Ray Houghton Disgrace

[mickrev]

Its all in good fun. Sending letters to the paper is a right waste of time. Very funny it was. They do the same kinda stereotyping for every country, especially the germans.Big deal.

[Pat O' Banton]

Its all in good fun. Sending letters to the paper is a right waste of time. Very funny it was. They do the same kinda stereotyping for every country, especially the germans.Big deal.

The point is that Irish people have suffered from negative streotyping in Britain for hundreds of years as exemplified by Punch catoons, the likes of Jim Davidson or extreme articles in a cross section of newspapers. For years irish people kept their heads down and almost hoped that it would blow over, well the sad thing is that it hasn't, its not just this piece, but also articles like Julie Burchill's infamous one in the Guardian last year that labeled the Irish Nazi sympathising, child abusers. It is the right of Irish people to live in this country (or any other country for that matter) without having to put up with this nonsense.
Ultimately I doubt if anyone would go on TV (or print for that matter) with such rubbish about black people or Asians because through the years they have stood up for themselves, fair play to them, its about time Irish people did the same.

[Plastic Paddy]

Its all in good fun. Sending letters to the paper is a right waste of time. Very funny it was. They do the same kinda stereotyping for every country, especially the germans.Big deal.

With respect Mick, it is a big deal to us Irish who live in Britain. As a minority community living in another country, we have suffered to assert ourselves and our rights for generations as Pat so rightly points out. The sort of crap that B&S came out with only serves to undermine our cause.

FWIW, I totally disagree that it's a waste of time writing to the papers. To ignore such jibes makes us complicit in their performance. If we don't speak, we give the likes of B&S carte blanche to repeat such slurs on our names. To do nothing is not an option.

PP

[lopez]

Its all in good fun. Sending letters to the paper is a right waste of time. Very funny it was. They do the same kinda stereotyping for every country, especially the germans.Big deal.

Are you a graduate Mick? Well if the Irish just sat around twiddling our thumbs in the seventies and eighties your degree would get you a job as a roaddigger in Britain on your inevitable march to emigration back then. It's not that using terrorists/freedom fighters in a comedy sketch isn't funny - look at Kielty and the hole in the wall gang - it's the context. I'd give them the benefit of the doubt if they were otherwise hilarious. They're not. I take it it's a no about the degree because only the double digit IQ holders find these two c*nts amusing on any given subject.

[Éanna]

who bloody cares. I hate agreeing with anything written in the rag, but there was an excellent comment on it in todays sun:
"f'goodness sake folks. That was no different to what hundreds of Irish fans did in 2002.There were leprachauns.....everywhere Ireland played at the World Cup finals in Japan and Korea. Nobody said they were a disgrace. Au contraire, they were described as great craic."

gets it spot on IMO. I don't remember the same fuss when another irish player dressed up for a crisps ad

[Éanna]

Can a leprahchaun not be a terrorist?

well, it would be a hell of a disguise

[lopez]

who bloody cares. I hate agreeing with anything written in the rag, but there was an excellent comment on it in todays sun:
"f'goodness sake folks. That was no different to what hundreds of Irish fans did in 2002.There were leprachauns.....everywhere Ireland played at the World Cup finals in Japan and Korea. Nobody said they were a disgrace. Au contraire, they were described as great craic."

gets it spot on IMO. I don't remember the same fuss when another irish player dressed up for a crisps ad

Wonder what The Scum (let alone ourweeminds) would have said if they saw a number of Irish fans in Japan dressed up as Seamus O'Semtex with balaclavas and army surplas, which if you've been reading the thread is the main gripe. Couldn't give a f*ck about leprechauns, Irish dancers, spuds or even Viagra pills ffs.

[finlma]

gets it spot on IMO. I don't remember the same fuss when another irish player dressed up for a crisps ad

If you're going to reply at least read the thread. No-one is complaining about the leprechaun jibe, it's the dressing up as a terrorist that people are p*ssed off about. If you're Irish living in England I think you'd understand what we're talking about.

[Beavis]

If you're Irish living in England I think you'd understand what we're talking about.

Yous play this card far too often

[Pat O' Banton]

Yous play this card far too often

Meaning?

What I have noticed from this thread is that it is those who are living in Britain who are far more likely to take offence at negative Irish streotyping then those who live in Ireland.
I feel that this is probably because Irish people living in Britain are for more likely to see anti-Irish rascism or be directly affected by it, so when those who live on the other side of the Irish sea feel that things like this are inconsequential many of us feel the need to challange this assumption. (this is not a slight against anyone)

On a positive note (already noted on this website in other areas) anti Irish discrimation in England and Wales seems to be on the wane, however this is no reason to protest if we see discrimination, negative streotyping, or offensive comments being made about the people from our nation.

[Jon'o]

Yous play this card far too often

i dont think that this is a card that anyone would want to ''play''

finlma is just saying what he see's eveyday... wouldnt be much diffrent to what either myself or others living here have experanced recently

[Plastic Paddy]

Yous play this card far too often

"Play this card"?

That's because being Irish in another land, specifically England, is an inescapable factor in all of this. Try it. I give you three months before you see why we make such an issue of it.

PP

[Plastic Paddy]

Meaning?

What I have noticed from this thread is that it is those who are living in Britain who are far more likely to take offence at negative Irish streotyping then those who live in Ireland. I feel that this is probably because Irish people living in Britain are for more likely to see anti-Irish rascism or be directly affected by it, so when those who live on the other side of the Irish sea feel that things like this are inconsequential many of us feel the need to challange this assumption. (this is not a slight against anyone)

On a positive note (already noted on this website in other areas) anti Irish discrimation in England and Wales seems to be on the wane, however this is no reason to protest if we see discrimination, negative streotyping, or offensive comments being made about the people from our nation.

Welcome back to the board Pat. Once again, a thoughtful, incisive and eloquent view that I wholeheartedly agree with.

PP

[lopez]

Yous play this card far too often

Ever been called a thick Irish b*stard by one of your teachers, Beavis? Was your father ever been threatened with the sack after an IRA bombing because some mischievous colleague put it about that he was a chucky? No?! Well don't f*cking lecture me about playing 'cards'!

[sylvo]

Anti Irish racism by the media is nowhere at all near the level's of the 70's and 80's, even our dealing's as a community with mr pole eeece man is a lot better these day's. Their a lot more interested in causing problem's for the asian community with their friendly stop and search tatic's then standing outside Irish pub's and club's with twenty odd pole eeece van's ready to give yer a taxi and b&b for the night which is what it used to be like.
But scratch the surface and it has'nt fully gone away just like it will not be forgotten by us you had to stand up to people that tried to make life tough in workplace's etc by c**ts who took their dislike for all thing's Irish from sh**e rag's like the s*n and thick Paddy joke's from w**k comedien's, i can't even remember the last time i heard an anti Irish in my workplace it's been so many year's which is total contrast to when i first started in my job in the late 80's. But the Julie Burchill article in the gaurdian prove's it has'nt fully gone away, proberly cause there are new arrival's in brit tan that they have taken a dislike to taking their attention away from us.
As for the middle class jewish ex public school boy who's trying to be a gezzer and his friend from a s**te brummie suburb with his s***e brummie accent and their Ray Houghton skit, these two are just reaching for the bottom of the comedy barrell due to them being as funny as death, their send up of their own country's manager and his girlfriend a minute after the tans v France game prove's that, i don't think any tv station in europe apart from ITV would let their country's manager be shown up in that way. I only seen two of those show's and one was because that enemy of our wee c**t tree website Dermot O'Leary was on it, and fair play he did'nt stand for any bulls***e of them.
Still if anything good is to come out of this (and it take's more then some Chelsea groupie and some ex wineo from west brom to put my nose out of joint) it's that it gave army groupie and his back slapper's something to smile about over on our wee c**t tree, which is a lot more then their pub team has given them, i'm sure their laughter were'nt as loud as mine the night we gubbed them 4-0. , look forward to speaking to yer soon dog breath.

[tiktok]

According to today's Mirror, Ray admits he was "hought of order"

[sylvo]

Hey,Sylvo......yer v.quiet on the el Cabhan honchos........

Was up there last week, up there again with me dad in a couple of week's time. as for sunday v Derry, come on Cavan

[Éanna]

Ever been called a thick Irish b*stard by one of your teachers, Beavis? Was your father ever been threatened with the sack after an IRA bombing because some mischievous colleague put it about that he was a chucky? No?! Well don't f*cking lecture me about playing 'cards'!

and yet you still chose to continue living there.
I lived with english guys in germany and there was plenty of slagging, so what. get over it

[Beavis]

"Play this card"?

That's because being Irish in another land, specifically England, is an inescapable factor in all of this. Try it. I give you three months before you see why we make such an issue of it.

Relax lads,I empathise with your side more than most and I fully understand the significance of national identity when living in a foreign land.I have no problem with your arguments and why yous would be offended by Houghtons actions.All I'm saying is that whenever theres an arguement between ex-pats/2nd gen and someone living at home it usually ends up with the statement 'If you're Irish living in England I think you'd understand what we're talking about.'Point being it is continually used to undermine the opinion of people living at home when it come to such issues when there are no further points to be made.

[Duncan Gardner]

Fantasy Football was a bit weak even in its first series (Euro 96?). Now it's embarrassing. The masked gunman stunt was particularly unacceptable.

Lopez. Nice to see you back here as choleric as ever. Er, what does what having a university degree have to do with anything? Maybe you knocked out another in your fortnight off?

Plastic Paddy. Less of the contrived outrage, please. If you don't like yer user name, change it to something else! (That's not to downplay the real prejudice people of your generation, and certainly those older, have faced over here).

Sylvo. There aren't many pubs in places like Ballinamallard (which is but a village), because the economics of the trade have forced many to close- just like in rural areas of the Republic and Britain. Nothing to do with local attitudes to the devil's buttermilk- locals just have to go into Enniskillen for a session.

Liam 88. I've never read any book on Irish history published post-1981 which hasn't mentioned the hunger strike then, nor any claim that the IRA (either in the 1920s or more recently) refused to negotiate. Self-evidently in the first case, because obviously the treaty that set up the Free State was negotiated. And it's pretty widely known that Adams and McGuinness have been involved in ongoing talks with the British since 1972. Maybe less widely known, but easily checkable by anyone at A-Level/ Leaving Cert. standard, is that unionist paramilitaries have murdered more people since 1994, than nationalists. Again, I've never read any book on the subject that fails to mention the UDA/ UVF etc. Maybe you or your brother could provide a source?

Davros. You've been telling me (and some of the guys on here) since the 1980s how you were 'indoctrinated' at primary school in NI in the early 70s. Yet even when pressed you fail to offer any evidence whatever. Come on, let's hear it!

I know others who went to Omagh Academy and its feeder schools; I went to a similar school myself; my primary school was used by UDA men both future and current (literally- they drilled in our PE gym!). But for all that I don't know of any 'indoctrination' of the type you claim. It's true that in unionist schools you're more likely to learn about the Duke of Wellington than Sean Lemass- wrongly, in my opinion- but that's not the same thing, is it? In any case, they're hardly going to be mentioned in P3 or P4- you shipped off to yer beloved Tanland shortly afterward, eh?