No.
Does anyone else skip straight to the letters section in whatever newspaper they read? I used to turn to the sports section first, but unless there has been a big game or major transfer I generally skip to the letters and analysis page in the Irish Times and Guardian these days. I also read the morning metro's letters, but thats more of a guilty pleasure in the Joe Duffy stylee Personally I find the Guradian letters to be far and away inferior to the Irish Times section, where proper debate actually goes on and I generally feel that you get a broad sense of what that elusive man on the street thinks, and so I'm setting up a thread on these and other letter sections to see if it will open up these issues on here
The letter that caught my eye today is Terri Murray's in the Times, where she bemoans the hypocrisy of Irish government oppression of free speech whilst the Proclamation of Independence was being read aloud at the recent Easter Rising ceremony. I don't have an online Irish Times password so I can't link from their website, but if you have a copy of today's edition I'd recommend you look it up
Kindly supplied by a board member
Not sure what I am allowed post without a link, but here's a portion of this letter, if it's not allowed then I'll take it down
A barrier over six feet high and covered in black heavy plastic over steel fencing prevented most members of the public from seeing anything of the ceremonies.
The small number of people who did get through to the area near the GPO did so only by submitting to being searched by the gardaí at the entrance to a corral-type system of fencing.
I don't think this is what the aforementioned signatories had in mind somehow!
However, the ironies don't stop there. I went along to the commemorations and had a banner with me which called for the protection of the Tara/Skryne Valley.
I stood, like most other people, outside the cordon, on the Clerys side of O'Connell Street.
The cordon was a lot taller than I am, so I couldn't see anything, but I held the Tara banner over my head and it could be seen inside the cordon.
I was there only a short time when three gardaí and a plainclothes policeman came over to me, looked at the banner and demanded that I put it down.
I stated my objection that I wasn't doing anything unlawful but he continued insisting that I put down the banner or move along off O'Connell Street.
When I asked what would happen if I stayed holding the banner, I was told I would be forcibly removed ie, arrested. I could not believe this was happening. While this was occurring, the Proclamation was read out and the National Anthem sung from the podium.
It would be funny if it wasn't so frightening, undemocratic and farcical
Last edited by jebus; 27/03/2008 at 12:57 PM.
No.
I'm a bloke,I'm an ocker
And I really love your knockers,I'm a labourer by day,
I **** up all me pay,Watching footy on TV,
Just feed me more VB,Just pour my beer,And get my smokes, And go away
Ah no
As outlined above, a few years ago I went through a bout of reading the Evening Heralds letters pages. Some of the greatest works of comedy ever produced.
Grumpy oul dears penning letters about the failings of the local council along the lines of "My bush is really overgrown round the front and my back passage has fungus growing in it"
Quoting years at random since 1975
I do not skip directly to but would always have a glance through the IT Letters page.
Interestingly enough there is a letter in there today complaining about kids football jerseys with alcohol logo on the front. Liverpool was mentioned & apparently the Minister responsible said she could not ban because they come foreign country. Caught my interest as Cork City are sponsored by Beamish but do not put the logo on childrens jerseys.
Last edited by pete; 27/03/2008 at 11:49 PM.
Got a letter printed in the nme a few years ago, also submitted a couple of joke ones to the metro in repsonse to a foreign girl at work who wrote a letter complaining about how crap ireland was...
'How can I hate women, my Mums one!!!' Chris Finch
I doubt addidas would be producing one version for the British market and another for the rest of the world though surely it would be more cost effective to leave it off all kids shirts in that case. also I bought it from a British retailer so I'd imagine that they have centralised distribution of stock for UK and Ireland
It was in the Irish Times yesterday that it has been made illegal in Britain yesterday, they brought it because of growing calls to do the same here
I was printed in the Metro as well, it was an insulting letter about the Gardai in response to a foreign girl who asked if the Gardai were directly racist to anyone else when dealing with her case. I replied that they were just as incompetent with Irish as they were with anyone else
Ah I see I didn't realise that the legislation was as recent as that. I suppose it doesn't come into effect whilst stocks last
suppose that means that Mini Raptors kit could be something of a collectors item in years to come
Bookmarks