Tickets for Paris....

[Bowsy]

Then we have the likes of that fat ******* Jack Boothman(derives from British middle-class) sending letters to all the county boards saying that the likes of Damien Duff and Brian O' Driscoll are not Irish enough to play in a stadium their people built.

I'm cofused. Is he suggesting the sport you play dictates your Irishness? I played Gaelic football and Soccer growing up but was never brave/fool hardy/had a death/mentally unbalanced enough to join the local psychopaths for a game of hurling. Where does this leave me on the Irishnes-o-meter?

[Pat O' Banton]

So Davros, when you understand things properly, why don't you start a thread on such contentious issues. Otherwise, stay in Britain and stop talking rubbish.

Can you please explain this statement?

Do you think that over here we don't have access to the internet, Irish newspapers, Irish radio or even maybe visit Ireland so that we can form our own opinions on such matters.

Before you even start to have a go here, I think that hurling and Gaelic Football are magnificent sports, but they have administration that leaves alot to be desired for the reasons that you outline above.

But then again most of the people on this board would support either the Irish national team or an eL side and I wonder how many of these people would be delighted with the way that football is run in Ireland.

I know that I shouldn't rise to the bait but...

Oh PS. I think you may find that the people of Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal may wonder exactly who their taxes are paid to.

[Plastic Paddy]

Then we have the likes of that fat ******* Jack Boothman(derives from British middle-class) sending letters to all the county boards

Pray tell what exactly does Boothman's long-distant ethnic origin have to do with anything? Chances are, due to the Public Records Office fire during the Civil War that you won't be sure of yours, either. You're out of line invoking this.

Otherwise, stay in Britain and stop talking rubbish.

Oh dear, there goes your credibility. It seems to bother you that from my "cross-channel" office I spend too much time on here (wtf this has to do with you anyway, I just don't know), and now you're telling Davros this? Son, you need some stress relief. I prescribe a top-shelf mag and a packet of Handy Andies. Don't come back until you've cleaned yourself up and chilled out a bit.

I know that I shouldn't rise to the bait but...

Watch yourself Pat. Our own snooper par excellence will report you to the Department of Work and Pensions next for malingering on here when you should be gainfully employed at your place of work.

PP

[lopez]

Pray tell what exactly does Boothman's long-distant ethnic origin have to do with anything...Son, you need some stress relief. I prescribe a top-shelf mag and a packet of Handy Andies. Don't come back until you've cleaned yourself up and chilled out a bit...

Another top class put down, PP. Is it cos he's from Longford or am I being unfair to Longfordians and this bloke is just an eejit plain and simple? While I agree with a lot of his vitriol regarding the Grab All Association, I think he's been splitting the sphincters of grazing ewes too much to be taken seriously. As for us from over the water, now get used to it mate. You've had two presidents and one recent CoS of the Rah from abroad. It's a little thing they didn't teach you at school called emigration - not that it looks like you ever bothered with any of that sort o' thing. Ask Daddy about it...or Uncle, seeing that he's probably the same bloke.

What on earth are you sprouting about?

I was going to ask you, yer muppet, exactly the same question with that thread about PP being unemployed, except that el caudillo had the good sense to sling it in the rubbish bin. FFS, where did we pick you up from?

[lopez]

And for those who feel that I'm being unfair to Jack Boothman by suggesting he's a Brit, TOUGH! He is a Tan.

Are the following tans too? Theobald Wolfe tone (Died for Ireland), Robert Emmet, Oscar Wilde, Constance Gore-Booth (Woman spared execution fighting for Ireland, Erskine Childers (Executed by the FS), Roger Casement (Executed for bringing in guns to gain Ireland's independence), Sam Maguire, WB Yeats.

I on the other hand am 100% Irish.

How? Because you were born there and so were your parents, etc? So was the case with Boothman. You can't prove that your 100% 'Irish' - in the way that you mean which is purely on racial grounds - anymore than you or I can prove we're 100% white. Where has Boothman indicated that he is a tan? Passport? English parents? Regular chum of the German Lady? Because he has an English name and doesn't take the port and poppadoms at the church you go to, more like it! F*ck off and get a life!

[sylvo]

All I can say is I am right on the GAA. If Irish fans want to slag the GAA, they are correct to do so. I have no problem with any fans who happen to live in England. It's ironic because when the real Irish supporters go looking for tickets this autumn/winter they won't get any. Meanwhile, the monument which the taxpayers built on Jones' Road will remain idle. Disgraceful. As for the reference to Plastic Paddy's regular use of this site, I was merely pointing to the valuable contribution he makes to this site!! Well done PP! And for those who feel that I'm being unfair to Jack Boothman by suggesting he's a Brit, TOUGH! He is a Tan. I on the other hand am 100% Irish. And before any Irish fans in England rise up in arms, I have the height of respect for ye supporting Ireland. That's what we need, not fat fcuks like Boothman. Boothman wouldn't be the most Irish of names. Then again, I'd say he must have achieved a lot as a GAA player. He must have won 10 All-Ireland medals with Carlow by the way he carries on!!

Rise up my arm's, bud no chance their to busy clinging onto my side's stopping them from spiltting, the respect bit, come on Pat it's just as much our team, the England team is more alien to us then it is to a hell of a lot of people at home.
As for mr Boothman well that kind of talk should be left for the dark age's, just like our friend's from OWM who go walking down the middle of the road instead of using the pavement and call that culture. Pat after all the holy aposolcic Catholic church done wonder's for Ireland for so many decade's so who give's a toss about what religon he is, I'm glad that the day's of J C McQuaid are a far off memory. Pat as for this he's a tan and that Irish name's bit cope on, my mother's side of the family don't have an Irish name and shock horror my great grandfather was a member of the church of Ireland from Kerry, so I guess he were'nt Irish then like Jack Boothman. I'm not a fan of the people who run the GAA also, but Ireland has grown up regarding being told what to do by the men in black and i ain't talking about ref's or Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones so grow up with it, leave all that Catholic's and Protestant sh**e out of it, Jack Boothman's just as much Irish as any of the rest of us are.The Country would be better off if we were all Hari Krichna's anyway.

[Closed Account 2]

As for those Irish fans who sing "No surrender to the GAA", fair play to them. The GAA are a crowd of bigots and deserve nothing better than to be put in their place. The c***s had the audacity to take taxpayers money and use it to built a stadium. Recent surveys suggest that over 80% of Irish taxpayers want Croker open to soccer and rugby. Despite this, the GAA p****s refuse to let "foreign games" into Croker. However, they don't mind letting in American football and boxing, Tina Turner or Garth Brooks. The GAA is rotten to the core with corrupt *******. There was a time that they were glad to use Wembley Stadium. They recently used a baseball ground in America for an all-stars match. Double standars I feel. Then we have the likes of that fat ******* Jack Boothman(derives from British middle-class) sending letters to all the county boards saying that the likes of Damien Duff and Brian O' Driscoll are not Irish enough to play in a stadium their people built. As for the Ulster counties, they seem to think they are entitled to a say on a stadium which their people didn't pay tax towards. The GAA are simply a crowd of c***s. They deserve every bit of abuse they get.

I agree with your statements on the GAA. I dont like them one bit, but their sports are probably on the wane anyway. Sure it might not have got to the smaller crowd stage yet but it is no longer the top dog of Irish sport. I'd hazard a guess that more Irish kids who are good at sport want to be footballers than they did say 50 or even 20 years ago. Players like the Duffer and Robbie are superstars not just in Ireland but all across Europe. Old players like Quinney, Bonner and Aldrige have remained household names, and Jack Charlton, who won the world cup for E*****d is the number-one sporting hero in the country. The best thing to do is vote with your feet... if we dont like the GAA then we shouldn't endorse (go to or watch) their events, go to international (inc. u21s) or Irish league matches instead. Their "we are the élite" attitude stinks and it should be made clear that most people dont appriciate it. Then it will become totally clear that football is number 1! - hopefully we'll get more youth funding and maybe we can force the GAA to let us play there or build a better stadium (be it an improved LR or just somewhere totally new).

[Pat O' Banton]

And for those who feel that I'm being unfair to Jack Boothman by suggesting he's a Brit, TOUGH! He is a Tan. I on the other hand am 100% Irish.

Ahh... so now I see Jack Bootham can't rate how Irish people are but you can

[Plastic Paddy]

Yes indeed Pat. I'm allowed to but fcuk him if he thinks he has a right to tell players representing this country that they are less deserving of a taxpayers stadium than a mercenary like himself.

But according to your profile you're a student. Not a taxpayer at all, in fact. Forgive my pedantry, but by your logic, shouldn't you wait before the Revenue Commissioners have reason to come looking for you until you sling the proverbial at Boothman?

Just curious, like.

PP

[Plastic Paddy]

That's a very good point Plastic Paddy. I am a student but when I'm finished I will be earning major dosh roysh, and we're talking major here.

Such self-confidence. I wish you luck.

I have resigned myself to the fact that I will be paying tax for the rest of my life. Unlike you, I will be paying it in this country. That perhaps reflects my greater interest in how that tax is spent. Like many, I despise money going towards the GAA.

Well, you'll know that with greater fiscal centralisation in the EU, it doesn't matter quite as much where we pay our taxes as they can now be spent anywhere from Limerick to Limassol and Madrid to Magdeburg. I take your point though. I'm not keen on stumping up money to underwrite the costs of the English FA's great white elephant either.

PP

[Pat O' Banton]

Yes indeed Pat. I'm allowed to but fcuk him if he thinks he has a right to tell players representing this country that they are less deserving of a taxpayers stadium than a mercenary like himself.

Okay, I have no more time for Bootham's arguement then you do but I fail what gives you the right to say just how Irish you think someone else is. Maybe this is what your degree is in?

BTW sorry about not paying tax in your country (yes that's sarcasm by the way) but I felt that people like myself may be exempt, seeing as it was families like mine and PP's that paid tax in England and still send money back home that kept Ireland afloat when it could not raise enough internal revenue itself.

[Pat O' Banton]

Thanks Pat for keeping the country afloat. Don't know what we would have done without the O'Banton family from Jamaica Road seven miles outside Donegal town. I'd say the Boothmans in Carlow would have starved without that help. Oh sorry, the Boothmans didn't really suffer. It's nice of you to refer to Ireland as my country, but it's not really. It belongs to many people. That's why us people have a democratic right to voice our opinions as we see fit.

You seem to disagree then that Ireland relied on the money that was sent back from those who had to leave the country. Oh dear, obviously not a history degree then.
If you do believe that Ireland belongs to the people then maybe you'd like to explain your comment your allowed to decide just how Irish people are.

[Plastic Paddy]

Thanks Pat for keeping the country afloat. Don't know what we would have done without the O'Banton family from Jamaica Road seven miles outside Donegal town.

Pat's got a point and you know it. For a man with your intelligence, you should surely realise that you undermine the impact of your own valid arguments with sniping such as this. It's not big, nor is it clever and nor will it win you many friends around here.

PP

[Plastic Paddy]

Ireland relied heavily on money during the nineteenth century. I doubt you or your parents were born back then.

1. Most countries in the western capitalist world relied on money back then. But I digress.

2. And Boothman is "less Irish" because - what? - he was born before his male antecedents came to Ireland in the seventeenth century? (We have no evidence from his name about his female line, btw, and that's the only line we can be certain about. And they, of course, could all be the full Cathleen ni Houlihan type, each and every one of them.)

You employ no logic in constructing your arguments. Line them up and we'll keep shooting them down.

My initial point was that fat Jack Boothman is less Irish than many of those he wishes to prohibit playing in the taxpayers stadium. That's common sense.

3. And my response was to question how you measure the ethnic purity (for that's basically what you're saying) of Boothman against that of Damien Duff or Brian O'Driscoll. Your argument founders at the very start.

What you state is far removed from common sense, btw. Look under 'b' for bigotry instead.

The same over-weight pr#*k was unavailable for comment recently when a journalist rang to quiz him on the subject. Ironically, he was in America. The all-star teams were playing an exhibition match in ground belonging to another sporting code. A number of inter-county GAA teams use rugby grounds to train due to the availability of floodlights. Smacks of double standards I feel.

4. Agreed. However, calling Boothman "less of an Irishman" to win you points is a really dangerous game. Do you ever take a step back and wonder why in this modern age our island is still split politically?

PP

[Plastic Paddy]

By standing up for Boothman, you are not promoting religious equality, you are simply vindicating a man who looks with disdain on diaspora communities in Britain.

We're obviously at cross-purposes. I'm not standing up for Boothman at all, as I disagree with his views as much as you do. Just be careful when using his arguments to snipe at him, as they come across to the uninitiated as your views. I'm sure you don't want that to be the case.

PP

[Pat O' Banton]

Patterns of heaviest emigration exist in the 40's and 50's and again in the 80's when obviously when Ireland's economy was in a dreadful state. The people who had to leave sent (I believe) billions pounds back, in the period since WW2. It is widely acknowledged, including by the Irish govt. that this money was invaluble to Ireland during these economic down turns. (I don't have the figures to hand but I'm sure that I can send them to you if you wish.)
You think that we are not aware of the poverty that exisited in Ireland in that time? Of course we are aware of it thats why people had to leave.
No one askes for any sort of favours or awards for leaving Ireland, but what they or my generation of Irish equally don't ask for is your comments on peoples backgrounds and those who set themselves up as a moral authority on levels differing levels of Irishness.

No one who has post, here, on the subject of the GAA and the use of Croke Park disagrees with you. We are aware of the hypocarsy of allowing boxing and American football there but not 'Garrison Games' so there's no need to keep going over old ground.

[petef]

Ticket for paris anyone?

[Pat O' Banton]

Ticket for paris anyone?

Which will simply mean more short term mass emigration

[lopez]

Ticket for paris anyone?

I'll take it.

Two points for PJ. Firstly, Boothman never introduced American football into Croke Park. It was played there in the fifties (one of the teams was a Boston University - not Harvard ). But I don't think there was a Prod/Tan as head of the GAA then.

Secondly, the people that 'suffered' in Ireland left. Had they not - as you evidently propose - they would have been a burden on the state. How would this have benefited the state? Why do you think we had various politcos badgering Congress with the Morrison visas, even though Ireland was hardly Somalia? Why do you think we had that sh*te speech from Brian Lenihan claiming Ireland was too small a country to keep 5 million people when Holland has around 16 with a smaller area? If Ireland would have benefited from people staying all the Irish government had to do was introduce exit visas, put armed guards on the border and wait for the people to cross it so they could mow them down a la the GDR. With such thinking, me thinks you're a student at Teach Mór University majoring in Amadan Studies.

[gspain]

As Lopez points out American football has been playede in Croke Park since 1953. However plenty of games have been played there since and I assume some under Jack Boothman's patronage.

The GAA is not anti foreign sports - it is anti BRITISH Sports eg Football and Rugby. However apart from Kevin Myers nobody is ready yet to touch that sacred cow in this country.