No Diaspora Irish need apply for Constitutional Convention in Ireland

Towngate: I believe your suggestion is a reasonable and ethical one. No one should vote in the elections of two different countries. Irish citizens who naturalize in other countries should forfeit their vote in Ireland, but only then. Of course it would be impossible to police--might have to be content with someone swearing that they are not a citizen of any other country. The fact is anyway that folks who get to the stage of naturalization overseas are already losing lots of ties with the homeland and are increasingly uninterested in voting in its elections.

"People who don't reside in the Irish Republic and are not citizens and therefore not familiar with CURRENT IRISH OPINION should not be given the vote".... Listen up, Gordon D, don't be such a dope. No one has suggested giving the vote to people who are not Irish citizens, what an utterly stupid thing to say. Rs

RichardP: "a country founded on the principle of 'No taxation without representation"... Looks like your problem is only with folks living in the USA. How about Irish living in countries that were not founded on that principle? You'd give them the vote, right? And how about folks in Ireland who don't pay taxes? There's lots of them. You'd deny them the vote, right?

Where do I VOTE?

Thats how irish government kill off any potential backlash from the half million they force to emigrate every 25 years. God forbid the chance that recent emigrants (ones who have emigrated less than 5 years) would have the right to express a meaningful opinion by casting a vote on the succesive gombeen governments that have destroyed many irish peoples chance of having a life or any influence in their country of birth/citizenship. As the many forced emigrants leave, the electoral registers actual turnout on election day slowly but surely diminishes and this is massively to the detriment of opposition and left wing parties. No one ever addresses this point when there is "slippage" of potential votes for opposition parties in polls like RedC etc. Think of it. A third of a million emigrants since this current forced exodus began in 2008. Thats more than enough to be a "gamechanger" in every election from council local authority to Dail elections in every local electoral area and every constituency in Ireland. That ensures the insiders in ireland ALWAYS have their ass covered whilst forced emigrants are left out in the cold. This is another reason why i say screw "The Gathering". Give us the vote or you wont get another cent of our hard earned $$$ than is absolutely nessecary. Shove your begging bowl where the sun dont shine until then. Address "The Scattering" before you try to milk our hard earned dollars. Ye have some balls and neck to expect emigrants to bail ye out.

Seanmor - I suspect if you have money to spend you are included.

I'm not against the Gatherings of 2013, an idea of the gov't of the Southern Irish state, but I still waiting for the answer to one important question: Since the whole Irish nation is my homeland and I embrace all the native culture, including teanga na nGeal, am I excluded from the Gatherings by the tourist officials of the 'independent' Irish state? Please let me know.

One man or Woman One vote is suffice and will exclude the confusion.

@Woundedknee - I'm not standing in anybody's way; I have neither the inclination nor the power to do so. However, for those living in the USA (I'm not), a country founded on the principle of 'No taxation without representation" should the reverse not apply "No representation without taxation'? I think if we pay our taxes in a particular country we are democratically entitled to participate in the decision making, or should be. If we do not contribute to the coffers of that country in what way should we be entitled to a say in how it is managed or governed?

I can't vote in American elections as I don't reside there and am not an American citizen. I would not expect it. People who don't reside in the Irish Republic and are not citizens and therefore not familiar with CURRENT IRISH OPINION should not be given the vote. The recent Irish Presidential Election is a case in point. The attempt to foist the dodgy Martin McGuinness on us angered and alarmed Irish people.The posturing and cynicial behaviour of Sinn Fein/IRA and its celebrity following who have not lived in Ireland for many years,e.g.Colm Meaney (Majorca), Foinnula Flanagan (Hollyword) and Roma Downey (Hollywood) made Irish people wary. The comments of Irish Republicans on this site said it all. If you don't live in the Irish Republic you should not expect to decide who rules over us.

Now I feel validated as a true Irish person for the first time since Sept. 30 1966 when I had to leave. It is very satisfying to me personally that the Irish government has now decided that I, and those like me, are part of a “diaspora. I always knew that but now we have at least a word to describe it. We, lately of this “Diaspora”, are also invited back to Ireland as part of the “gathering”. The Irish government has decided to reach out to us after all these many years and invited us home in 2013; how nice. I have been gone a very long time. My brothers and sisters have been gone an even longer time, having left home in the 1950’s. The Irish government was very happy to see the back of us as wwe were the sacrificial safety valve that reduced competition for jobs, social services and economic resources back home. It really felt like, “Good bye, lads. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Yea, come back and see us sometime”. Yea, sure. I'm heading to St. Lucia.

Lookit! - this is easy. Irish emigrants whould retain their domestic vote until they become Naturalised in their adopted country. Simple. ~~~~ Note to picture editor: If the Diaspora were ever to become a meaningful entity, your picture of the 'perfect woman' above - is a suitable symbol of how it's voice will be regarded 'back home'.

"Just gimme da effin' money - or da lepreachaun gets whacked! Ooops - one dead Darby Ó Gill?" Yo, bros! if it's any consolation, da inspora themselves dunno wha' da hell is goin' on(?) Most recent update is that the 33 convenors will be anonymous - hmmm! None of whom will be able to parlez vous Irelandaise. Advice to diaspora. Form a government in exile like His Holiness (HH) the 14th Dalai Lama, and formulate a plan to unseat the pretenders in Érin gó braless.

Puts 'The Shakedown' in stark perspective, doesn't it?

So Irish people are not really important to Ireland according to the Government filth. Time to revolt folks, with extreme violence.