back to Belfast, to tell their friends there, in no uncertain voice, that the Government last night declared war against Ulster, and have announced that the only solution of this question is to drive them out of a community in which they are satisfied into a community which they loathe,hate and detest.We will accept the declaration of war. We are not altogether unprepared.I think it is time that we should take a step forward in our campaign,and will recommend that to be done, and I believe it will be done.”Sir Edward Carson,Albert Hall, London June 4 1912.It seems Carson’s friends in Ulster, including professed Christians,indeed professional Christians, **** most of their neighbours in Ireland and were encouraged in that **** and the violence inspired by it.I would like to think that MT, Billy and Joe Bloggs are the last of that deluded breed.
I am not aware of ever having dished out personal abuse, or hatred, sectarian or otherwise. (My wife is a Roman Catholic, so I don’t really fit the mould).
What you are engaging in against me is personal abuse. It remains to be seen if it will be tolerated…
Joe – if you believe you are being subject to abuse, please give me chapter and verse and I’ll see if you’re right. If you are, I’ll take it down. If I think you’re not, I won’t. And that applies to ANYONE who thinks they’re being abused.
It would be the blog above, Jude, where I am referenced in the lead paragraph. The implication that I am fuelled by sectarian hatred and form part of a “dull breed” are quite offensive. That my comments are “without charm, wit or civility” doesn’t worry me in the slightest, but is indicative of the vitriol that motivated a quite personal attack. It seems that other visitors to the site would agree with me…. perhaps there are more?
I am in two minds:
On the one hand, it would be reassuring if you took the blog down with an explanation and reprimand to the author; it would illustrate that you were as fair minded as other republican contributors here, who disagree with me fundamentally on most issues, but do not tolerate personal or indeed sectarian abuse. It would also help people determine whether you treat abuse of republicans differently to how you treat abuse of unionists.
On the other hand, by leaving it up, you help the reader to draw their conclusions in respect of the above more easily.
I have to say that while I am diametrically opposed to the politics of the three named suspects I have never got the impression that they were, or are, motivated by sectarian hatred. They are passionate about their unionism as I am about my belief in a free independent and secular Irish Republic. Fair is fair.
Thank you Brian. Far from hating my neighbour, I married her! Perhaps the author is motivated by hatred of people who don’t share his views?
Making a comment having a go at certain commenters is one thing, but actually submitting a piece to the blog full of peronal attacks is of another order.
I presume some thought went into this hate filled bile,so I find it surprising that Donal has missed the real hatemongers here (have a look in a mirror Donal) in his rush to judgement.
More surprising is the fact that Jude allowed this drivel to pass instead of throwing it straight in the bin.
It is all eye of the beholder stuff.
I consider you to be full of hate filled bile against Sinn Fein and republicans gio, I am sure many feel that I am likewise full of hate filled bile against every unionist or dissident.
That is the result of division and conflict.
I think it fairer to be critical of those elected representatives who we look rely on to change things for the better.
In my opinion, unionism has failed to perform and that is where criticism should be directed.
Otherwise it is a bit like blaming the ship builders for the titanic sinking after being directed into an iceberg.
jessica
You are free to consider me anything you want but in commenting it is surely better to focus on what people actually say rather than imaginary views we attribute to them.
Why doesn’t Donal give a few examples of the hatred towards most Irish people displayed by Joe Bloggs (for example), then we can judge?
If you like you can give some examples of my hatred towards republicans too!
Regular readers will know well what I mean gio.
It is not a game of brinkmanship like you and AG seem to think.
You blame a lot of our problems on physical force republicanism and regularly express animosity towards Sinn Fein and its supporters.
I will leave it up to others to agree or disagree.
Where I get things wrong, there are people who will speak up and say so. Harry always keeps me in check.
See my comment to Joe, gio. Chapter and verse, please.
Really Jude?
Did you even read Donal’s piece before putting it up?
He directly attacks 3 regular commenters saying they
“are devoid of charm, wit or civility and they have convinced me that they are activated by hatred of most people living in Ireland or whose allegiance or sentiments are Irish”
Are you not a little concerned that he makes this accusation without any evidence to back it up?
He goes on to talk about Carson for some reason and people who
“hated most of their neighbours in Ireland and were encouraged in that hatred and the violence inspired by it.”
Our 3 commenters are included in that group as, Donal hopes,,the last of that “deluded breed”.
What have they said or done to deserve such bile?
I won’t bother you with jessica’s lies about me as apparently it is Harry’s job to keep her in check, something she seems unable to do for herself.
Well, if any of us are prepared to point criticism anywhere, I think we should at least be prepared to take some in return without crying about it.
If you cant take it, don’t dish it.
I can see where Donal is coming from, there is no effort at communication, simply negativity for the sake of it.
It can get depressing, especially if you value real engagement and make an effort as Donal does.
I think such regular negativity without any attempt at substance or to engage and clarify their thinking should be blocked from the site.
What do you think?
I like to engage Jessica! I seem to endlessly ask Jude Collins and other republicans if they believe (after the state forces and loyalist forces are brought to justice of course!) whether republicans responsible for IRA murders, beatings, criminality etc. should be brought to justice. I never get an answer….and yes, that does get depressing when you value real engagement.
Most already have been punished Joe.
I think the scales of justice are glaringly out of kilter in that department.
In fact, I think current state officials who are denying access to evidence should also be tried for perverting justice while we are at it.
So that is a “No” then….?
Correct
I would be more interested in the truth coming out than people being locked up, especially within a jurisdiction we don’t trust and has proven to be untrustworthy and is still breaking the law to cover up its own
It is pointless Jessica getting into a squabble with these bigots and purveyors of hate, it will get us nowhere, better instead concentrating on the provisions of the GFA, remember it only requires, as Jude pointed out the other day…
It only requires 50% plus one vote to end the corrupt system once and for all, that is mighty achievable, even today if the vote was taken.
I agree, buy many good people on both sides are losing faith and this is being used to suggest there is no desire to leave the UK or that 30% of Catholics are suddenly unionists.
I know for sure that many good republicans have lost or are losing faith in politics as it is slow to deliver and every little thing takes years, all the while they see the necessary politicians doing well which is their entitlement, but it can be hard to swallow.
I don’t think either side has had any encouragement from either Dublin or London, both of which are covering up the fact that they operated under acceptable levels of violence for state led operations, both states collaborated in cover up and still do and if it wasn’t for Sinn Fein and in particular Gerry Adams, there is no way the peace process would have survived.
I believe that there are forces in MI5 and security services who still manipulate people on both sides and there is a risk that party politics in London and Dublin will be put above the peace process, moreso in Dublin as London have already agreed to leave and are happy to wash their hands off us and have enough on their plate over brexit already.
It was myself that made that claim that there is evidence to suggest that many Catholics (possiblely 30%) who are Unionists i.e would vote to remain in a border poll.
It’s not a assumption I’m pulling out of thin air Jessica. There is evidence not just in opinion polls but also the 2011 census.
I’d be happy to discuss this further and run through the figures if your interested?
Certainly Scott
I would be very interested
Well I suppose the most obvious example of Catholics being Unionists are the recent opinion polls done by Ipso Mori ( I think) for the BBC and Belfast Telegraph. Both these polls showed support amongst Catholics for the Union ranging around the 30% mark, which shows some correlation. Now I completely accept opinion polls are FAR from perfect even if at a worst case scenario they are only half right, that would still mean that Catholic support is at least 15-18 percentage. A sizeable chunk im sure youll agree.
A more intersting indicator is the National identity question in the 2011 Census.
Here are the numbers.
British only 40%
Irish only 25%
Northern Irish only 21%
British and NI 6%
British and Irish 0.66%
Irish and NI 1%
British, Irish and NI 1
Other 5%
I think its fairly safe to assume that anyone who has British as part of there national identity are probaly Unionists. That is a total of 47.66% that I am making a judgement are Unionists, although some may disagree thats hoew I feel about it.
The total for people who include Irish in their identity is 26%. Its safe to assume I feel these people would be Nationalists.
The slightly greyer area is the people who declare themselves NI only. Now perhaps this is were Im making to much of a leap but I dont see how a Nationalist would declare themselves Northern Irish. Why would a Nationalist not give there Identity as Irish on a census form.
Now Im not saying all that 21% of NI only respondees are Unionists but my gut feeling is that probaly a majority of them are.
If only half are unionists then that makes the Unionist total 57%. NI isnt 57% Protestant so the only conclusion i can draw is that there is a large number of Catholics who are Unionists
I’d be interested to hear peoples responses on this. Perhaps ive missed something or maybe Im barking up the wrong tree altogther
I know there are quite a few members of my own family who have put british Scott.
Very few would put northern Irish to be honest – not sure what that means. Maybe more the younger generations.
Some would feel afraid to put Irish in case it was held against them, there is a lot of mistrust when it comes to official form filling.
My sister actually tried to persuade me not to give my children Irish names in case they labelled and targeted for it.
I did and they don’t feel that way any more so things are moving in the right direction.
Some of them actually feel they are british as we are part of the UK and are just being honest about it.
The more religious are very pragmatic about this and frustratingly non committal to national identity though I don’t think they would accept or even appreciate being labelled as unionists.
Most would think of people like Gregory Campbell and Nigel Dodds when they think of unionism and would actually get annoyed if you called them a unionist.
Sort of like gio does, though he acts more unionist than they do.
The biggest problem for most of my own family, is a lot of them feel like we are not wanted or even liked by the people in the south and are afraid that we would be poorly treated in a united Ireland. Some genuinely would be afraid of southerners and a united Ireland. Perhaps a bit of institutionalisation has set in.
For some this would be a major factor and unless there was some effort made from Dublin to change this perception, I think there would be about 50/50 support for a united Ireland right now among my own family with half voting to remain as things are. And we are all from republican communities and from that background.
That is why I resent the southern establishment so much. They have done more to entrench divisions here than unionism ever could have.
I don’t believe there is that animosity at least a majority on the south, though I could be wrong.
I know nothing about polls, but hopefully this honest appraisal of my own family might share some insight.
It is not only unionists that will need reassurance if we are to move towards a united Ireland Scott.
Scott
I think there is no doubt that there are some Catholic unionists just as there are Protestant nationalists.
When it comes to the census and people declaring as Northern Irish I am not sure you can extrapolate that to mean unionist though.
Younger people for example have grown up in a post GFA world and may not have the same baggage about using Northern Irish as an identification.
We cannot assume that they would therefore vote no in a referendum on the constitutional issue ,an issue which many may not have given much consideration to at all.
Having said that I think you are broadly right,and 51% Catholic will not equate to 51% nationalist.
Outbreeding the bastards may take a bit longer than anticipated!
“Outbreeding the bastards may take a bit longer than anticipated!”
This is what I mean gio.
Was that really necessary?
You say you want reasoned debate, then when someone makes an effort your own anti Sinn Fein/Gerry Adams hatred takes you over.
Take a look in the mirror.
jessica
Seriously?
I made a reasonable reply to Scott’s comment,with a fairly mild joke at the end.
If anyone should take offence it would be Scott and if he is offended I will apologise.
How on earth could it be construed as hatred of Sinn Fein,or Gerry Adams?
I am baffled.
old has beens like the blogger,who were rared on the hill of howth(a sheltered childhood)now see their world falling down around their ears as they come to the end.all the nonsense letters sent to various papers over a lifetime came to nothing,in fact this blog has received more comments than any other of his bloggs maybe that will lift your spirits today donal.
Billy has indicated an aversion to people who grow beards or wear burkas.Perhaps when I inferred he approved of armed “gentlemen” (gendarmerie) stripping unwilling women
on beaches I erred, but I don’t think so.
Another of my targets questioned Jude’s holding a Doctorate from a reputable Institution.
He imputed dishonesty in Jude signing himself “Doctor” in a published letter.
I wrote about Chief Rabbi Herzog’s close friendship with Eamon de Valera and his reputation
as “the Sinn Fein Rabbi.” I learned of that friendhip from a memoir of ex-President Chaim Herzog of Israel, son of the Chief Rabbi. Joe Bloggs didn’t accept my story.It’s true that
Arthur Griffith was an anti-Semite at the turn of the 20th Century, but had abandoned
that prejudice by the time of the Tan War. But Mr Bloggs regards me as a liar.
I don’t hate BLOGGS, MT, or BILLY but I can’t say I much care for them.They don’t wear
Burkas, presumably, but hurl their putrid prejudices from behind masks.
detected neither
Your reference to me here is simply untrue (a lie). I never denied that Dev was friends with Rabbi Herzog or that people referred to the latter as the ” Sinn Fein Rabbi”. I stated that it was probably not a name that he would have ascribed to himself given SF’s history of anti-Semitism. Griffith was an anti-Semite (you provided no proof that he changed his views; I pointed to Sean Russell who embarked on a course of invasion with the SS (you were unable to counter this); and I made mention of SF’s current dealings with Hamas (an openly anti-semetic organization).
People can judge for themselves via these two links:
http://www.judecollins.com/2016/09/the-sinn-fein-rabbi-by-donal-kennedy/
http://www.judecollins.com/2016/10/for-the-benefit-of-mr-bloggs-by-donal-kennedy/
The reader can also judge whether I was inspired by hatred of the Irish in my comments, or rather hatred of revisionist history absolving anti-semites and Nazi colluders.
I am glad this blog still stands, however.
1. It reveals you to be childish, vindictive, sectarian and an apologist for anti-semites.
2. It reveals the double standards of Jude Collins, who when accused of being secatarian on air jumps three feet in the air and demands a retraction, but is happy for that slur to stand when made against a Unionist.
3. I welcome Jess’s comment that she thinks that the murderers, torturers and thieves of the IRA should never have to face justice for their crimes. It is a great insight into the Republican mindset. (Even Jude has the sense never to go on the record saying it out loud….).
4. I greatly appreciate the comments of Brian, PF, Gio, Cennaire, Freddie, et al, who would disagree with me on most things but agree that your attack on myself and others was just abuse (even if Jude doesn’t think so).
While we are allowed to give a critique of people’s contributions here (ie devoid of wit, civility etc.), I would like to point out that most of your blogs are as incoherent as Perkin’s (for it is he! etc). In fact, most of them don’t generate any comment at all, which is perhaps why you resorted to sectarian insults to get a wee bit of attention. Diddums..
“I welcome Jess’s comment that she thinks that the murderers, torturers and thieves of the IRA should never have to face justice for their crimes. It is a great insight into the Republican mindset. (Even Jude has the sense never to go on the record saying it out loud….).”
Well, where would you draw the line Joe?
Should the british state be investigated and jailed for 40 years of perversion of the course of justice in the cover up of state authorised murder?
Should new legislation be introduced to allow Ian Paisley be tried for his hate crimes that caused the conflict and led to all deaths here?
Should an independent international commission be setup to pursue the truth about the role of the british state?
Should there be an amnesty and truth recovery commission be set in place or should it be left up to the police so they can protect their own?
As things stand, the IRA should not assist with any state investigation into any IRA activities and should not even speak to them or anyone about them.
In time the truth will come out and the IRA will be commemorated in this country by a section of our people that will not be going anywhere.
good posst joe,the last paragraph is on the button.
Well, they do say politics makes interesting bedfellows
ano,you just need to look at the sf/dup coalition.
Thats right billy, in all they did better than Fine Gael and Fianna Fail could muster
like heating empty sheds,at the cost of 400million pounds.
fine gael and fianna fail may have faults,but their in government for the forseeable future.
Yes, so much for our wonderful gatekeeper stepping up to protect the public purse from us rogues and renegades.
You couldn’t make it up.
As for Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, I suppose it was paltry compared to the 19 billion of tax payers money gifted to Apple.
Perhaps the Scottish were right and us Celtic nations do need England to run our affairs.
Joe
It is disappointing that Jude appears happy to let this stand. Perhaps it is stubbornness,I don’t know. I can’t see any possible justification for it by any normal standards in blogging.
Donal has presented no evidence whatsoever for his silly attack on you billy and MT and Jude is certainly not asking him for any.
As paddy says we all get a bit too carried away by this stuff at times and a sense of proportion is important, but this is certainly a low point for the respectful debate Jude is so keen on.
As a side issue I feel sure that billy is not a unionist,unless I have been badly misreading his posts,yet Donal lumps him in with the ‘deluded breed’ (to which you belong) who are known as ‘friends of Carson’.
So let the post stand in its abysmal smallmindedness and I say the JudeCollins 3 should wear the name with pride!
donald knows hes safe here with no right of reply in the same language,would he post the same on facebook on some groups were you can give dogs abuse back,
Wow!
I agree Peter, now that was a personal attack and totally uncalled for
read the blog properly….deluded breed..activated by hatred…hatred of beards n burkas…hatered of anything irish….not to mention directed at names..not a bit of wonder people dont post in their full name when their being slandered as a hate monger to the world.we know some people would love a n/korean style internet but thats not how it works.
I suppose any of us putting pen to paper or finger to keyboard are joining a conversation. We don’t agree with each others opinions all the time .There is also a presupposition by some that this is a “republican” blog when it is really much more diverse than that…as are many of the contributors. The three named contributors have raised the ire of some, but that’s a healthy position. It’s good to ask each other questions and realise that there is more than only one way that the world is viewed.
The problems arise when we learn nothing new or there are pointless insults flung instead of reasoned debate and specifically when there is ill-thought out critique.
MT, for example , is infamous for actually saying very little. He might be a unionist(or not) but I don’t believe I’ve ever read anywhere where he has stated this as a fact. His usual thing is to trawl through someone else’s written piece and cut out sentences and paragraphs to put a negative spin on what is written .He never explains exactly why he enjoys doing this and he never actually explains his reasoning or how he came to that position, so how would anyone really know what he thinks or doesn’t think. What are his politics? What does he enjoy in life? Does he enjoy sport or the arts ? You’ll find that if you read any of his interjections that he never actually reveals anything .In fact the “he” may be a”she” , because although he/she has been offered a platform for any views he/she might have , I don’t believe he’s written anything of his own, about ….well about anything at all…..to date .
In that respect I actually find his input of little substance or sustenance, so why is anyone bothered about him/her? Lower-case “billy” comes across as a neo-nazi in print , but that may also be a blunt front.He may even be much more complex than he appears .He has yet to prove that but i find many of his interjections daftly funny. Joe has already explained himself well enough .
yes quite diverse as you say..one poster claiming to be a democrat suggested working class people shouldnt be allowed to vote,they were to stupid.suppose it takes all kinds.
There’s a thing billy.I’ve a great distaste for the term “working class person” .It’s a fairly meaningless label in this day and age of little work to be had and of well-educated people doing anything and everything to put food on the table.Then again , there’s probably a “non-working class” these days, eh?
There is plenty of work Harry
The problem is nobody seems to want to work these days
We have interviewed loads over the past few weeks and cant get positions filled and we pay living wage.
People are too well off not working to work is what I am being told is the problem
Sorry Jessica that’s just rubbish.
‘Pay a ‘living wage’ ‘? How’s about paying a wage that could improve a persons standard of living rather than what some suit or mandarin decides what a ‘living wage’ is?
What is rubbish?
I am not going to delve too deeply into my own personal business WT, but I pay £8 per hour for work that is minimum wage in almost all other competitors and is the highest pay you will get for this line of work. There are very small margins and I can pay it because it is offset by profits made by other parts of the businesses and companies that I own.
There are plenty of businesses out there that are not profit centred and are there to help people get work where they would not otherwise be considered.
I do a lot to improve many peoples standards of living. What do you do?
“The problem is nobody seems to want to work these days”
That’s rubbish.
“What do you do?”
In between swinging off scaffolding and climbing ladders, I am wondering how I can get the qualifications to be a ‘community worker’, as I believe I have a lot to offer! In the meantime I’ll do what Billy says and do the double, after all, everybody is playing the system so I will too.
I have no problem with that at all WT, it is the system that is the problem.
But I assure you that it is bloody difficult to fill jobs and get good people at the moment.
If someone has kids, it simply is not worth their while working.
My advise to you. Stop wondering about it and register for whatever courses you need to pursue a career in social services and just bloody go for it.
You are an intelligent guy and I believe you would be well suited.
If you go for it, you will get what you want.
If you don’t you may regret it.
What have you got to lose?
wolfie,seems the community worker route is the way to go.sf finance minister is in todays irish news looking chuffed as he gives a community worker £900,000pounds to spend,the community worker was convicted of the murder of a husband and wife in the moy,and another 4murders in a bomb attack in dungannon all catholics.you would be better off cutting the sleeve out of yer jumper cut 2eye holes and away you go.
oh aye paddy,the non working class..or letting on non working i know plentydoing the double and fair play to them,many see it as their duty and it is really when you see some of the wages they want people to get outta bed for.some think their the mill owners of yrs ago by the sounds of it.
Well said Paddy. A mature contribution as per usual. Others should take note, especially those above and perhaps even Gio who I find often comments with the intention simply to antagonise or to be contrary. I find a certain sanctimonious manner to his contributions. But maybe that’s just how I perceive it 🙂
Patrick
How dare you! (smiley face here).
I am just trying to make the internet a better place,one blog at a time,starting with Jude’s.
I consistently argue that we should engage with opinions rather than the personality of those holding the opinion.
I think paddy is a fine contributor but he neatly avoided giving a view on Donal’s unwarranted and unnecessary attack on 3 commenters.
Well gio…I didn’actually intentionally avoid anything really. Sometimes I just can’t be bothered but on this i simply didn’t think too much about it.I just think that we should all be able to defend our personal views with a lighter hand…a lighter touch., if you like. What’s is missing on many occasions …or maybe simply missed by the readers is the old dark “slagging” humour that can be a large part of the Irish character. It’s not all deadly serious, folks!! A bit of charm and nimble wit goes a lot further sometimes than the heavy hammer…..Sometimes that simply doesn’t translate to cold print.That all said , the important part of the blog was the quote of Carson’s at the end which i find quite satirical in light of the professed goodness and Christian values which we hear of so often ..those same sacred values which I mentioned recently in relation to the Ulster Covenant and its outworkings.
Sorry for daring to give my opinion Gio 🙂
Its funny though that you talk about engaging with opinions rather than personalities. I recall you once casting doubt on the integrity of academic professionals who produced a report which concluded that there would be an economic benefit to a united Ireland. Rather than comment on the findings of the report you first tried to demean it by saying something to the effect that its results were no great surprise considering that it was SF who commissioned the report.
I think the internet would indeed be a much better place if we could all (yourself included) just practice what you preach.
Patrick
That is a fair point.
I did raise the issue of the funding for that research,which was clouded in obscurity.
That research was presented by Sinn Fein and their supporters as being independent with no mention of the trail back to friends of SF.
I still think that was relevant.
The personality of the researcher is not relevant, nor did I mention it.
I am glad we agree in principle at least.
In Scotts array of statistics he is suggesting a United Ireland is even further away than we hope.
Has he counted in or has he knowledge of Unionist opinion on Brexit?
Can he enlighten us on those Unionists who voted to stay in the EU and even obtained Irish Passports. Perhaps those Unionists can help with the majority or magical figure of 50%+1
I would say he isnt far off the mark Jim.
I think brexit is a dud, as most people in Ireland don’t give a fiddlers about the EU.
And in the north it is simply swapping one tyrant for another in waiting.
The majority vote in the north was mostly leave among unionists and against a return of a hard border for most nationalists.
Confusing this with support for the EU could well hurt a UI.
But the biggest factor which makes Scott’s statistics on the money is that Dublin has no interest in one and wants nothing to do with us.
While that remains the case, there isn’t a chance.
Jim
One of the opinion polls was conducted after the BREXIT vote and showed that there was still a clear majority for remaining in the UK. I must add again though polls are far from perfect.
My own opinion is that BREXIT wont affect peoples views hugely on the Union until firstly we see if Brexit will actually happen (thats looking a little more unsure since the high court judgement), Secondly till we find out what kind of Brexit is going to happen and thirdly what the actual affects of that Brexit is. All this is likely to take years I reckon.
BREXIT does certainly have the potential to change huge swathes of the populations views on a UI, but we must remeber its a two way street. If BREXIT turns into a massive success perhaps Unionism will be boost. If its a disaster then maybe many “soft Unionists” will change there views and become Nationalists.
To cut a long story short we will have to wait and see what happens. Thats the thing people need to remeber about BREXIT, we have only had a referendum BREXIT is yet to come.
I don’t think brexit will change very much Scott.
If Dublin made an effort at reaching out, there would be an overwhelming response as the vast majority would still want to have a country of our own. We just don’t feel it at the moment.
You are chasing a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow if you think that this isn’t going to happen sooner or later.
Unification is inevitable in my opinion.
There is nothing that makes it inevitable Jessica.
It’ll all depend on events and circumstances.
I don’t agree
Events and circumstances can delay it, but it is inevitable.
We are too small a country to run two economies, small businesses have too much to lose.
They wont speak out just yet as we are post conflict. But gradually we are in a funnel with gravity the momentum that through stability will most definitely lead to unification.
My only concern is what that unification will be as I dislike what Ireland has become.
While I find MT’s comments are usually one-dimensional, Joe’s have a bit more meat on them and Billy just seems mixed up at times I can’t help but feel uncomfortable that they are used as examples in a blog post.
I don’t usually agree with what they post but would rather use the comments section to address those posts. Yeah, they frustrate me sometimes (understatement) with some of their replies but that is because we come from different perspectives. I’m sure they would be equally frustrated with some of my replies.
I’ll stand with the three guys on this one.
” I can’t help but feel uncomfortable that they are used as examples in a blog post.”
Absolutely.
A deliberate and unprovoked attack by way of a specific entry is uncalled for and ill-mannered.
Jude, wise up.
I’m with you on that one, Ceannaire. We need s bit of colour in these online chit chats. It’s a dull place if we all have the same views.
At the end of the day , whenever that will be , people will vote for whatever puts a paycheck £ € in their pocket, a roof overhead and food on the table. They can’t eat flags
The big mistake by the British for centuries and unionists one hundred years ago and during their time in power , was treating nationalists like second class citizens, depriving them of the above.
Catholics weren’t wanted about the place, you know., lads and lassies.
People on this blog are for the most part informed and politically alert. But im not sure if that can be said about your average man in the street. The blokes who will do the voting at some point.
MT, Billy and Joe Bloggs
I have always found yous a interesting and welcome contributors. Each undoubtedly with your own distinct style and perception on the various issues.
Donals piece here was completely out of order and his personal attacks on yous says more about him than you guys.
Judes attention has been drawn to this and all we have heard from him is a wall of silence. His silence on this is shameful.
If he agrees with Donal or sees no issues with the language he used he should say so. If he disagrees he should either take the post down OR at least say he thinks the language used is wrong and distance himself from it.
Silence is simply wrong.
IN THE STYLE OF:
I find this piece to be devoid of wit, civility or charm.
Growing up in East Belfast I had many imaginary friends, some of whom were Catholic. I am still friends with many of them to this day. My career in journalism started when I got a letter published in the Belfast Telegraph. Over the course of the past 40 years I have had as many as two letters published in the Belfast Telegraph and three in the Newsletter.
My big break, however, came in the County Down Spectator. My investigative piece “Bangor to Donaghadee distance actually UNDER six miles” sent shock waves through North Down and the traditional music scene alike. Editor in chief Crawford Williamson said it was “worthy of a Pulitzer” as he laughed and banged the table, hooking his thumb at me as he winked at the other journalists.
The Spectator ran that piece on 1st April 1978. Williamson never ran another of my articles, despite me submitting on average 12 a week. Instead, he moved me to the puzzle section where I happily compiled word searches on a range of topics from 1978-1987.
This role ended in acrimony when the Spectator offered a prize for correct submissions for the word search (2 for 1 chicken drumsticks in a basket at the Skandia at Woolco, Newtonards). Williamson picked Mrs Winifred Johnson as the winner of the “12 Tasty Snacks” word search. I pointed out that Mrs Johnson had only circled “Scone”, instead of the plural “Scones” and that a different winner needed to be picked. This lead to me parting ways with the Spectator. Still, Mrs Johnson is dead and the Skandia shut down, so who had the last laugh?
I still keep all the articles that I wrote in a scrap book. I have put some up on Jamie Bryson’s blog and I regularly get 3 likes. I also have a pristine copy of the word search that beat the Spectator’s readership! “12 things in your garden shed”. They got the obvious ones like: ‘wheelbarrow’ and ‘rake’, but they missed ‘Gin’ and ‘Porn’ in the top left corner.
Throughout my career I have had friends from all over the political divide. I have had lovers form the Falls, the Shankhill, the priesthood and the house of Windsor.
I even go down to Dublin for the rugby on occasion and no one ever knocks my bake loose or kicks me soft.
I am reminded of Eamon De Valera every time I am in Dublin. He spoke of Ireland being a Catholic country and in his first draft of the Irish Constitution stated: “The State acknowledges that the true religion is that established by Our Divine Lord Jesus Christ Himself, which he committed to his Church to protect and propagate, as the guardian and interpreter of true morality,” the article read. “It acknowledges, moreover, that the Church of Christ is the Catholic Church.”
Clearly Donal Kennedy is inspired by religious hatred of Protestants. I hope he is the last of such a deluded breed,
Donal is probably an agnostic – hardly someone with a religious hatred of protestants something unionists are very good at projecting onto their neighbours to justify their 16th century bigotry.
Back answering people is acting more like a small child, not an intelligent rational answer.
Calm yourself Mark, I gave some pretty intelligent rational answers above in relation to the slurs and lies aimed at me. But in light of the original blog not constituting “personal abuse” apparently. I thought I would replay it (and have a bit of fun in so doing…I am no good at wit you see) to see how it played back. It sounds pretty nasty and disjointed doesn’t it?
Oh, and some great “whataboutery” in your first post, Mark. Class.
Joe
Not bad.
You might have added that you intend to endlessly regale us with the letters you sent to some so called newspaper 10 20 or 30 years ago in a series called
“Why I was right!”
Seriously though you have highlighted exactly the problem that Donal’s post and Jude’s tolerance of it, have caused.
Why should we not all have a go at the commenters we find annoying?
very good joe that made me lol,i never had you as one of the deluded breed of people that still write letters in 2016.how sad you must feel when you look at the dust gathering on your lifetimes work in a scrapbook,thinking some binman devoid of wit will just dump them in a skip when you go the way of mrs johnstone the word search champion.