Norn Iron rubbish part 23452346526

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Originally Posted by geysir

By the sounds of it, Sir Henry the FAI president was a Unionist.
Interesting story around the split. One or probably both parties were not with serious intent on maintaining football unity except under their umbrella.
I wonder how the other main sports like rugby didn't suffer the same (mis)fortune.

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No idea of Sir Henry's politics but probably a fair assumption.

I think one of the important things to bear in mind that the split was very much club driven and club focussed and was because the southern clubs felt they were getting a raw deal. It was Shels being forced to go back to Belfast for a cup replay that was considered to be the straw that broke the camel's back. The IFA's argument was that Dublin was unsafe due to the War of Independence.

The IFA probably saw the FAI as upstarts who would come crawling back with their tail between their legs in a few years.

I think it is also fair to say that the FAI document referenced by Brodie & Byrne (even allowing for slight differences) was hardly one of reconciliation.
However given virtually nothing else seems to be known about the meetings it is hard to tell. Given the IFA came to Dublin for the last one would indicate that they at least were being serious albeit presumably on their terms.

The French and subsequent FIFA recognition in 1923 appears to have been key to the survival and future of the FAI.

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Originally Posted by gspain

The French and subsequent FIFA recognition in 1923 appears to have been key to the survival and future of the FAI.

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Now there's irony.

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Originally Posted by Not Brazil

Rather than base my analysis/hopes about "the big one" on crude sectarian headcounts, I would be more minded to study what peoples attitudes are.

eg,

http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/2007/Polit.../NIRELND2.html

Furthermore, with the Celtic Tiger falling apart, I don't think a lot of the 66% of those favouring the Union, will be changing their mind any time soon.

By the way, if I can be convinced that me and my family would be better off in a "United" Ireland than by remaining part of the UK, i'll vote for it.

Similarly, if anyone can convince me why it would be a good idea that the International football team I support disappears, I'll buy the ticket.

Unfortunately, people demonising/vilifying/labelling me for making considered, grown up, decisions on such issues won't be going anyway towards convincing me that those people are right.

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That NILT survey is rubbish. It also states that the percentage of people who would vote for SF in the north is 12-14% when it is in fact 26%.

Republicans/nationalists if asked by any stranger they did not know were asked if they were a Republican they would either not respond or lie.

A lot of Republicans keep their beliefs to themselves as they are anti-establishment and anti-status quo.

If you want proof of this just look at past surveys that polled large amounts of people during elections, the polls would state that SF were a small party yet when it came to voting in the privacy of the booth, people made SF the second largest party in the north.

With all due respect Kingdom Kerrry I do not believe the majority of folks in the north whether they be Catholic/Protestant, Loyalist/Republican, Nationalist/Unionist would vote to join the south. The border is there and alot of people are making alot of money out of the border whether it be legal or illegal. In this day and age money talks and i believe the average northerner would not see an advantage to joining the south because of the extra euros flooding in up there. on the flipside if and when the sterling strengthens again the reverse may happen.
as long as there is profit to be made out of the border then it will be there

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Originally Posted by jinxy lilywhite

With all due respect Kingdom Kerrry I do not believe the majority of folks in the north whether they be Catholic/Protestant, Loyalist/Republican, Nationalist/Unionist would vote to join the south. The border is there and alot of people are making alot of money out of the border whether it be legal or illegal. In this day and age money talks and i believe the average northerner would not see an advantage to joining the south because of the extra euros flooding in up there. on the flipside if and when the sterling strengthens again the reverse may happen.
as long as there is profit to be made out of the border then it will be there

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Not only that but its certainly not guaranteed that people down here will vote to take the North on either.

We cant afford ourselves, and NI is a huge drain on the British economy, imagine what it'd do to ours.

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Originally Posted by jinxy lilywhite

With all due respect Kingdom Kerrry I do not believe the majority of folks in the north whether they be Catholic/Protestant, Loyalist/Republican, Nationalist/Unionist would vote to join the south. The border is there and alot of people are making alot of money out of the border whether it be legal or illegal. In this day and age money talks and i believe the average northerner would not see an advantage to joining the south because of the extra euros flooding in up there. on the flipside if and when the sterling strengthens again the reverse may happen.
as long as there is profit to be made out of the border then it will be there

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I agree a majority would not vote for unification in the present. It cant be ruled out in the future is all im saying considering the changing demographics.

Im only trying to argue this because I think it is relevant to the thread (merging IFA and FAI)

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Originally Posted by EalingGreen

However, the IFA delegation was described by Brodie as being "baffled" that immediately after the Meeting, the FAI delegation was able to produce a typed Statement, which outlined their conclusions (i.e. the clear implication being that this must have been prepared before they even met the IFA).

.......................

It is no wonder that Capt. Wilton, the leader of the IFA delegation, was to describe this Statement (I'm tempted to call it "Easter Proclamation II" :rolleyes:) as "Impossible" and "out of the question", causing them to leave the Conference.

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Sounds like Wilton was grandstanding.
I don't see the evidence pointing beyond the face value, the FAI prepared their points, typed them out before the meeting and presented the same points afterwards to any press. I see any special significance attached to that.

The bone of contention was what was contained in the 8 points and the lack of any compromise or resolutions.

Northern Ireland are crap.

[QUOTE=kingdomkerry;1294531
Republicans/nationalists if asked by any stranger they did not know were asked if they were a Republican they would either not respond or lie.
[/QUOTE]

Interesting mindset.

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Originally Posted by kingdomkerry

That NILT survey is rubbish.

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It's easy, and convenient, for you to dismiss it as "rubbish", as it blows apart some of your earlier assertions.

You'll find lots more detailed surveys conducted by NILT which may leave you scratching your head, and re-thinking your assertions.;)

Interesting posts about the early football history from Messrs GSpain, Ealing and Co. Down.

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Originally Posted by Kingdom Kerry

That NILT survey is rubbish. It also states that the percentage of people who would vote for SF in the north is 12-14% when it is in fact 26%

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We already know how many vote Sinn Fein. That's the best guide to how many will vote for them in the near future.

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A lot of Republicans keep their beliefs to themselves as they are anti-establishment and anti-status quo

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Why, are they ashamed of being republicans? ;)

This is common enough. Many DUP voters have long claimed to vote for other parties, ditto Conservative voters in England during Thatcherism, and I daresay much of Fianna Fail's support in the Republic.

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I agree a majority would not vote for unification in the present. It cant be ruled out in the future is all im saying considering the changing demographics

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Not ruling it out is rather less than your claim earlier- you seemed to think then that it was inevitable and anyone challenging this was in denial...

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Originally Posted by Jinxy Lilywhite

i believe the average northerner would not see an advantage to joining the south because of the extra euros flooding in up there. on the flipside if and when the sterling strengthens again the reverse may happen...as long as there is profit to be made out of the border then it will be there

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That suggests support for a border (ie, unionism) should fluctuate sharply with currency exchange rates. In practice this is a minor factor compared to national identity.

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Originally Posted by micls

We cant afford ourselves, and NI is a huge drain on the British economy, imagine what it'd do to ours

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NI is rather less of a drain than during 30 years of political violence. And to stress, it's only 3% of the population of Britain (as opposed to 30% of Ireland). It's little more of a drain on the British economy than Tyneside or the Black Country (similarly sized areas with low income per head and high unemployment).

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Originally Posted by kingdomkerry

I agree a majority would not vote for unification in the present. It cant be ruled out in the future is all im saying considering the changing demographics.

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1998

http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/1998/Polit.../NIRELAND.html

2008

http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/2008/Polit.../NIRELND2.html

Not too much "change in demographics" there then.:)

Keep the dream alive - even when the evidence doesn't stack up.

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Originally Posted by co. down green

Wilton's son Claude, was a prominemt member of the civil rights movement in Derry in 1968, and in later years became a member of ther SDLP.

Ivan Cooper, who was a close friend of Claude's, said: "He was one of the legends of this city. He did not choose the path of his family. His father was a Unionist Mayor of Derry but Claude chose a different path, the path of civil rights. Instead of playing rugby he played football with the common five eights of this city. He was there on October 5, 1968 and was prominent in every facet of working-class life in this city."

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Interesting observation, CDG. It gave me cause to root around a wee bit more for info on Claude, including finding the last part of that tribute by Cooper - i.e. his (Wilton's) campaigning slogan was "Vote for Claude, the Catholic Prod!" ;)

Anyhow, I feel that Cooper is incorrect when he implies that Claude's choice of football was a sign of his solidarity etc with the ordinary people of Derry.

For if you look at his background, he had a dual* sporting heritage. As a (middle-class) pupil at Foyle & Londonderry college, then a student at TCD, he was immersed in rugby.

But his father was a former NI international footballer, whose career in football administration later saw him become President of the IFA. Moreoever, his uncle Robert (James' brother) was also a noted footballing figure, including with Limavady United and the North West FA etc.

Anyhow, it would appear from the "Football" section of this Radio Foyle interview with Claude that he simply preferred football (or "sawkker" as he called it) to rugby, but not so much that it prevented him for playing the latter for City of Derry RFC for a while:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland...e_wilton.shtml

Fascinating character all round.




* - Triple, actually, if you add Cricket

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Originally Posted by Not Brazil

1998

http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/1998/Polit.../NIRELAND.html

2008

http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/2008/Polit.../NIRELND2.html

Not too much "change in demographics" there then.:)

Keep the dream alive - even when the evidence doesn't stack up.

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Evidence does'nt stack up eh :rolleyes:

I stated that demographic change is occuring in favour of nationalism. I provided evidence for this. http://ulstersdoomed.blogspot.com/se...bel/Demography

Heres some more http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/ni/religion.htm#ni-rel-02 Note the catholic/nationalist population has gone up from approx 33% in 1921 to approx 43% at present.

You will find more here http://www.nisra.gov.uk/

I then got the repartition arguement. Im not even going to argue against this because in order for this to happen it would involve nationalist ireland and the irish gov to agree. Will never happen.

Your last throw of the dice was the NILT "opinion polls"
Im discrediting these polls not because "its easy and convenient" but

1.People lie in NI opinion polls.
The same poll showed 12-14% of the NI electorate vote for SF. In the election they got over 26%. This shows the poll is not accurate.

2.People do not know what they are voting for.
Even if these polls were accurate I would not be worried. To quote a poster on a different forum

Until such time as we receive a Unity paper, there is absolutely no point in asking anyone what they support.

Its true that historically a percentage of Catholics favoured the status quo , but this was always in absence of a detailed proposal of change.

Those who do not support unity now are not necessarily Unionists, they are people without a choice.
The only thing they know is the status quo.
Until you hand them an alternative with facts there is no point in polling them.

Would people have voted for the Lisbon treaty before they heard any details about it?
Why do people expect a biast poll to give an accurate result?
Its not a poll on the United Kingdom verses complete Independence of Ireland.
Its a poll on wether people want something they know, or something they know nothing about.
I'm surprised the polls get the results they do, its very encouraging for Republicanism.
We only need to convince about an extra 20% of the norths electorate with a unity paper.
Get the north and souths governments together and create a Unity paper.
Tell me what's in it and then you can ask me If I will vote for it.

Until such a time you are merely polling people on whether they want things to remain as they are, or to change into something they have zero information about.
A poll is void if it is devoid of detail of facts.

The only polls which will matter will be the polls that are asking the voters near a referendum, when they have facts and details.
We haven't reached that point so its all pointless, and pointless arguing about it.


As they say statistics dont lie but liars can use statistics;)

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Originally Posted by kingdomkerry

That NILT survey is rubbish. It also states that the percentage of people who would vote for SF in the north is 12-14% when it is in fact 26%.

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The survey linked by NB was basically rubbished my most commentators the week it was released in June 2009. I’m not sure why anyone would give a survey of 1000 odd people that much time anyway, especially when it consistently gets it so wrong.

The European election results the week after this survey was released ensured that it was seen as pointless and of little real benefit or use as an indicator of real trends or thoughts. The fact that it was so innacurate in gauging party support was probably the reason that its findings have been given so little coverage in the press or media.

Democratic elections are a much clearer indication of people’s beliefs and aspirations & the 42.5% turnout for Nationalism in ther last Euro elections is a real indication of where people stand on the National question.

The creation of a united Ireland football team is the declared policy of both the SDLP and Sinn Féin, as stated in their manifestos, and both parties have openly called for the creation a single team on the island. The SDLP especially, have been strong advocates of the creation of an all Ireland team.

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Originally Posted by gspain

I think one of the important things to bear in mind that the split was very much club driven and club focussed and was because the southern clubs felt they were getting a raw deal. It was Shels being forced to go back to Belfast for a cup replay that was considered to be the straw that broke the camel's back. The IFA's argument was that Dublin was unsafe due to the War of Independence.

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Dublin clubs being unhappy with their Association is hardly unheard of, is it? ;)
Anyhow, for various reasons, it seems there were all sorts of disagreements in the administration of the game during this period, as football experienced "growing pains".
Belfast clubs such as Linfield, Glentoran and Belfast Celtic also had grievances from time to time - see the row over the breakaway/alternative Gold Cup etc from a decade earlier, for instance.
Plus there were numerous "range wars" between the IFA and Irish League.
The struggle to cope with Professionalism also became more prominent around this period, along with the push to expand the game from its urban strongholds (Belfast, Dublin), especially in the face of competition from GAA and Rugby etc.
Therefore this was always going to be an unsettled period in Irish football; add the thorny issue of Politics/Civil War etc, then imo it was almost inevitably going to combust. (About which more, below)

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Originally Posted by gspain

The IFA probably saw the FAI as upstarts who would come crawling back with their tail between their legs in a few years.

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I imagine that was one attitude - maybe even the concensus? - within the IFA. That said, they will likely have been at least partly influenced by the context in which these events took place.
From what I can gather, other than in Dublin and a few garrison towns, football had very little presence in the 26 counties - at least compared with in NE Ulster. In fact, whole swathes of Munster and Connaught had hardly a football team to their name.
To make a modern analogy, could you imagine Ulster Rugby falling out with the IRFU and making a breakaway to create a new NIRFU? Yet Rugby is considerably more established in NI in 2009 than football was throughout the Free State in 1921.

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Originally Posted by gspain

I think it is also fair to say that the FAI document referenced by Brodie & Byrne (even allowing for slight differences) was hardly one of reconciliation.
However given virtually nothing else seems to be known about the meetings it is hard to tell. Given the IFA came to Dublin for the last one would indicate that they at least were being serious albeit presumably on their terms.

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Tbh, on re-reading Brodie, he indicates that whilst the Dublin clubs might have been the vehicle which carried the FAI towards breakaway, the engine which drove them was politics.

In his Chapter on the subject, he writes:

"What caused the split? Was it the dispute over Shelbourne? That no doubt was a contributory factor but the prime reason appeared to be the formation of the Irish Free State and the desire of the Leinster FA to break away from the parent body"

And to be fair, if a reluctance to see a halving of the number of "blazers" is sometimes cited as a reason why the two Associations do not want to unite today, might not the opportunity to double the number by exploiting political differences to create a new body, have tempted some Dublin-based individuals as well?

As for the FAI document, the implication by Brodie is that the IFA came down to Dublin to negotiate a resolution in good faith, but were dismayed when it appeared that this was never actually reciprocated by the FAI, since the latter had already determined to breakaway regardless. Therefore when the FAI presented a list of demands which would effectively mean that the IFA must take a subsidiary, rather than equal, position in any new body, they (FAI) must have known that this could/would not be acceptable to the IFA.

Of course, the IFA will doubtless have had its share of "dinosaurs", but from what little I can glean about Captain Wilton, he was a liberal, conciliatory type - at least by the standards of the day.

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Originally Posted by Kingdom Kerry

I then got the repartition arguement. Im not even going to argue against this because in order for this to happen it would involve nationalist ireland and the irish gov to agree. Will never happen

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Translation: 'it doesn't fit my fixed idea of what will happen in future, so I'll ignore it'. Be honest, you don't know what future politicians will do. It's a possibility.

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Originally Posted by KK's mate on another forum

Until such time as we receive a Unity paper, there is absolutely no point in asking anyone what they support

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You don't think (possibly loaded) opinion polls are of any value? Fine, others disagree- they wouldn't take place otherwise. Incidentally, if any future NI election voted 51% to reunify, would you ignore because it wasn't specifically a 'unity paper'?

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Those who do not support unity now are not necessarily Unionists, they are people without a choice

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This is daft. Voters in Northern Ireland can choose between a variety of nationalist and unionist parties, plus Alliance, UK parties like Green, UKIP and soon Conservative, with Fianna Fail set to join in. Choice isn't unlimited, but hardly non-existent.

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We only need to convince about an extra 20% of the norths electorate with a unity paper

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Aye, like you just need to convince 20% of the Brit electorate to have permanent Lib Dem government. It's not quite as easy as you suggest...

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As they say statistics dont lie but liars can use statistics

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Statistics often self-contradict, which may amount to the same thing. If, say, 42% vote for abolish the border parties in an election then only 18% want to abolish it in a separate survey.

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Originally Posted by Co Down Green

]I’m not sure why anyone would give a survey of 1000 odd people that much time anyway, especially when it consistently gets it so wrong

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Generally, 1,000 is a standard sample size for opinion polling. MORI, Gallup etc. use it in Britain to reflect a population of 60 million.

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The creation of a united Ireland football team is the declared policy of both the SDLP and Sinn Féin, as stated in their manifestos, and both parties have openly called for the creation a single team on the island. The SDLP especially, have been strong advocates of the creation of an all Ireland team

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As you'd expect, they're single issue parties to abolish the border.

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Originally Posted by EalingGreen

Tbh, on re-reading Brodie, he indicates that whilst the Dublin clubs might have been the vehicle which carried the FAI towards breakaway, the engine which drove them was politics.

In his Chapter on the subject, he writes:

"What caused the split? Was it the dispute over Shelbourne? That no doubt was a contributory factor but the prime reason appeared to be the formation of the Irish Free State and the desire of the Leinster FA to break away from the parent body"

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There wasn't any Free State in June 1921. Michael Collins didn't go to London to negotiate the treaty until October.

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Originally Posted by jinxy lilywhite

With all due respect Kingdom Kerrry I do not believe the majority of folks in the north whether they be Catholic/Protestant, Loyalist/Republican, Nationalist/Unionist would vote to join the south. The border is there and alot of people are making alot of money out of the border whether it be legal or illegal. In this day and age money talks and i believe the average northerner would not see an advantage to joining the south because of the extra euros flooding in up there. on the flipside if and when the sterling strengthens again the reverse may happen.
as long as there is profit to be made out of the border then it will be there

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Originally Posted by Gather round

That suggests support for a border (ie, unionism) should fluctuate sharply with currency exchange rates. In practice this is a minor factor compared to national identity.

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Don't get me wrong I would love nothing more than Ireland to be one nation in one island but in truth when it does happen all i can see is, all hell beaking lose and unfortuneately I can never see that day nor would I ever then as a result would I want that day to happen. So I suppose maybe in a perverse way I'd be unionist, though I wouldn't have time for unionism per se
As a part of my bringing up I was never taught to believe in national identities or that I was different to anybody else because of my nationality or my religion (though i am not very religious).
Personally I would be off the belief that I would and could live anywhere under any flag as long as I had my basic human rights i.e the right to work, provide for my family and the right to vote in free and fair elections.
I do have to laugh at some folk though thinking that NI one will be looking to join the south. I think one day maybe the south may look to go back

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Originally Posted by co. down green

The survey linked by NB was basically rubbished my most commentators the week it was released in June 2009. I’m not sure why anyone would give a survey of 1000 odd people that much time anyway, especially when it consistently gets it so wrong.

The European election results the week after this survey was released ensured that it was seen as pointless and of little real benefit or use as an indicator of real trends or thoughts. The fact that it was so innacurate in gauging party support was probably the reason that its findings have been given so little coverage in the press or media.

Democratic elections are a much clearer indication of people’s beliefs and aspirations & the 42.5% turnout for Nationalism in ther last Euro elections is a real indication of where people stand on the National question.

The creation of a united Ireland football team is the declared policy of both the SDLP and Sinn Féin, as stated in their manifestos, and both parties have openly called for the creation a single team on the island. The SDLP especially, have been strong advocates of the creation of an all Ireland team.

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I haven't had the time or inclination even to read the NILT survey to which NB referred, plus I am very loathe to enter into the political (i.e. non-footballing) side of this thread.

But for all that the Nationalist Parties are "strong advocates" of a single Irish team etc, they would appear to have rather more important matters to address.

For soon after the European elections to which you refer, SF held a series of roadshows in the USA, to appeal to Irish America for dollars, sorry, one last push towards a UI etc

Anyhow, one of their Platform Speakers was (Corkman) Professor Brendan O'Leary. If you Google him, you will see that O'Leary is a leading political psephologist/demographer, not just in the Irish context, but internationally. For example, he was New Labour's chief guru in GB during Tony Blair's electoral successes of the 1990's etc. And I think it fair to say he is no friend of Ulster Unionism!

Yet the Irish Times reported that O'Leary had disclosed at SF's San Francisco (or LA?) Conference that he felt that the European Election results indicated to him that electoral support for a UI in NI had now plateaued. Consequently, he did not foresee a 50%+1 majority for unification arising "in the foreseeable future" - a clear u-turn from his previous forecasts.

Strangely enough, when I looked for confirmation of this on SF's website, Press Releases etc soon after, this particular contribution by O'Leary was nowhere to be seen...:rolleyes:

Anyhow, I am always rather sceptical about attempts to predict such matters over the long-term, but if the likes of O'Leary is now admitting it, it can hardly be bad news for those who advocate retaining the Union!

And if the Union is secure, then more importantly, so must be the NI team! ;)

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Originally Posted by gspain

There wasn't any Free State in June 1921. Michael Collins didn't go to London to negotiate the treaty until October.

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I know. But that doesn't contradict Brodie's thesis.
In fact if anything, it reinforces it, assuming that the Shelbourne Hotel meeting was after October 1921.
For such a sequence might explain why the dispute went from initially being a set of grievances by a couple of individual Dublin clubs, to a full-scale movement to breakaway by the Leinster FA i.e. overriding political events caused (footballing) attitudes in the 26 counties to harden progressively.

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Originally Posted by EalingGreen

I know. But that doesn't contradict Brodie's thesis.
In fact if anything, it reinforces it, assuming that the Shelbourne Hotel meeting was after October 1921.
For such a sequence might explain why the dispute went from initially being a set of grievances by a couple of individual Dublin clubs, to a full-scale movement to breakaway by the Leinster FA i.e. overriding political events caused (footballing) attitudes in the 26 counties to harden progressively.

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I don't believe the formation of the FAI was politically motivated. Rather the general politicial environment was used to facilitate and legitimise its establishment.

The establishment of the FAI was the end result of what was essentially a power struggle within the IFA. Setting up a rival FA is not a spur of the moment event, it seems it was a very calculated move that was planned (for some time?) in advance.

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Originally Posted by EalingGreen

I haven't had the time or inclination even to read the NILT survey to which NB referred, plus I am very loathe to enter into the political (i.e. non-footballing) side of this thread.

But for all that the Nationalist Parties are "strong advocates" of a single Irish team etc, they would appear to have rather more important matters to address.

For soon after the European elections to which you refer, SF held a series of roadshows in the USA, to appeal to Irish America for dollars, sorry, one last push towards a UI etc

Anyhow, one of their Platform Speakers was (Corkman) Professor Brendan O'Leary. If you Google him, you will see that O'Leary is a leading political psephologist/demographer, not just in the Irish context, but internationally. For example, he was New Labour's chief guru in GB during Tony Blair's electoral successes of the 1990's etc. And I think it fair to say he is no friend of Ulster Unionism!

Yet the Irish Times reported that O'Leary had disclosed at SF's San Francisco (or LA?) Conference that he felt that the European Election results indicated to him that electoral support for a UI in NI had now plateaued. Consequently, he did not foresee a 50%+1 majority for unification arising "in the foreseeable future" - a clear u-turn from his previous forecasts.)

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EG, the point of my previous post was to point out that NB using some survey to try and indicate the future or present beliefs of people living in the North was a bit daft when they democratically exercised that right in June 2009, the same week as his survey was published.

Your other comments aren't really relevent to me or the thread, time will take care of the future governance of the North (as has been agreed by most of us living here), although O’Leary suggested that, if power-sharing is good for nationalists in the North today, it might be appropriate for Unionists too in a future, federal Ireland. Its all Crystal Ball stuff!

Anyway, I’ve much preferred the Irish football history comments over the last couple of pages, all very interesting and educational! :)

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Originally Posted by ifk101

I don't believe the formation of the FAI was politically motivated. Rather the general politicial environment was used to facilitate and legitimise its establishment.

The establishment of the FAI was the end result of what was essentially a power struggle within the IFA.

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If it was, as you suggest, a political (small "p", not capital "P") power struggle within the IFA, then this overlooks the fact that the balance of power was very uneven.
So why would the Leinster FA make a bid for power, within a single entity, which they could not realistically win?
For not only were the six counties the clearly established stronghold of football in Ireland at the time, but the IFA had much greater resources, as well as the history of a senior Association and the influence of their Membership of the International Board.

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Originally Posted by ifk101

Setting up a rival FA is not a spur of the moment event, it seems it was a very calculated move that was planned (for some time?) in advance.

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What is your evidence that they were following a long-term strategy to breakaway?

I'm not saying you are wrong, but the fact that the IFA was prepared to conduct negotiations over a long period, and was still taken by surprise by the Shelbourne Hotel document, doesn't make sense.
That is, it would have been in their (IFA's) interests to nip any prospective breakaway in the bud much earlier i.e. before the Leinster FA bolstered its forces.

My own guess (nothing more than that, mind) is that what started out as a dispute between a couple of Dublin clubs and the IFA, developed so that the Leinster FA took up the cudgel on behalf of their Members.

Then when political events caused a hardening of attitudes generally between North and South, that caused the Leinster (and Munster) FA(s) to determine to go the whole way towards secession.

(Without meaning to be controversial, it's a bit like events in NI in the late 60's/early 70's i.e. what started out as a campaign for Civil Rights within NI, supported even by some Unionists etc, eventually metamorphosed into a full-blown drive for a United Ireland, driven exclusively from within the Nationalist Community. But maybe that's only adding another 50 pages to this thread, for which I apologise in advance!)

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Originally Posted by co. down green

EG, the point of my previous post was to point out that NB using some survey to try and indicate the future or present beliefs of people living in the North was a bit daft when they democratically exercised that right in June 2009, the same week as his survey was published.

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To be accurate, less than 43% eligible, exercised that right.

I was amongst the majority of voters who didn't.

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Originally Posted by Not Brazil

To be accurate, less than 43% eligible, exercised that right.

I was amongst the majority of voters who didn't.

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Yawn!!

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Originally Posted by EalingGreen

I know. But that doesn't contradict Brodie's thesis.
In fact if anything, it reinforces it, assuming that the Shelbourne Hotel meeting was after October 1921.
For such a sequence might explain why the dispute went from initially being a set of grievances by a couple of individual Dublin clubs, to a full-scale movement to breakaway by the Leinster FA i.e. overriding political events caused (footballing) attitudes in the 26 counties to harden progressively.

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It's a reasonable assumption. I don't know and we probably never will for sure.

We did have a proiper league and cup from 1921/22 season albeit with all Dublin clubs.

BTW just to correct something a few pages back. NI did not play as Ireland in friendlies or at least didn't v Uruguay in 1964 - used "Northern Ireland" on the programme as per non BC games.

That would be consistent with the RoI as we used "Republic of Ireland" from 1954 on for both friendlies and competitive games.

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Originally Posted by EalingGreen

So why would the Leinster FA make a bid for power, within a single entity, which they could not realistically win?

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I can only speculate but perhaps you answered your own question by highlighting that the balance of power was so one-sided (and that power was being abused?)

I'd question if the Leinster FA/ Dublin clubs had a nationalist sentiment strong enough to motivate the establishment of a separate FA on purely political grounds. After all football wasn't the nationalist sport of the day.

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Originally Posted by EalingGreen

What is your evidence that they were following a long-term strategy to breakaway?

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Well how do you define "long-term"? Obviously the involved parties needed a level of organisation to establish the FAI. A level of organisation that would have taken time. How much time? - anybody's guess.

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Originally Posted by EalingGreen

My own guess (nothing more than that, mind) is that what started out as a dispute between a couple of Dublin clubs and the IFA, developed so that the Leinster FA took up the cudgel on behalf of their Members.

Then when political events caused a hardening of attitudes generally between North and South, that caused the Leinster (and Munster) FA(s) to determine to go the whole way towards secession.

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Yes your suggestion is plausible.

I think there's enough clues there to suggest there was a determination from the FAI to replace the IFA as the island's FA and that was the motivation for its establishment. Whether this determination's engine was political is open to debate.

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Originally Posted by EalingGreen

I haven't had the time or inclination even to read the NILT survey to which NB referred, plus I am very loathe to enter into the political (i.e. non-footballing) side of this thread.

But for all that the Nationalist Parties are "strong advocates" of a single Irish team etc, they would appear to have rather more important matters to address.

For soon after the European elections to which you refer, SF held a series of roadshows in the USA, to appeal to Irish America for dollars, sorry, one last push towards a UI etc

Anyhow, one of their Platform Speakers was (Corkman) Professor Brendan O'Leary. If you Google him, you will see that O'Leary is a leading political psephologist/demographer, not just in the Irish context, but internationally. For example, he was New Labour's chief guru in GB during Tony Blair's electoral successes of the 1990's etc. And I think it fair to say he is no friend of Ulster Unionism!

Yet the Irish Times reported that O'Leary had disclosed at SF's San Francisco (or LA?) Conference that he felt that the European Election results indicated to him that electoral support for a UI in NI had now plateaued. Consequently, he did not foresee a 50%+1 majority for unification arising "in the foreseeable future" - a clear u-turn from his previous forecasts.

Strangely enough, when I looked for confirmation of this on SF's website, Press Releases etc soon after, this particular contribution by O'Leary was nowhere to be seen...:rolleyes:

Anyhow, I am always rather sceptical about attempts to predict such matters over the long-term, but if the likes of O'Leary is now admitting it, it can hardly be bad news for those who advocate retaining the Union!

And if the Union is secure, then more importantly, so must be the NI team! ;)

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Link? Didn't think so

Fascinated by the history lesson being conducted here by EG and gspain - I've read many of the books related to the foundation of the FAI but it's interesting to hear the Brodie version of events and the various interpretations of the motivation for the breakaway.

Regardless of the broader discussion on here about the prospects for an All-Ireland team I think this constructive discussion proves that there is far more that unites us than divides us. Thanks lads.

Don't say that ET(!), though you are of course Right.
Blame the FAI (& IFA) before we were all born.
So not much change there?

The idea of a United Ireland team is good strictly for sporting purposes, but let's face it lads, it will never happen, nor should it. We have our team and they have theirs, and that's that. Players born in the North who feel that they should play for the Republic of Ireland are allowed to do so (Darron Gibson) and vice versa. Let's move on.

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Originally Posted by Colbert Report

The idea of a United Ireland team is good strictly for sporting purposes, but let's face it lads, it will never happen, nor should it. We have our team and they have theirs, and that's that. Players born in the North who feel that they should play for the Republic of Ireland are allowed to do so (Darron Gibson) and vice versa. Let's move on.

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It's not "vice versa", nor do we want it to be "vice versa".

But, you're right - let's move on.:)

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Originally Posted by kingdomkerry

Link? Didn't think so

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:confused:

Google it.:rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Colbert Report

The idea of a United Ireland team is good strictly for sporting purposes, but let's face it lads, it will never happen, nor should it. We have our team and they have theirs, and that's that. Players born in the North who feel that they should play for the Republic of Ireland are allowed to do so (Darron Gibson) and vice versa. Let's move on.

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You can't really say that though, we live in a rapidly changing world, honestly anything could happen.

So, what do we all think about the New European Superstate team?

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Originally Posted by Colbert Report

The idea of a United Ireland team is good strictly for sporting purposes, but let's face it lads, it will never happen, nor should it. We have our team and they have theirs, and that's that. Players born in the North who feel that they should play for the Republic of Ireland are allowed to do so (Darron Gibson) and vice versa. Let's move on.

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'Yawn'

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Originally Posted by Colbert Report

The idea of a United Ireland team is good strictly for sporting purposes, but let's face it lads, it will never happen, nor should it. We have our team and they have theirs, and that's that. Players born in the North who feel that they should play for the Republic of Ireland are allowed to do so (Darron Gibson) and vice versa. Let's move on.

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hmmmm...i remember people saying a couple of years ago there will never be peace in Northern Ireland withe the likes of Paisley, Adams and McGuinness knocking around. If I'd have said McGuinness and Paisley will be first ministers together they'd have been getting the straight jacket out for me....

But yeah, I always enjoy the 'never gonna happen' brigade' ;)

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Originally Posted by Not Brazil

It's not "vice versa", nor do we want it to be "vice versa".

But, you're right - let's move on.:)

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Yeah, I bet if Robbie Keane came out when he was 17 saying how much he'd love to play for the North you'd have a different opinion!

I hate when people say "it's never gonna happen"

Pessimism will be the death of you one day, i swear of it!

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Originally Posted by Colbert Report

Yeah, I bet if Robbie Keane came out when he was 17 saying how much he'd love to play for the North you'd have a different opinion!

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Absolutely not.