Eligibility Rules, Okay

[DannyInvincible]

Indeed. Skimmed past that claim by the writer that it was Kearns "who took a case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to ensure he could play for the Republic". Embarrassing.

[BonnieShels]

Indeed. Skimmed past that claim by the writer that it was Kearns "who took a case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to ensure he could play for the Republic". Embarrassing.

I didn't even bother with the article. As it's in the Indo I made a presumption it was for the Bellylaugh originally so there's no point other than for me to get angry to read it.

Incidentally, I just read over the CAS judgement there again. It's just breathtaking how flimsy the IFA's argument was from the get-go.

It read in this instance like CAS were admonishing a bold child.

Meanwhile JD was standing behind the teacher (CAS) sticking his tongue out and going "Na na na na na"!

[DannyInvincible]

Karim Benzema has drawn criticism from the French far-right over his refusal to sing 'La Marseillaise': http://www.as.com/english/articulo/french-far-right-calls-for-les/20130319dasdenspo_4/Ten


France's far-right National Front party has called for Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema to be excluded from the French national side. The political party, led by Marine Le Pen, made the declarations in reaction to Benzema's public comments that "Nobody can make me sing the 'Marseillaise'".

The Madrid player told French radio: "I love the national team - I don't understand how anyone can question that. It's a dream to play for France, but nobody can make me sing. I don't see the problem. [France legend] Zinedine Zidane didn't sing the national anthem either. There are fans in the stadium who don't sing. What's important is that we're united."

Le Pen's sporting advisor, Eric Domard, responded to the striker's words with the following statement: "The National Front condemns this insulting attitude that once again sullies the image of the French national team after the fiascos of the team's revolt at World Cup 2010 and the excesses of some players at Euro 2012."

Furthermore, Domard denounced Benzema's comments as "an inconceivable and unacceptable show of contempt", slamming the player as a "footballing mercenary who earns 1,484 euros an hour".

[DannyInvincible]

John Delaney mentioned the eligibility issue and the prospect of a single all-island team in a feature broadcast by Sky Sports News yesterday:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4X4WW_3GmHo


Delaney also defended the FAI against accusations from Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill that they have poached players born in the North to represent the Republic.

He said: "The way I look upon it is we have never asked anyone to play for us who didn't want to play for us, so the players come and declare.

"That can be historic roots too - players like James McClean and Darron Gibson from Derry, they want to play for the Republic of Ireland, that's what they want to do.

"They may have played underage football for the North - and I'm respectful of that - but ultimately it comes down to the players' choice."

However, Delaney admits he would happy to see a team one day representing the whole of Ireland, as their rugby union colleagues do.

He said: "That's something I would personally like to see. I think anything like that is inextricably linked to a solution for the whole island. I don't think that can happen aside of that."

Quotes from this article: http://www.rte.ie/sport/cycling/2013/0320/377483-delaney-reveals-lucrative-job-offer/

[Deckydee]

Doing what he does best at 03:25

[DannyInvincible]

Saw this piece by Arthur Duffy on Danny Lafferty in Tuesday's 'Derry Journal': http://www.derryjournal.com/sport/football/having-a-laff-1-4936404


In fact, commenting in a recent feature in the Burnley Matchday Programme, Lafferty was said to be delighted to be making his “mark for both club and country.”

The former Celtic youngster made no secret of the fact that graduating onto the international stage was always on his personal agenda having represented N. Ireland at Schoolboy, Youth and Under-21 levels.

He talked about Derry City and the fact that so many young players had opted to declare for the “South” rather than the “North” during his time as a full-time footballer.

“Derry seems to be a place where people had always been prepared to leave the North and declare for the South - Darron Gibson, Shane Duffy and James McClean - are probably the main three,” said Danny.

“I also could have had the option if I’d wanted it. I could always have chosen to go to the South at a younger age level, but I probably wouldn’t have made the grade at that time,” he maintained.

“Then again, I was never invited to play for the South, whereas with N. Ireland I have always had an involvement from schoolboy level.

“With me, it was never a sectarian thing or anything like that. N. Ireland gave me all my caps at schoolboy and youth level right up, so I felt it would be very disrespectful of me to simply turn my back on the North and then join the South just because of my religion.

“I also met Michael O’Neill when he became the international manager and I knew him from playing in the League of Ireland as he managed Shamrock Rovers. It was Michael who presented me with an opportunity to play at senior international level which has always been one of my ambitions,” continued Danny.

Lafferty was also honest enough to suggest that there was a much better chance of him getting regular international football for the North than there would have been in the South, had he opted to try his luck south of the border.

...

“I am thoroughly enjoying playing for N. Ireland at the top level. I’m playing for N. Ireland because that’s were I’m from. And I also think it’s good that I am another Catholic playing for the senior team. Thankfully, both politics and football have moved forward and I’m delighted to be a part of that as well.”

Lafferty’s commitment to the Northern Ireland cause has seen him sign-up as an IFA Ambassador for the “Football For All” Project, which uses the sport to promote peace and reconciliation and bring together both sides of the religious divide. And Danny was back in his home town earlier this year to promote the project in the company of his N. Ireland boss.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Aye, dunno how good he is but mentioned in the context of their game at Blackburn this pm, as the 'big' game of the day cross channel.

[DannyInvincible]

Was there a Union flag flying officially in Windsor Park the other evening? Looks like it: https://twitter.com/AreWeACountry/status/317712298217201664

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BGi9puSCYAA9aJg.jpg

[Sullivinho]

Football for all.

[ArdeeBhoy]

You missed the word 'unionists'.
:rolleyes:



Was there a Union flag flying officially in Windsor Park the other evening? Looks like it: https://twitter.com/AreWeACountry/status/317712298217201664

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BGi9puSCYAA9aJg.jpg
Tbf, as I'm sure Danny knows, the ratio of UJ's to the 'official' flag of the North must be about 100 to 1 in the Six Counties.

City Hall aside, be interesting to know from Northern posters, how many of the latter they've spotted on a regular basis?

On my last visit to Beal-feirste must have seen have seen about 2 or 3, compared to about 500 or so of the main 'fleg'...
It was the summer mind.

[DannyInvincible]

That's true, but my understanding is that the 'Ulster Banner' is the IFA's official designated or representative flag, as far as FIFA are concerned.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Aye, but Tbf to the IFA that could be a Linfield 'fleg'.

Ironically, as it stands the next Commonwealth Games could start in a stadium with a tricolour (Irish) on its roof...

[Not Brazil]

Was there a Union flag flying officially in Windsor Park the other evening? Looks like it: https://twitter.com/AreWeACountry/status/317712298217201664


I didn't attend the match through the week.

The Union Flag, and a Linfield Flag, are normally flown on the poles in the picture - they are, in my experience, removed for Northern Ireland matches. Can't comment on whether this was an oversight, or a deliberate change in protocol

The "official" flags are flown from poles on the roof of the North Stand - consisting of the National Flag of the visiting team, the "Ulster Banner" and the FIFA flag.

[Not Brazil]

Tbf, as I'm sure Danny knows, the ratio of UJ's to the 'official' flag of the North must be about 100 to 1 in the Six Counties.


I'm sure Danny also knows that the "official" flag of Northern Ireland is the Union Flag.:D

[ArdeeBhoy]

Fair enough. But what's the 'b*stardized' Ulster flag for then? If it's not the official 'fleg' of the North?
Why the other 'fleg', or are Linfield more Brits than the IFA?

And why don't Stormont/the IFA use the St.Patrick's Cross, especially to accommodate all those 'Irish' unionists...
:rolleyes:

[Not Brazil]

Fair enough. But what's the 'b*stardized' Ulster flag for then? If it's not the official 'fleg' of the North?
Why the other 'fleg', or are Linfield more Brits than the IFA?

And why don't Stormont/the IFA use the St.Patrick's Cross, especially to accommodate all those 'Irish' unionists...
:rolleyes:

The Ulster Banner is the flag "officially" used by the Irish Football Association for International games - a change to the Cross of Saint Patrick would be a good shout - I would have no issues with that at all.

The National Flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will proudly be flown, officially, at Linfield home matches until our Membership decide otherwise.

Linfield are not the only Irish League club to officially fly the National Flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland at home matches.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Heh, fair answer.
Am bemused though why the 'Ulster banner' doesn't get more of a look-in, as there seems to be a lot for the North's games these days, but nowhere else in official or public life on the same scale?

Linfield's stance is completely unsurprising, but also that they don't fly both, or does the one undermine the other?

[Not Brazil]

Heh, fair answer.
Am bemused though why the 'Ulster banner' doesn't get more of a look-in, as there seems to be a lot for the North's games these days, but nowhere else in official or public life on the same scale?

Linfield's stance is completely unsurprising, but also that they don't fly both, or does the one undermine the other?

The "Ulster Banner" is probably the single most popular flag used by Northern Ireland fans at matches nowadays - when I was a lot younger, it was definately the Union Flag which was most popular.

I guess the Union Flag is more widely used in public life because it is the "official" flag of Northern Ireland - during the "marching season", I still see lots of "Ulster Banners" flying in Unionist areas, throughout Northern Ireland - I suspect this year there will be a lot more Union Flags, given the whole City Hall controversy.

My local Council Buildings have the Union Flag and the Ulster Banner both flying officially.

Linfield FC just fly the Union Flag and a Club Flag - never really thought about why an Ulster Banner is not flown also, to be honest.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Yeah, if you see photos of WC '82 & '86, conspicuous by its absence.

Seen a little concentration of the 'banner' round the entrance to the Shankhill, otherwise it was the other 'fleg' Everywhere...but interested the former is more widespread.
Though clearly you spend more time in unionist areas than I do!

[Not Brazil]

Yeah, if you see photos of WC '82 & '86, conspicuous by its absence.

Seen a little concentration of the 'banner' round the entrance to the Shankhill, otherwise it was the other 'fleg' Everywhere...but interested the former is more widespread.
Though clearly you spend more time in unionist areas than I do!

I was at the WC Finals in 82 - most of my mates had Ulster Banners with them (myself included) - except the Catholic lad rooming with us - he had a, somewhat embarrassing, bedsheet with "Billy Bingham Bites Yer Bum" scawled on it.

Those were the days when England fans still had lots of Union Flags in their ranks.

I spend time, through work, in both Unionist and Nationalist areas, and see all sorts of flags and symbols - I live in an extremely mixed area, where flags are not flown by the the residents.

[ArdeeBhoy]

True about the English...

[DannyInvincible]

Heh, fair answer.
Am bemused though why the 'Ulster banner' doesn't get more of a look-in, as there seems to be a lot for the North's games these days, but nowhere else in official or public life on the same scale?

It's not that uncommon to see it flying from lamp posts and the like. Or hasn't been in recent years anyway. I've seen plenty of 'Ulster Banners' around the Fountain and Waterside areas of Derry as well as throughout the north. It doesn't have any official standing whatsoever, mind, which is why it's invisible in terms of official/public life. It only possessed official status as the flag of the Government of Northern Ireland between 1953 and 1972. Said government was abolished in 1972, and so the flag's official status ceased. I'd guess its popularity over the umbrella Union flag with IFA/NI fans is due to the fact that it can be used as a symbol to differentiate/distinguish their side from the other British sides, who also use their own representative flags. It's still very much a unionist/loyalist symbol though, which is fine, if that's what they wanna go with. Just thought it odd to see the Union flag flying in Windsor in what looked like an official capacity as that's more overtly British rather than solely representative of NI.

[DannyInvincible]

Interesting read, this...

'Billy’s boys still cast long shadow': http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/soccer/billys-boys-still-cast-long-shadow-226925.html


... Twenty years on, and you’ve arrived at the offices of the Irish Football Association with a book’s worth of ugly stories and with the dirty smudge of history that can never be wiped away. You wonder how much has changed because the governing body is still tarnished by it all, seen as an organisation that represents a very specific sector of the community.

The building itself is where Thomas Andrews, designer of the Titanic, lived and the spectacular staircase that leads to the chief executive’s office is a replica of that which graced the sunken ship. There, Patrick Nelson stretches out his hand and is anxious to tell you that his mother is from Cabra and his father is from Kilkeel. But after that, there’s either a reluctance or a void, depending on how severe you wish to be.

He’s been in this role since 2009 so you ask what he’s done to integrate nationalists. “Well Windsor Park is being overhauled so I think the look and feel of the stadium will help. It’s going to be a welcoming, up to date, family-orientated stadium. We can make it open and welcoming.”

What about the anthem, you add, mentioning God Save the Queen as the elephant in the room? “I don’t know. I don’t know. We are here to do what we can, as well as we can, and we’re proud of what we’re trying to get done.”

Has the anthem been considered, you continue? “I think we are aware of those feelings at this point but that’s about as far as it would go.”

So you haven’t considered doing something about it? “No.”

Altering the tempo, you ask about players defecting to the south, name checking James McClean.

“I think that was his choice and we respect his choice. Our job is to make all of our squads as welcoming and open as they can be.”

Does the anthem not come into making it more welcoming, you say, returning to the same point from a different avenue? “I don’t know,” he replies. “You’d have to ask some of the players that.”

You leave Nelson’s office feeling a little confused by it all. His avoidance of such a massive issue doesn’t fill you with confidence as rhetoric is easier than action and he can’t even muster that. So looking for more insight into the thinking, the work and the plans of the IFA, you meet Michael Boyd, who leads their community relations team. He’s engaging and intelligent and clearly belongs to a new generation of Northern Irish people looking to pave their own path.

“It’s not an easy job but it’s very rewarding and when you see grassroots projects like Limestone United, where we work in conjunction with the police and community groups and are bringing together lads who would have traditionally been fighting each other on an interface. We’re able to develop workshops off that, create positives for young people. It might be a small amount of people but it’s still very rewarding. Granted, in this sort of work you develop a thick skin and realise there are ups and downs.

“But there’s a growing Northern Irish identity. That doesn’t mean that sectarianism isn’t a problem but kids today are starting to see themselves as Northern Irish, not British or Irish. When I first started working here a lot of people in high positions that should have known better were telling me that Northern Irish fans are a bunch of animals. My experience is they’ve been absolutely amazing; it’s just about listening to them. As for people who say we’ll never get into nationalist areas? It’s the same old negativity. That spurs me on and I want to get in there and create change.”

He continues talking about all the low-level initiatives he and his team are working on, and while it’s impressive, some counterpoints cross your mind. As much as bottom-up change is welcome, it will always be crushed by the top-down perception while it’s allowed to exist. And while there are many alterations taking place, until pillars such as the anthem are scrapped, it’s like changing the carpets while the leak in the roof remains untouched.

“It’s an interesting question,” Boyd says of the anthem. “We are currently working on a fan strategy and talking to supporters’ groups about the barriers to people getting involved. It’ll be interesting to see what comes out of that. But it’s a tough one, I personally think anthems need to be respected but to be seen to be supporting it could be an issue within your community. But the players all respect the anthem and that’s a healthy starting point.”

With that, you feel obliged to mention how Northern Ireland are the last ones clinging to a sharp sliver of history long after Wales and Scotland left the past behind.

“We are trying to find out is the anthem important to the fans and part of their identity,” Boyd retorts. “The fact we are on the front foot and we are out consulting, that’s healthy. And it could come back that Northern Ireland fans who have been involved in our consultations see God Save the Queen as incredibly important.”

Boyd points to the move away from sectarian songs being a fan-driven initiative and you get the sense of a power-to-the-people style movement within the IFA. When he started in the role, between 2000 and 2002, there were just 12 supporters’ clubs so he invited them into this building for the first time. Since then, their relationship has improved to the extent that the Amalgamation of Official Northern Ireland Supporters’ Clubs [AONISC] has over 50 member groups, have a big say in the future direction and have played an integral part in a review of all issues, of which a draft report will be released in the summer.

But again there’s a caveat. Power to what people exactly? By asking the supporters’ clubs about issues, in the hope making Northern Irish soccer more inclusive, the IFA are receiving feedback from the people nationalists feel alienated them in the first place.

And to get a sense of the type of feedback the IFA are getting, the next stop is Gary McAllister, chairman of [AONISC]. You ask about what happened 20 years ago and his opening words make you realise the size of the chasm that exists.

“Yeah, March 1993, a bad day for us in Dublin, we were quite comprehensively beaten and there were chants from their fans about only one team in Ireland. That was hurtful and humiliating. So it was bitter here when they came up for the return game. The backdrop was two of the worst atrocities during that period. You had the bomb on the Shankill and the massacre in Derry. But we’ve worked very hard as fans and like to think that nights like that would never happen again. We have to accept things that happened weren’t acceptable but we are doing our best to improve.”

From what you see and hear, they are certainly doing something but that doesn’t mean there’s not a way to go. McAllister doesn’t know how many of the supporters’ clubs his group represent are nationalist and admits the anthem has never been raised as an issue. So you tell him about the criticism the national team receive from outside.

“Perception is one thing, reality is another,” he stresses. “A lot of it comes from people that don’t go to Northern Ireland games yet they still say we are challenged in our attitude to sectarianism at international matches. But we have to be honest and say there is a percentage that will never support us for reasons political or otherwise.

“And honestly, the FAI haven’t helped. There’s an arrogance about them. They can’t claim to have great relations with us given the players that have been taking. As for those players, I think they need to be honest. Don’t go away after four years of underage saying your heart was never in it because all you are doing is wasting time and resources and denying a player that’d be proud to play for us.”

There are more supporters’ groups in Northern Ireland than just those represented by the AONISC. And there are more supporters’ groups than those that follow Northern Ireland. Paul Loughran is head of the West Belfast Republic of Ireland Supporters’ Club, one of several in the province that give their allegiance to the south. And he has a story to reinforce just why he and others stay clear of a team much closer to home. Back in 2011, he got talking to a bus driver who was chartered to take some Northern fans to a Nations Cup game in Dublin. The driver returned muttering ‘Never again’. A Catholic, he had to listen to sectarian chants all the way up and down the M1. Loughran claims it’s the same abroad and says anyone who has seen Northern Ireland fans in action cannot escape their true colours.

“We go down to all the Republic games, there’s a Protestant guy that comes down with us and we avoid sectarianism,” he notes. “But there seems to be no control of Northern Ireland fans. I don’t know one Northern Ireland fan from a Catholic background. There are no Catholic supporters’ clubs for the North. Okay, you can’t tarnish all fans and I know a lot of very good Northern Ireland fans but there’s a hard core that’s very hard to penetrate and that means it’s very biased and bitter.”

The solution in his eyes would be an all-Ireland team but that’s one issue he and IFA chief executive Nelson agree on. They both say it’ll never happen yet Loughran can’t get his head around it.

When he was growing up, the great Protestant sports were hockey and rugby but both are now represented by 32-county teams. “I suppose it’s politically motivated,” he concludes. “George Best said he’d love to see an all-Ireland team. Keith Gillespie said the other day his regret was never playing for a united Ireland. But the IFA are stuck in their ways. There are a lot of political connotations in everything they do.”

...

[DannyInvincible]

...

With everybody on this journey, you have to first realise where they come from to understand their viewpoint as so many opinions in Belfast are still manipulated by background. So for something a little more neutral, perhaps Gerry Armstrong is best having straddled both sides. He says he never had a problem standing for the anthem as it just meant standing shoulder to shoulder with team-mates in his mind. He even went looking for a solution, approaching his friend, Snow Patrol lead singer Gary Lightbody, who offered to come up with a new song not so long back. In fact just last year Armstrong spent his time working as elite player mentor with the IFA, talking to young Catholics in the hope of dissuading them from switching sides.

“A lot of the families of the players that switched, they’d be big republicans but people have to be bigger than that. They have to play a part in helping us to develop as a nation. For instance, I spoke to McClean three or four times and wanted him to come play for the right reasons. A lovely lad, smashing, and he said, ‘I want to play for the Republic, well actually my family want me to play for them’. And I said, ‘Well, it’s what you want’. He said he felt under pressure all the time but everyone is under pressure and you still have to make the right decisions. He should have stayed. We have a lot of kids that went down to play for the Republic when they were 16 and 17, and they came back a year later saying they didn’t feel comfortable or wanted or part of it.

“So it’s important kids like that are a part of the new Northern Ireland. A lot of the kids coming through are Catholic, particularly in Derry where the talent is unreal. The Irish FA have invested — and I know this for a fact — hundreds of thousands developing them. That’s why I was particularly angry with McClean. I totally understood his decision, but then he started mouthing, slagging off the IFA. They paid for his development and he should know better than to cut off the hand that feeds you. I felt hurt by that, hurt for the IFA and the fans. I was left thinking it was a wee bit of ignorance on his part and maybe that’s the problem, maybe there is a lack of understanding. I just hope we can move beyond that.”

...

Ewan McKenna, who penned the piece, appears to suggest that Patrick Nelson, the IFA's chief executive, is supportive of the idea of a single all-island team; that's news to me.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Would there ever really be any chance of the North coming up with their own anthem, and not enduring a ****storm that would put the Flegs thing to shame?

[Fixer82]

Don't think Gregory Campbell would be in favour.

Or Edwin Poots, NI Health Minister, for that matter.
A tweet from him today:

Edwin Poots ‏@edwin_poots (https://twitter.com/edwin_poots)2h (https://twitter.com/edwin_poots/status/318332190289170432)
Had forgotten it is the 97th anniversary of a failed rising by subversives.

[BonnieShels]

Don't think Gregory Campbell would be in favour.

Or Edwin Poots, NI Health Minister, for that matter.
A tweet from him today:

Edwin Poots ‏@edwin_poots (https://twitter.com/edwin_poots)2h (https://twitter.com/edwin_poots/status/318332190289170432)
Had forgotten it is the 97th anniversary of a failed rising by subversives.
I'm with Edwin on that.

Think the celebration surrounding the Rising is a little bizarre. I thank god I won't be in Ireland in 2016.

[DannyInvincible]

Don't think Gregory Campbell would be in favour.

Or Edwin Poots, NI Health Minister, for that matter.
A tweet from him today:

Edwin Poots ‏@edwin_poots (https://twitter.com/edwin_poots)2h (https://twitter.com/edwin_poots/status/318332190289170432)
Had forgotten it is the 97th anniversary of a failed rising by subversives.

Ha, feigning forgetfulness to stir the pot. What a troll; clearly can't help himself...

[geysir]

Ewan McKenna, who penned the piece, appears to suggest that Patrick Nelson, the IFA's chief executive, is supportive of the idea of a single all-island team; that's news to me.
I don't think so Danny. At least that's not how I read it.

'The solution in his Loughran's eyes would be an all-Ireland team but that’s one issue he and IFA chief executive Nelson agree on. They both say it’ll never happen yet Loughran can’t get his head around it.'

Armstrong's comments are curious, first he says that McClean (a smashing lad) was pressured by his republican family to change to the FAI, then he later states that maybe McClean's (and other players') ignorance is the problem, problem being with players declaring for the FAI. Gerry doesn't do deep thinking, does he?

[DannyInvincible]

I'm with Edwin on that.

Think the celebration surrounding the Rising is a little bizarre. I thank god I won't be in Ireland in 2016.

I never really get the moral distinction alleged between the circumstances of 1916 and the recent/contemporary environment of the Troubles/post-conflict era by celebrants who condemn latter-day militant republicanism. Apparently, things were different then and that's that...

[DannyInvincible]

I don't think so Danny. At least that's not how I read it.

'The solution in his Loughran's eyes would be an all-Ireland team but that’s one issue he and IFA chief executive Nelson agree on. They both say it’ll never happen yet Loughran can’t get his head around it.'

Ah, perhaps I misinterpreted. They agree it'll never happen. That would make more sense.

[geysir]

Ah, perhaps I misinterpreted. They agree it'll never happen. That would make more sense.
It was easy to misinterpret it, with the way that bit was written.

[Fixer82]

I'm with Edwin on that.

Think the celebration surrounding the Rising is a little bizarre. I thank god I won't be in Ireland in 2016.

The rising may have been a military failure but it was all about making a sacrifice.
It was the catalyst that sparked the War of Independence and awakened a nation

[Sullivinho]

Armstrong's comments are curious, first he says that McClean (a smashing lad) was pressured by his republican family to change to the FAI, then he later states that maybe McClean's (and other players') ignorance is the problem, problem being with players declaring for the FAI. Gerry doesn't do deep thinking, does he?

Curiosities and contradiction abound when trying to explain the inexplicable. Family? Ignorance? Extraterrestrial mind control? All possibilities. What is absolutely beyond doubt is no one should ever, ever have an issue representing Northern Ireland. That is the axiom from which all further reasoning must proceed.

[ArdeeBhoy]

The only problem with that it seems in perpetuity, there will be a debate about whether it should even exist, let alone have representative sports teams...

[ArdeeBhoy]

Ewan McKenna, who penned the piece, appears to suggest that Patrick Nelson, the IFA's chief executive, is supportive of the idea of a single all-island team; that's news to me.

A turkey voting for Christmas? Hmm.
Though good on him If he was that enlightened...

[ArdeeBhoy]

I thank god I won't be in Ireland in 2016.
Why? Where will you be?

[BonnieShels]

Why? Where will you be?

Most likely Canadia.

[BonnieShels]

The rising may have been a military failure but it was all about making a sacrifice.
It was the catalyst that sparked the War of Independence and awakened a nation

It was far from a catalyst .That indicates a benign effect on the agents it wished to change.

The rising was far from benign.

I fail to see how up until that moment the "nation" was asleep?

EDIT: I kinda wished I waited 10 more minutes to respond.

[geysir]

Yeah, f'eck off to Canada so.
:D

[Fixer82]

It was far from a catalyst .That indicates a benign effect on the agents it wished to change.

The rising was far from benign.

I fail to see how up until that moment the "nation" was asleep?

EDIT: I kinda wished I waited 10 more minutes to respond.

Well the nation was pretty quiet about kicking the Brits out, aside from a small few who knew their history (Tom Barry, for example, knew nothing of Irish history and was in Iraq in the British Army when he heard about the Easter Rising - then he took an active interest and educated himself on his country's history and soon after left the British Army and started up his own little outfit).
There was talk of Home Rule for years. There was disquiet here and there but a general sense of apathy among the population really.
That was until the leaders of the Rising were shot and people got very very annoyed.. you might even say it stirred something in them and woke them up to the idea of having a different future.

[BonnieShels]

Yeah, f'eck off to Canada so.
:D

Before I land in Canada I'll head to Iceland as part of my RTW ticket! Sure it's on the way.

@Fixer, I accept what you are getting at now. I still think that the killing of the belligerents rather than the Rising itself is what was the "catalyst". In other words a PR disaster for the British and a pain in the rectum for the country ever since.

[NeverFeltBetter]

"Talk of Home Rule"

It was a bit more than talk, in fairness.

My general opinion on the centenaries is that commemoration does not have have to mean veneration or condemnation and is abused when framed in either way. If the "centenary decade" gets people discussing the events of 100 years ago and drawing educated conclusions, then I'm all for it. But certainly some kind of 1966-style celebration would leave me feeling distinctly uneasy. Of course, a sombre dirge filled memorial would leave me bored and uninterested. I'm not sure how you balance all these things out. (Man, are we off-topic).

[BonnieShels]

"Talk of Home Rule"

It was a bit more than talk, in fairness.

My general opinion on the centenaries is that commemoration does not have have to mean veneration or condemnation and is abused when framed in either way. If the "centenary decade" gets people discussing the events of 100 years ago and drawing educated conclusions, then I'm all for it. But certainly some kind of 1966-style celebration would leave me feeling distinctly uneasy. Of course, a sombre dirge filled memorial would leave me bored and uninterested. I'm not sure how you balance all these things out. (Man, are we off-topic).

Let's take to where the flegs are discussed. Seems legit.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Let's, erm, not...

[gastric]

Let's take to where the flegs are discussed. Seems legit.

Off topic, due to that Unionist apologist - Bonnie! I reckon he is in cahoots with Edwin the Confessor, telling us how true Unionists feel. Be careful, Stu and Colbert, when Bonnie Prince Shels arrives in Canada. Unfortunately it seems he is invading Oz first!

[ArdeeBhoy]

Let's, erm, not...



But certainly some kind of 1966-style celebration would leave me feeling distinctly uneasy. Of course, a sombre dirge filled memorial would leave me bored and uninterested.

You remember the commemoration from 47 years ago?
:rolleyes:

[gastric]

Let's, erm, not...

Still banned Ardee?

[ArdeeBhoy]

Aye, who knows why.

[BonnieShels]

Off topic, due to that Unionist apologist - Bonnie! I reckon he is in cahoots with Edwin the Confessor, telling us how true Unionists feel. Be careful, Stu and Colbert, when Bonnie Prince Shels arrives in Canada. Unfortunately it seems he is invading Oz first!

Well I'm going hunting geysir first. The Coldies will have to wait.