A view on McDonnellgate from an IFA aficionado: http://ifaapollo.blogspot.co.uk/2014...ssing-utv.html
A big fat Hmm to that. Ironically on the night of Thanksgiving, might well turn out to be a bit of a turkey...
A view on McDonnellgate from an IFA aficionado: http://ifaapollo.blogspot.co.uk/2014...ssing-utv.html
Interesting. That blogger comes across a bit chippy and narrow minded himself there, but as I see it:
1. The sectarian nature of the song is open to debate, as is its potential to offend.
2. The fact that it is debatable asks serious questions of JD's judgment
3. People who sing songs about irish independence presumably support democracy and self-expression. The FAI treatment of the fans' protest that same night contradicts those principles.
4. The cyber bullying appears to have been minor and whilst unforgivable it is clearly a smokescreen, a deflection tactic.
5. The whole episode reflects badly on Irish football and this stems from the FAI CEO deliberately seeking to elevate his public profile. The more recognisable you are the more likely your behaviour will be scrutinised.
6. Whilst the FAI has done some good things, the episode copperfastens the widespread belief that it is a badly run organisation whose senior figures close ranks to defend their own privileged positions from external threats.
Also, what was the background to the FAI statement? Were all of the BoM members in agreement? We're they even asked?
As Bonnie said ages back in the governance thread, we need a new FAI. It's that simple. I'd happy to explore means of instigating an Oireachtas inquiry or to pressurise the FAI into an external examination of their governance.
If anyone has any suggestions let me know. My guess is something as simple as opening a thread here with the wording of a petition calling for genuine reform and asking someone with some profile to retweet it. If it gets no attention, so be it.
Could anybody even set up a simple one page home page reformthefai.com with a facility to collect signatures and spread via FB and Twitter? Tets?
He seems to be very much the victim amongst any casual observers I've spoken to. "Jaysus, what's the world coming to? An Irish man can't even sing an Irish song in a pub anymore". They don't seem too fussed about the threatened legal action either. That's not my own view btw.
Last edited by DeLorean; 28/11/2014 at 8:23 AM.
If you want to start a petition the best way to do it is change.org or avaaz.org.
The way they are set up means people can sign in via facebook, and when they put their x on the petition it appears on their timeline, which lets other like-minded people see that the petition exists.
Bring Back Belfast Celtic F.C.
Ok. If anyone wants to help draft a wording for a petition pm me with your private email address.
Start the ball rolling. You have mine sir.
Also here's my latest on it:
http://www.krank.ie/category/opinion...eme-presidium/
DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?
Keeping the seasonal theme going, in terms of the FAI changing, more chances of turkeys voting etc.
Good luck with any 'campaign', though expect to be ridiculed once their 'awesome' propaganda machine kicks in.
Indeed, is it impossible for him to even remotely envisage a perspective from which this incident, whilst ill-judged, might not be "a good bit of plain old sectarianism"? Is he insinuating that it's a sectarian scandal simply because the song sung was explicitly republican? Such an assumption in itself might well border on the bigoted. He dismisses so blithely with unctuous sarcasm the possibility that other interpretations different from his own might exist or possess validity. He demonstrates a considerable lack of nuance in his loaded descriptions of those (of a republican hue) involved in the Troubles and the hunger strike. Anyone who uses simplified black-and-white or broad-brush terminology when it comes to a decades-long political conflict so complex just comes across as dogmatic to me. That's not to say it invalidates their opinion; I just take them a little less seriously.
Am I right to sense a needless and smarmy dose of sarcasm here too?:
He goes on to quote a few anti-discriminatory/anti-harassment articles from the FAI's rulebook, but I'm not really sure why they would be relevant. Delaney hasn't harassed or discriminated against anyone.Originally Posted by IFA Apollo
Not sure why number 3 has been omitted...Originally Posted by IFA Apollo
There's also the stupid accusation of Delaney "pillaging" IFA youth squads "for their best players who attend mass on a Sunday". I don't think I need to respond to that.
I'm not sure why he feels UTV owe him an explanation as to why they haven't covered it either.
Don't forget the calamitous denial, the attempted gagging of the Guardian, Telegraph and Balls.ie, the qualified "apology" that completely failed to grasp the actual issue here and the shifting of the blame on to the "sly" camera man (because the busy public house was a "private" setting).
There's nothing wrong with a private Irish citizen singing and enjoying a political/republican/Irish song in a pub. It's not illegal. Anyone can do it. The distinction in Delaney's case is that he's the public face and CEO of the FAI; that invokes an extra duty to behave in a sensible, sensitive and responsible manner in public or in a manner that won't draw unnecessary negative attention to the association or give the media and others a golden opportunity to level accusations of political prejudice or wrongdoing. You wouldn't even catch Gerry Adams drunkenly singing rebel songs in a pub, because he's very careful, self-aware and he manages his public persona. I'd be surprised if he didn't enjoy such songs during private gatherings, but he knows he'd only provoke needless trouble by singing some of those that might be judged more contentious in public.
In fairness Charlie, I think she's far from a bimbo!
She has managed to turn this thing around to make all her Twitter follows think her poor Johnny Bear or whatever she calls him is the victim of a witch hunt. 'All he did was sing a ballad in a pub. It's PC gone made!!!'
It's not so much the song that is grating people it's his actions. He treatened the Guardian, Telegraph and Balls.ie with legal action and then denied it was him and now he's victim.' He loves his woman and his country. Is that a crime?!!!' That's just a taster of what the man is like. A grade cretin, creep and bell***!
In the words of Paul Weller 'The public gets what the public wants!'
Another blog piece here written yesterday that makes some good points and outlines a few of the genuine issues that have been swept under the carpet: https://amancanhavenogreaterlove.wor...e-real-issues/
Originally Posted by withgodlygrace
Last edited by DannyInvincible; 28/11/2014 at 12:09 PM. Reason: Typo.
What are the odds he'll be on The Late Late Show tonight?
The Late Late. That reminds me of when Peter Brooke had to resign due to pressure from unionists ecause Gaybo shoe-horned him into singing Oh My Darling Clementine, despite obvious shyness and reticence. It was the same day a IRA bomb killed innocent people.
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