Norn Iron rubbish part 23452346526

[Gather round]

Okay, fair enough. But let me ask you (and i'm not trying to wind you up), lets say that an All-Ireland team came into existence. What would your opinion be on the issue of

1. Flags and emblems
2. Anthem
3. Player selection
4. Venue


OK, purely hypothetically

1. A green flag with just the shamrock emblem would be OK

2. I've no problem with Ireland's call

3. Has to be meritocratic based on who's available and not rushing off to play for England instead

4. Belfast, Dublin and Derry are all fine.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Okay, fair enough. But let me ask you (and i'm not trying to wind you up), lets say that an All-Ireland team came into existence. What would your opinion be on the issue of
1. Flags and emblems
2. Anthem
3. Player selection
4. Venue

1.Four Provinces flag.
2.'A Nation Once Again'
3.Anyone who's eligible! Or available. So not S.Ireland!
4. Beal-feirste if they build a stadium, or Belleek, Clones or wherever. More realistically, Newry or Derry??

[peadar1987]

I'd love to see an all-Ireland league. I think the addition of the Belfast teams in particular would be of great benefit to football on this island. Higher competition, new, fresh rivalries, and the whole "feel-good factor" of cross-border cooperation would be a breath of fresh air for the league.

However, I don't think it's the mystical "silver bullet", and I definitely don't think that we should have a united Irish football team. All that is going to achieve is to give the bigots south of the border a sense of vindication, and greatly **** off a sizeable proportion of people to the north of it.

Like it or not, (and I strongly disagree with their political views), the Unionists have been in Ireland longer than the US has been colonised by English speakers, and they will be here for a long time to come. We're going to have to live in peace with them, and taking away their football team because of nationalistic fervour isn't exactly the best way of going about that.

[Scooby Doo]

No, I'm not a big fan of tuneless, bellicose national anthems period. I'm not really interested in whether one's arguably more violent than another.



No, I understand your point perfectly well. It simply ignores reality: there are two international football teams from Ireland. As a proud Irishman, I support only one, the other isn't representative of me.

And no need to be defensive- I'm not suggesting anyone isn't properly Irish. But you are.



My apologies. Replace with "don't be a sh*t stirring wind-up".



As someone from there I'll choose what I identify with and want my home country to epitomise, thanks.



Look, if you think ancient Ulster is comparable to the civilizations of Sumer, the Egyptian Pharaohs and Classical Antiquity that's fine- if a tad eccentric or dare I say it insular. But do stop claiming that your fellow islanders aren't Irish. It's repetitive, mildly offensive and ultimately infantile.

Hold on a second mate, I'm not trying to wind-up anybody here. I'm just puzzled as to why, if you say you are a proud Irishman, you would be against the creation of a team that represents all of those that are proud to be Irish. The only exclusion i'm making is of those who fiercly denounce their Irishness. Never would i claim that those who consider themselves in some way Irish are not just that. And to clarify I have strong ties to Ulster and am proud of what I believe it should represent. But as I said to see the concept of it appropriated by insular unionism is frustrating.
Btw, edit my last post. It should have read 'only second to that of ancient Greece in a European context'. Sloppiness on my part.

[Gather round]

Hold on a second mate, I'm not trying to wind-up anybody here. I'm just puzzled as to why, if you say you are a proud Irishman, you would be against the creation of a team that represents all of those that are proud to be Irish

There are already two such teams, so need to create another whose most obvious effect would be replace the other two. I'm amazed that you can't grasp this.


The only exclusion i'm making is of those who fiercly denounce their Irishness

Hardly anyone does, certainly not any Northern Ireland fan. The clue's in the name.

[ArdeeBhoy]

However, I don't think it's the mystical "silver bullet", and I definitely don't think that we should have a united Irish football team. All that is going to achieve is to give the bigots south of the border a sense of vindication, and greatly **** off a sizeable proportion of people to the north of it.

Except they're only there because their ancestors were transplanted there. What about the views of the indigeneous people? Be it in Ulaidh or wherever else in the world.

Accepting the current situation is fair enough, but it means it vindicates an historically illegal colonial occupation and Orange triumphalism and has at times greatly p*ssed off a number of people to the south of it !
:rolleyes:

Still, suppose we could turn a 'blind eye' to the excesses that have maintained this.

[Scooby Doo]

OK, purely hypothetically

1. A green flag with just the shamrock emblem would be OK

2. I've no problem with Ireland's call

3. Has to be meritocratic based on who's available and not rushing off to play for England instead

4. Belfast, Dublin and Derry are all fine.

So tricolour ditched altogether? I have a problem with Ireland's call. Ridiculous piece of PC tripe. Decent alternative would have to be found. It would be a tough one personally to dump Ámahrán na bhFiann. Venues you mentioned would be fine but you'd have to concede that the principle venue would have to be in Dublin given the respective populations both sides of the border.

[Not Brazil]

Except they're only there because their ancestors were transplanted there. What about the views of the indigeneous people?

That's like something taken from the BNP school if thinking.

I was born and bred in Belfast, in Northern Ireland, on the island of Ireland. I am proud of that. I am a British Citizen, and proud of that too.

I am (Northern) Irish and British...I do not view these as mutually exclusive.

When you demean any part of that, you demean all of me.

[peadar1987]

Except they're only there because their ancestors were transplanted there. What about the views of the indigeneous people? Be it in Ulaidh or wherever else in the world.

Accepting the current situation is fair enough, but it means it vindicates an historically illegal colonial occupation and Orange triumphalism and has at times greatly p*ssed off a number of people to the south of it !
:rolleyes:

Still, suppose we could turn a 'blind eye' to the excesses that have maintained this.

Of course they are. Colonialism is disgusting and morally unacceptable. However, do you propose we start to essentially repress the culture and traditions of the majority of people who live in the USA and Northern Ireland in the present day just because their ancestors from 400 years ago happened to be imperialist warmongers?

I'm happy enough with the current situation, whereby Republicans in the North can choose to play for the Republic, but Unionists can make the choice to play for a side that reflects their own political views.

Although I would like to see the people of the predominantly nationalist counties north of the border to be given the chance to democratically join the Republic if they so wish.

[Gather round]

Venues you mentioned would be fine but you'd have to concede that the principle venue would have to be in Dublin given the respective populations both sides of the border

Heh, I think you may have musunderstood an admittedly weak gag. Try re-reading it as Stormont, Clontarf and Eglinton. The first named is clearly the principal venue, even if you don't like it in principle ;)


It would be a tough one personally to dump Ámahrán na bhFiann

Fine, don't drop it. Keep supporting your team and leave us ours.

[Scooby Doo]

There are already two such teams, so need to create another whose most obvious effect would be replace the other two. I'm amazed that you can't grasp this.
No Gather i do understand but am of the opinion that the reluctance of Northern Irish fans to submit to the idea of a team 'Ireland' stems from a fear of concede any ground to the significantly more sizable population of Rep. of Ireland supporters. Maybe your right and it is a bad idea. Neither side I think would want to concede too much ground to the other.



Hardly anyone does, certainly not any Northern Ireland fan. The clue's in the name.
Okay, sorry i'm just influenced by the hardline pro-British, anti-Irish approaches adopted by the majority of political figures that represent the Unionist population - who make up the majority of the NI supporter population.

[Not Brazil]

Although I would like to see the people of the predominantly nationalist counties north of the border to be given the chance to democratically join the Republic if they so wish.

You support re-partition, as a final settlement to our age old dispute?

[ArdeeBhoy]

That's like something taken from the BNP school if thinking.

I was born and bred in Belfast, in Northern Ireland, on the island of Ireland. I am proud of that. I am a British Citizen, and proud of that too.

When you demean any part of that, you demean all of me.

Only because the unionists until recently have made extremely limited efforts to integrate with the native Irish. Have no objections to them being there, but their behaviour towards Irish people has hardly being impeccable....and in reality they're not remotely interested in being branded 'Irish' or they would have accepted the end of British rule decades ago.
And ended their obsession with every warped British symbol going....

[Scooby Doo]

[QUOTE=Gather round;1280055]Heh, I think you may have musunderstood an admittedly weak gag. Try re-reading it as Stormont, Clontarf and Eglinton. The first named is clearly the principal venue, even if you don't like it in principle ;)



Touché Gather. Not at my best this morning.;)

[ArdeeBhoy]

Of course they are. Colonialism is disgusting and morally unacceptable. However, do you propose we start to essentially repress the culture and traditions of the majority of people who live in the USA and Northern Ireland in the present day just because their ancestors from 400 years ago happened to be imperialist warmongers?

Although I would like to see the people of the predominantly nationalist counties north of the border to be given the chance to democratically join the Republic if they so wish.

Well the native Indians and Irish should both seek substantial damages from the numerous parties who were happy to conduct genocide on their peoples, but given that's the present US, German, French, Spanish, Dutch and Brit. governments I'm sure double standards :rolleyes: will definitely apply.

And yer right. At the very least, the border is a farce and any occupied territory should be restricted to 1-2 counties max. Though you wouldn't want to be an Irish Catholic in that particular theme park....

[Not Brazil]

Only because the unionists until recently have made extremely limited efforts to integrate with the native Irish. Have no objections to them being there, but their behaviour towards Irish people has hardly being impeccable....and in reality they're not remotely interested in being branded 'Irish' or they would have accepted the end of British rule decades ago.
And ended their obsession with every warped British symbol going....

I'm glad you've no objections to me being here (even though I've been here since birth, as have my family for generations), but that's still the stuff of Nick Griffen.

I should have said earlier, that, when you demean any part of me, you will not "unite" me.

I don't have an "obsession" with being British - I AM a British Citizen - proudly, unrepentantly, and unapologetically. Not to **** you off, I hasten to add...it's simply what I am.

[Scooby Doo]

Fine, don't drop it. Keep supporting your team and leave us ours.[/QUOTE]
Happy to oblige. Honestly don't think it would work. Football stirs passions in a way rugby cannot. Would be more trouble than its worth.

[Gather round]

just because their ancestors from 400 years ago happened to be imperialist warmongers?

Can't speak for them, or even analyse their lives in much detail before about 125-150 years ago, but I'd hazard a guess most of them were dirt-poor and forced to move by economic/ social pressure. So pretty much the opposite, really.


Although I would like to see the people of the predominantly nationalist counties north of the border to be given the chance to democratically join the Republic if they so wish

A further partition is theoretically possible. There's a running gag about this on the Slugger O'Toole site; Derry and Newry might well vote 85-90% for joining, while at the same time Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway might choose to reject them. So you'd be left with a partition into three ;)


]am of the opinion that the reluctance of Northern Irish fans to submit to the idea of a team 'Ireland' stems from a fear of concede any ground to the significantly more sizable population of Rep. of Ireland supporters. Maybe your right and it is a bad idea. Neither side I think would want to concede too much ground to the other

You call it 'conceding ground', I call it 'giving it up my team'. As the more reasoning RoI fans have repreatedly asked on this thread, why on Earth would I do that? It makes no sense.

[ArdeeBhoy]

I'm glad you've no objections to me being here (even though I've been here since birth, as have my family for generations), but that's still the stuff of Nick Griffen.


But it's your lot NG's & the BNP are appealing to:rolleyes:....Have you not noticed their name or colour scheme??

And in Ireland, no-one's trying to force unionists out, just not wanting them to enforce an aggressive, triumphalist 'Britishness' (Thought you were previously 'Irish'??) on the Native Irish.

[peadar1987]

You support re-partition, as a final settlement to our age old dispute?

I support democracy. I support the right of the predominantly Unionist communities to remain a part of the UK by democratic consensus as well, and if, say, Fermanagh, decided, to remain part of Northern Ireland in a democratic vote, I would happily accept their decision. But this isn't really the place or time to discuss it.



Well the native Indians and Irish should both seek substantial damages from the numerous parties who were happy to conduct genocide on their peoples, but given that's the present US, German, French, Spanish, Dutch and Brit. governments I'm sure double standards :rolleyes: will definitely apply.

I disagree. Nobody in the current standing governments were involved in the genocides of the colonial era, and none of the taxpayers who would foot the bill were either. I would settle for an end to organised state oppression, and equal opportunities, which both countries are moving swiftly towards (although I doubt the US, with its horrendously deep poverty trap, will ever see true equality, but that is a completely different discussion).



And yer right. At the very least, the border is a farce and any occupied territory should be restricted to 1-2 counties max. Though you wouldn't want to be an Irish Catholic in that particular theme park....

Again, I disagree. The current Northern Irish administration has shown a committment to equal rights and the end of discrimination against the nationalist community. I see no reason to think that would change, and state-sanctioned discrimination would resume should the North shrink from six counties to three.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Peadar,
Just to acknowledge your points. Don't agree with them but will consider a wider justified response.

[Scooby Doo]

You call it 'conceding ground', I call it 'giving it up my team'. As the more reasoning RoI fans have repreatedly asked on this thread, why on Earth would I do that? It makes no sense.

Okay, frankly thats a matter of opinion. My vision for an All-Ireland team would be a sharing of stadia , pooling of resources that helps both sets of Ireland players and supporters experience major tournaments more regularly and even working together to host a major tournament (and needless to add, the benefits of an All-Ireland League). Yes its extremely idealistic but i see absolutely no problem with the NI flag and the tricolour being waved side by side, representing a one-island team. Never gonna happen though-not in the near future anyway.

[Gather round]

Okay, frankly thats a matter of opinion

All the NI supporters on this thread, as well as many of your own fans, have told you repeatedly that we aren't interested in an all-Ireland football team. All Northern Ireland fans pretty much by definition agree. If you and the other stirrers on here want to make any more of an issue of it, do it amongst yourselves.

[Predator]

Okay, fair enough. But let me ask you (and i'm not trying to wind you up), lets say that an All-Ireland team came into existence. What would your opinion be on the issue of
1. Flags and emblems
2. Anthem
3. Player selection
4. Venue

1. While I would understand the probable opposition to the Tricolour being used, I would suggest that people should remind themselves of the symbolism contained within it. Failing that, a four province flag would be an acceptable alternative.

2. Perhaps a new anthem could be written, although Ireland's Call works for the rugger heads, right? Is it you SD, that sees Ireland's Call as 'PC tripe'? If so, could you explain why? I would see no problem with being inclusive if it would mean a re-united Irish nation and football team.

3. Player selection would be as expected. Pick the best players who are available and willing to play for their country.

4. This is probably a bit out there, but perhaps we could rotate venues in each of the four provinces for friendlies and such? Belfast, Galway, Cork, Dublin? The problem would be finding or building suitable stadia. However, given that the infrastructure is already in place in Dublin, it's the obvious preference.

Where would the new 'merged' football association be based? There should be offices in each province. I'd be willing to accept these kinds of changes in favour of an all-Ireland team. Why not?

[Gather round]

I'd be willing to accept these kinds of changes in favour of an all-Ireland team. Why not?

Read the rest of the thread and stop stirring.

[Predator]

Read the rest of the thread and stop stirring.
GR I respect your points of view and I've read through the thread. Call it stirring all you want, but I encourage as much logical and reasoned discussion on this matter. My 'why not?' sentiment was more indicative of my stance on this and if you don't like that then fine, don't reply.

[ArdeeBhoy]

My 'why not?' sentiment was more indicative of my stance on this and if you don't like that then fine, don't reply.

Ha.
Yeah, you'd wonder why they do.

[Gather round]

You've had- repeated ad nauseam on the thread- a clear reply to the suggestion and implied invitation in the thread title. None of your (plural) various responses thereafter have been sufficiently logical nor reasoned to actually accept this original reply. Let me put it slightly more starkly: we ain't interested in joining your football team even if you encourage all our fans to wear berets, smoke gauloises and play the fcuking accordion to accompany the national anthems. OK?

[ArdeeBhoy]

But what if we were interested in joining yours.....
;)


And although you seem to have embraced a 'Gallic' theme (Is that the 'Britishness' in you coming out;thought you were claiming some sort of 'Irishness) ??), surely the bowler hats, drum 'n' bass and bonfires is more your type of gesture?
No contradictions there with that kind of statement. :rolleyes:

[Scooby Doo]

All the NI supporters on this thread, as well as many of your own fans, have told you repeatedly that we aren't interested in an all-Ireland football team. All Northern Ireland fans pretty much by definition agree. If you and the other stirrers on here want to make any more of an issue of it, do it amongst yourselves.
Hold on, this is a discussion thread. I'm not forcing my opinion on anyone. I have respectfully listened to your views on this. It is perfectly fair if as you say that the majority of NI fans are totally against the idea of an AI team and I accept that. My opinion is that the existence of such a team would benefit both Irelands in terms of footballing success. If there is vehement opposition to such a proposal so be it. But as mentioned this is a discussion forum where people offer opinions.

And as for 'Ireland's Call', my skin crawls when I here such a cheesy, meaningless, lyrically feeble piece of garbage being sung in place of my national anthem. Fine, if its inappropriate to sing Ámhrán na bhFiann or GSTQ, at least come up with a more accomplished alternative. No offence to your Derry compatriot Predator!;)

[JohnB]

Hardly a convention, certainly not nowadays anyway. The fact remains that is not the official anthem of Northern Ireland, nor is it representative of it. I live in Northern Ireland and am very contented that the IRFU do not respect the local 'convention' you speak of. Once again, if NI had it's own official/cross-community anthem that should be played.

Like it or not, so long as it remains part of the UK, GSTQ is the NA for NI. It is the equivalent of the SS. And whether or not it reflects people's views is neither here nor there. It's the anthem and should be afforded the same respect as any other anthem.


Those posters on OWC, of which I am one, I'd say are simply sensitive to a somewhat delicate situation, like myself. Most may also live in Northern Ireland JohnB. (and be fairly enlightened)

Judging by the evidence i.e. their posts, your fellow countrymen are much more pro-royal than I have been, or would ever be. And those that I know still live in the RoI(or at least did when I saw them last).


For the record - I have always had much sympathy for players and supporters from Northern Ireland at Irish rugby matche

But we shouldn't require sympathy, just a level playing field and, the IRFU have failed to provide this. This, added to the whole host of other reasons discussed on this thread demonstrate I think why NI fans would never warm to the idea of an all-Ireland team.

[JohnB]

Although it would make a great (and lengthy) discussion, I'd prefer not to get into a major sociological/historical debate at four in the morning ;). But i believe that the Ulster cycle is the archetypal mainstay of historical Celtic culture that the majority of Irish people today would claim allegience to and identification with. The suggestion that the concept of Ulster is representative of the portion of the population that would describe themselves as being anything but Irish is farcical imo.

United by insomnia;)

I don't know anyone from NI who doesn't consider themselves Irish (or Northern Irish). But your very narrow view of Irishness, based on myth, would not suit many, certainly not me. Legends are interesting, but they tell us very little about who we are in a modern context. And all this stuff about being non-native? (not your phrase Scooby). It's very odd from many persectives, not least when we analyse the movement of gaelic-speaking people into what we now call Scotland. When they returned en masse many centuries later, were they returning natives?

Personally, I prefer the mongrel view. We're a mish-mash of settlers from across the ages and actually, our political and historic perspective is based mainly on our upbringing, rather than the blood of our forefathers.

[The Fly]

Like it or not, so long as it remains part of the UK, GSTQ is the NA for NI. It is the equivalent of the SS. And whether or not it reflects people's views is neither here nor there. It's the anthem and should be afforded the same respect as any other anthem.

We will have to agree to disagree on that one. It is Northern Ireland that is being represented, not the UK. It has to have it's own official, cross-community anthem. GTSQ is neither of these and I'm afraid it is 'here or there' whether it reflects/represents the people of Northern Ireland.



Judging by the evidence i.e. their posts, your fellow countrymen are much more pro-royal than I have been, or would ever be. And those that I know (or at least didn't when I saw them last) still live in the RoI.

Pro-royal :confused:..............how so?




But we shouldn't require sympathy, just a level playing field and, the IRFU have failed to provide this. This, added to the whole host of other reasons discussed on this thread demonstrate I think why NI fans would never warm to the idea of an all-Ireland team.

The IRFU has not failed to provide it, Northern Ireland as an entity has failed to provide it by not having it's own anthem, in common with the Scot's and the Welsh.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Personally, I prefer the mongrel view. We're a mish-mash of settlers from across the ages and actually, our political and historic perspective is based mainly on our upbringing, rather than the blood of our forefathers.

Wouldn't agree entirely, but the most objective view to date emanating from the North.
But you need to share this with more than one or two of your, er, compatriots, based on previous experience and the stance of the political parties that represents the vast majority of them.

[Scooby Doo]

United by insomnia;)

I don't know anyone from NI who doesn't consider themselves Irish (or Northern Irish). But your very narrow view of Irishness, based on myth, would not suit many, certainly not me. Legends are interesting, but they tell us very little about who we are in a modern context. And all this stuff about being non-native? (not your phrase Scooby). It's very odd from many persectives, not least when we analyse the movement of gaelic-speaking people into what we now call Scotland. When they returned en masse many centuries later, were they returning natives?

Personally, I prefer the mongrel view. We're a mish-mash of settlers from across the ages and actually, our political and historic perspective is based mainly on our upbringing, rather than the blood of our forefathers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc34JKvCQ3Q feeling mischievous JohnB, but check out 2.45. Funny stuff! ;)
You've got me wrong anyway I'm just saying that the great mythology of Ulster is one of the more important cornerstones of Irish/Gaelic identity and to see the concept of Ulster usurped by staunch unionism annoys me - rightly or wrongly.
(one example) http://gaelico.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/cuchulainn-mural.jpg
But it is only one part of Irish identity, i admit, as important as it is.

[The Fly]

^ sweet Jesus! That's wrong and funny on so many levels.

Oh! while on the subject of murals, apparently one of Thierry Henry is going up on the Shankill Road.

[Scooby Doo]

^ sweet Jesus! That's wrong and funny on so many levels.

Oh! while on the subject of murals, apparently one of Thierry Henry is going up on the Shankill Road.
That is the most pathetic, juvenile thing i've heard in a long time. NI never ceases to amaze me.

[The Fly]

That is the most pathetic, juvenile thing i've heard in a long time. NI never ceases to amaze me.

Prepare to be amazed a bit more Scooby!
It's reported that the mural, which has just been started, will depict Henry with a red-hand, as in the Red-Hand of Ulster, and sporting a Glasgow Rangers top.

Note - this is what is being reported, so don't quote me on it. We'll just have to wait for it to be finished for confirmation, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if it is indeed true. Oh well!

[stiffler]

Prepare to be amazed a bit more Scooby!
It's reported that the mural, which has just been started, will depict Henry with a red-hand, as in the Red-Hand of Ulster, and sporting a Glasgow Rangers top.

Note - this is what is being reported, so don't quote me on it. We'll just have to wait for it to be finished for confirmation, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if it is indeed true. Oh well!

Have you a link for this?! I hope its a wind up!!

[Not Brazil]

But it's your lot NG's & the BNP are appealing to:rolleyes:....Have you not noticed their name or colour scheme??

And in Ireland, no-one's trying to force unionists out, just not wanting them to enforce an aggressive, triumphalist 'Britishness' (Thought you were previously 'Irish'??) on the Native Irish.

They'll never appeal to me - of that I can assure you.;)

Can you please get your head around the fact that I am British and Irish?

Will you accept the democratically expessed wishes of the vast majority of people in your jurisdiction that uphold, and respect, my right to be both?

I seek in no way to assert my "Britishness" agressively, or triumphiantly, upon anyone.

I am "native" to the island of Ireland....born and bred, like generations of my family before me.

I'm not going away.

I can also assure you the nobody will be asserting their narrow, myopic, view of "Irishness" upon me.

[Gather round]

Oui, c'est l'entente cordiale ;)

http://ebooks-imgs.connect.com/product/400/000/000/000/000/105/522/400000000000000105522_s4.jpg

[Scooby Doo]

Prepare to be amazed a bit more Scooby!
It's reported that the mural, which has just been started, will depict Henry with a red-hand, as in the Red-Hand of Ulster, and sporting a Glasgow Rangers top.

Note - this is what is being reported, so don't quote me on it. We'll just have to wait for it to be finished for confirmation, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if it is indeed true. Oh well!
:rolleyes:
classy

[Not Brazil]

If there is vehement opposition to such a proposal so be it.

There is - that's the long and the short of it.

Northern Ireland fans do not wish to see our International team disappear. Simple as that.

[Scooby Doo]

There is - that's the long and the short of it.

Northern Ireland fans do not wish to see our International team disappear. Simple as that.
Fair enough and I respect that wish completely. There was nothing wrong with debating it though - the outcome of that debate being that we all accept that a proposed merging of both associations would not work/be accepted.

[The Fly]

There is - that's the long and the short of it.

Northern Ireland fans do not wish to see our International team disappear. Simple as that.

Not Brazil is right Scooby, the vast majority of Northern Ireland fans would be against it.

It is important, and only obvious, to note though that Northern Ireland fans are not in any way reflective of Northern Ireland as a whole. Indeed, I would estimate that the proportion of the Northern Ireland population who would class themselves as fans of 'Norn Iron' would be less than 50%. Obviously, the vast majority of the Nationaist population naturally support ROI, while a small minority of the Unionist population, (who, one would expect to gravitate towards the NI team), support England.
I'm not sure if many on foot.ie knew that last bit!

[ArdeeBhoy]

I seek in no way to assert my "Britishness" agressively, or triumphiantly, upon anyone.


Ok, so any chance of changing your flag, anthem and ultimate mindset of unionist politicians who don't see themselves as 'Irish' ? Which are all entirely :rolleyes: British and imposed on the native Irish populace!

And note no-one has put up a credible view, not it exists in reality, about how the wider unionist population suddenly becomes 'Irish'....have they run out of postage stamps then?
;)

[ArdeeBhoy]

And all these people who suddenly 'love' Henry, based on their own narrow bigotry, are also claiming to be 'Irish' ! :rolleyes:
Why? No right-thinking Irish person would do such a thing......

[Not Brazil]

As a northerner, I would love to see this happen. I would also love to see Belfast Celtic resurected for the first season of the new league.


I was at an IFA Awards Dinner in the City Hall, Belfast last night.

Jimmy Jones was there to pick up a "Legend" Award, and it was great to see him. Old and frail, but still with a story or two to tell. What a goalscoring record he had.

An emotional Jimmy Jones, commented, “I had a fantastic night and it meant a great deal to me and my family to receive a surprise award”.

The Belfast Celtic Historical Society had a table at the event.

[Gather round]

Indeed, I would estimate that the proportion of the Northern Ireland population who would class themselves as fans of 'Norn Iron' would be less than 50%

Got any evidence for the strength of the relative supports?


Obviously, the vast majority of the Nationaist population naturally support ROI

I think your research might be a bit wee faulty there, Fly. You seem to be downplaying those who support two or more teams, enjoy the game without favoring anyone in particular, or basically aren't interested in a bunch of crybabies whining about losing a bad refereeing decision.


while a small minority of the Unionist population, (who, one would expect to gravitate towards the NI team), support England

Aye, bloody gloryhunters. But don't worry, the new Mrs Lampard will make sure her bloke doesn't score for England.


I'm not sure if many on foot.ie knew that last bit!

Don't be daft, every football-supporting kid on the island knows that most fans support British club teams- and a minority (as you mention) the big neighbor that's most likely to win internationally.

[Not Brazil]

Ok, so any chance of changing your flag, anthem and ultimate mindset of unionist politicians who don't see themselves as 'Irish' ? Which are all entirely :rolleyes: British and imposed on the native Irish populace!


My National Flag is the Union Flag (it even has a St Patrick's Cross in it;) ), and my National Anthem is God Save The Queen.

No apology for that, whatsoever.

No, I won't be changing that.

I would be happy for a new "sporting" anthem to be employed at Northern Ireland games though.

I will not be denouncing my "Irishness", nor will I ever be conceding to your myopic view of what "Irishness" constitutes.