Discussion of dual citizens in other sporting fields has cropped up in this thread from time to time, so just thought I'd post this here too.
'Katie Kirk will answer Ireland's call to Rio Olympics': http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sp...-30908958.html
Originally Posted by Ali Gordon
Wee turncoat.
Interesting as I'd be stunned if her background was remotely nationalist. Incidentally, she attended the same secondary-level school as Rory McIlroy.
indeed, Sullivan Upper School in Holywood doesn't have a particularly nationalist catchment (North Down voters gave SDLP and SF combined a whopping 3% in the last General Election).
That article reads like a puff piece by her mate. 13th in her event in the (British) national rankings last year isn't star quality I'm afraid.
Still, good luck and hopefully she isn't kept out of your team by the coach's niece or similar
People of unionist heritage declaring for Irish sports teams?
Whatever next...
Spurs striker Dominic Ball has signed for Cambridge United on loan. Wouldn't normally get a mention here, but according to the report on BBC's website - http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/30936286 - he has underage caps for the North, and changed allegiances to England last year. One quick google turned up a mention of him here before too - http://foot.ie/threads/132063-Player...=1#post1367547
Can't remember who posted that this (a Northern Ireland player changing to England) was unlikely, might have been Gather Round or Ealing Green, just wondering what the reaction to this was, and how did it compare to the reactions to McClean, Duffy, Gibson, etc?
A fine lat of wee beggars they are so they are themmuns in England.
Huh?
In all honesty they probably didn't care, or more likely didn't notice...
Double standards? Surely not...
That's a juicy one alright. Ball hasn't really occupied my realm of consciousness as there's not been much brouhaha about him at all. I'd say the reaction registered about 0.1 on the OWC Outrage Scale.
Curious, I checked out a 2 page Dominic Ball thread on the 'are we a country' site and there just two posts over the 2 pages who registered some form of protest.
"Sad to see especially as he looked like one of our brightest young talents!"
The most rabid outraged comment still just about managed to remain in the domain of politeness.
"balls to that and to him!"
Evening all. Quiet week at the OWC Rapid Rebuttal Unit is it?
Ardee's right, I've never previously heard of him. But good luck in the career anyway
Re the athlete declaring for Ireland, I don't think nationality is as big a deal in athletics.
It's all about getting the opportunity to compete.
Sure wasn't Cóbh's finest (sorry Stephen) Sonia O'Sullivan trying to get Australian citizenship so she could run in the commonwealth games..
Folding my way into the big money!!!
Don't worry, I'm sure a hand delivered letter is currently on its way to FA HQ. Stripping the northern Ireland team of its multicultural identity? Let's see if the sneaky FA can play Ball in Lausanne!
Last edited by Predator; 23/01/2015 at 8:28 PM. Reason: Rogue comma.
End Apartheid Now! One Team in Ireland!
Are you still on the banned list?
The rest say féck all worth repeating, unless you are into vacuos. Like Gather Round, when it comes to deferring to the big brother Brit, they just express (or feign) ignorance/apathy.
The one who was politely sad
"Sad to see especially as he looked like one of our brightest young talents!"
if it was a reply to Duffy or McClean, he would be drooling, sticking his head in the letterbox and shouting out "No Surrender to the FAI"
Brits? OK, they can join the list. But first I have to defer to the sage of Keflavik blowing smoke out of his arse
The 17s had gadet a French lad and the Belgian lad Walsh in for friendlies last week and Anthony scullys son from west ham played he was named in England squad earlier this season. Scully and the French lad are under 16
Really? How so...Brits? OK, they can join the list. But first I have to defer to the sage of Keflavik blowing smoke out of his arse
Aye, you bet! Still serving my time. It was an 8-year suspension initially, I think. 96 long months. I dunno how many years ago that was now. Maybe four or five? I've lost count. But I'd imagine it's been increased to at least life now (if not more), without notice (the cheek of it!), considering I've since tried using:
i) other IP addresses;
ii) accounts through which I haven't even posted at all;
iii) accessing via proxies (east Belfast-based);
iv) bogus accounts expressing inoffensive and mildly pro-NI sentiment ("Possibly, 'Danny Boy' would be an alright anthem maybe, y'know, whaddayasthink, like? Aye, naw?..."), lest overcompensating or something too over-the-top like "GSTQ 4 lyf n no sirendur 2 da fuppin FAI/SF/IRA ajenda!" would give the game away;
v) fake email addresses with fairly innocuous names (iain_1690, owc_mervyn, reggie1872, sevco_sammy, curry-my-yoghurt2k14...).
You name it!... I even sat at my laptop one day dressed up as Ian Paisley and wore my trousers up to my chin just to get into the spirit of things. But they always seem to catch on somehow and ban me again. What's a poor craitur to do?
In other news (sort of citizenship-related), after a few weeks of being sans passport, I finally received my nice, shiny new one last week and decided to have a proper look/read through it (does anyone actually do that?) as the design has changed. The current design was introduced towards the end of 2013, it seems, but some of the inclusions in this new document are interesting.
On the page opposite the photo page, there's now a topographical depiction of the entire island of Ireland (Tom Elliott wasn't a fan) with accompanying text from Article 2 of an Bunreacht na hÉireann, as Gaeilge agus as Béarla:
GR might wish to write to the Passport Office in Dublin to have them update future versions with a clause-laden asterisk after that! :P
There are also some charming cultural prints to be found on the visa pages.
An Grianan of Aileach, which is an old stone ring-fort atop a hill at the gateway to the Inishowen peninsula just two minutes up the road from my family home, is depicted, so it's nice to have that reminder of the familial locality in there. Some claim you can see Scotland from An Grianan on a clear, sunny day, although I think that sounds a bit dubious, to be honest; everyone knows there are no such things as clear, sunny days in Ireland.
Most intriguing of all, however, is the inclusion of a wee bit of Ulster-Scots verse in there by James Orr:
The hedge-hauntin' blackbird, on ae fit whyles restin'
Wad fain heat the tither in storm-rufflet wing
I hadn't heard of him before, but, believe it or not, Orr was a Presbyterian of Scottish descent from Ballycarry in Antrim and participated in the 1798 rebellion as a member of the United Irishmen.
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