82 Comments

• Oclearmada | Apr 28, 2011, 09:50 PM EDT

  I am Irish and live in America, my last name Leiter which is German, however I have two family members that perished at the hands of protestants in NI. They were on a march for peace. I am sick of seeing people fight. I do believe that Ireland should be united. Also NI is bullshit, a promise to the Scots. Nevertheless, I want peace in Ireland, I am visiting my family there soon in Cork county and I have studied Irish and British relations for 4 years at the University of Minnesota. The fact of the matter is, Catholics do belong in Ireland. Protestants should stay where they should in Briton. It makes me sick when I studied the British and their actions taken in NI. The innocents that perished because of their faith. Jesus loves us all and cries every night about the violence that occurs in Ireland. Jesus watching his children killing eachother even though their cultures are one in the same. That is until the British corrupted many leaders in certain Irish communities.

• FallsRNat | Feb 19, 2011, 06:42 PM EST

  sean - what's that got to do with it, unless that makes me less of an irishman in your eyes, if so, i'm sure that there will be a lot of disgruntled people about. say what you mean, let's have it out in the open.

• seanomelbourne | Feb 19, 2011, 05:33 PM EST

  Remember Fallrnat is an ex brit serviceman.

• FallsRNat | Feb 18, 2011, 05:19 PM EST

  As a son of a family steeped in the RA, i told me dad & uncle that the day the shinners are elected, i'm off to GB, mind u it might be worth a visit back to the old country now & again, as it will be like visiting disneyland with 'mickey' adams & 'donald' mcguiness in charge.

• sirpeter | Feb 18, 2011, 12:24 PM EST

  FallsRNat..We have been known to dabble in the auld slave trade..Grabbed St Patrick didn't we,gave him a good job to as a shepherd. Course he wouldn't have got the job, if youse boys were there,been a Catholic are all that. To be honest Seamus we haven't much interest in the UK,been there,done that. Sinn Fein sorted ye out,and they are coming to sort out the last of the prods in Dublin.I'm still laughing, the Prods went for the GFA. Remember pope was saying what a great agreement it was..We nearly had to gag him to shut up..ha ha. I know you think partition is safe at the moment, and as a Sinn Fein member, I swear it is. It's as safe as a New Orlean's levee.ha ha. The Brit's have said..Goodbye at long last. The Shinners are on the move,there is no stopping them,the roads are opening to the north,it's all yours Gerry,that's what the Brit's signed. The Unionist's dropped the ball.The Shinners are flooding into Stormont laughing at Baron Carson as they pass him,soon to be replaced by Baron Adams. No!! Seamus..The only rejoining done in the near future is your little statelet. It will be know as The Reunification of Ireland Act. Signed into force by Sinn-fail in Dublin and Belfast.

• FallsRNat | Feb 18, 2011, 05:34 AM EST

  Let's face it, after 90 years of home rule, the irish can't cut it, it would be best if youse guys applied to rejoin the UK - think that under EO youse could sue the BG for alleged human rights abuses, however, youse would have to own up to all of the collusion by yr own side, could even get the Queens rep in Ireland - the Baron to represent youse!

• FallsRNat | Feb 18, 2011, 05:25 AM EST

  shock horror, paddies indulging in the slave trade, doesn't sound like victimhood to me - ha ha!

• sirpeter | Feb 17, 2011, 10:04 PM EST

  FallsRNat..Welcome to the Real Capital of Ireland. It's called the English market, because we sold Englishmen there and English wenches as breeding stock for the Kerry farmers. You mean the NI Catholics are loud, bigoted, abusive,and have massive chips on their shoulder's..We have loads of them already. They are called Dubliners.

• sirpeter | Feb 17, 2011, 09:50 PM EST

  Realist..You bore me..For some reason I can't even work up a bit of foul language to abuse you with. There is something in your posts that are lifeless and dull. Do you find people's eyes glaze over when you talk to them.*full stop..I was going to put a question mark..But i don't really care what you have to say.

• FallsRNat | Feb 17, 2011, 07:16 PM EST

  sean - aah, don't u mean NI RC ex-serviceman, i don't hold any guilt, i get on with my life & don't look to blame other people, youse southerners/ex pats carry enough guilt complexes to go round

• Towngate | Feb 17, 2011, 06:19 PM EST

  ALL THIS OLD GUFF ~ when all we are asked for is a Comment on what the future King Billy is going to wear when he takes 'The long walk' with the lovely Kate. .......... Btw: Nobody has spotted that she is striding out in the photo - ( the cute little one nearest the camera.) By the Leeeeeeft!.............

• seanomelbourne | Feb 17, 2011, 05:51 PM EST

  Be careful of Fallsrnat he is an ex brit serviceman trying to assuage his guilt complex.

• FallsRNat | Feb 17, 2011, 05:05 PM EST

  Sirpeter - i was in cork last week, what a quaint little place it is, time seems to pass by. There was a coachload of Armagh visitors who spent most of their time winding up the locals by asking to see a leprechaun & asking why the english market is so called. u wait to the country is reunited with the NI catholics of the north, they will take u over, boy are u in for a culture shock, they are loud, bigoted, abusive, have massive chips on their shoulder - u should get along. Once the 1.3m brits have returned home the 100,000 of us catholics who have or have had family members who served in the BA, RUC, UDR etc or worked for the crown, i'll give it 1-2 yrs before youse are all trying to get across the water for jobs in the UK or pleading for a handout. Once the brits have gone, no more handouts for the Irish, u can still post stories about oppression, but nobody will be listening.

• Realist | Feb 17, 2011, 03:18 PM EST

  sirpeter: Has Sean Russell still got his head? What's the going rate for the head of an Irish Republican Nazi collaborator in solid bronze?

• Realist | Feb 17, 2011, 03:15 PM EST

  sirpeter: De Valera goes specially to the Nazi embassy in Dublin to pay his respects after Hitler killed himself? What are we to think? Perhaps he was just borrowing a cup of sugar for his granny?

• Realist | Feb 17, 2011, 03:11 PM EST

  sirpeter: How many countries in the EU swear an oath of allegiance to HM Queen - the British Head of State? One doesn't even have to try with you....lol.

• Realist | Feb 17, 2011, 03:09 PM EST

  sirpeter: I notice you don't understand some of my responses - can't say I'm surprised. I suggest you look up the word "dominion" in the Oxford English Dictionary for starters.

• sirpeter | Feb 17, 2011, 03:08 PM EST

  OH..It's pr*ckface Realist...Sorry FallsRNat for adding your name.I was in a rush.

• Realist | Feb 17, 2011, 03:06 PM EST

  sirpeter: Lol....Austria was annexed. The British and the French were not able to cut and paste from Wikipedia like you old son. The Austrian people welcomed the German troops. No official complaints or requests for aid were made. That was all the outside World could see. Maybe De Valera should have consulted Sean Russell - he was in Berlin at the time after all? A guest of the Abwehr if memory serves or was it the SS? I must have a closer look at his bronze statue in Fairview Park. No doubt you're familiar with it.

• sirpeter | Feb 17, 2011, 03:03 PM EST

  Realist...Following the deaths of Griffith and Collins, W. T. Cosgrave became head of government. On 6 December 1922, following the coming into legal existence of the Irish Free State, W. T. Cosgrave became President of the Executive Council, the first internationally recognised head of an INDEPENDENT Irish government. By your reasoning no country in the EU is independent,because we have ties to eachother. Seamus you're not a well man.

• sirpeter | Feb 17, 2011, 02:54 PM EST

  Realist.."nothing at all got to do with Hitler", well that is laughable schoolboy denial...So you are saying Dev admired Hitler and was upset by his death..Then you don't know anything about De Valera.

• sirpeter | Feb 17, 2011, 02:46 PM EST

  Realist..Austria devoted to remaining independent but under considerable pressure from both German and Austrian Nazis, Austria's Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg tried to hold a referendum for a vote on the issue. Although Schuschnigg expected Austria to vote in favour of maintaining autonomy, a well-planned coup d'état by the Austrian Nazi Party of Austria's state institutions in Vienna took place on 11 March, prior to the referendum, which they canceled....A coup d'état is a take over by FORCE weather a gun was fired or not...Cop yourself on Seamus

• sirpeter | Feb 17, 2011, 02:39 PM EST

  Realist on Feb 17, 2011, 01:20 PM EST..You give no explanation..

• Realist | Feb 17, 2011, 01:55 PM EST

  sirpeter: "Ireland's part as an independent nation since 1922"? My friend, the Irish Free State was a dominion of the British Empire until 1937....lol. Are you sure you're Irish? "You had better get a little be more understanding about Ireland". I couldn't agree with you more....chuckle.

• Realist | Feb 17, 2011, 01:49 PM EST

  sirpeter: When did "Hitler invade Austria"? I think you mean the "Anschluss". Austria was annexed by Germany - Hitler himself was an Austrian. I believe the Austrian people attacked the German troops with flowers when they crossed the border. Remind me, how many shots were fired? Surely the Austrian government would have issued a complaint with the League of Nations or appealed for military aid from other countries like Poland did? The U.K. and France drew their line in the sand after the taking of the remainder of Czechoslovakia. Germany then invaded Poland and war was declared as promised in their commitment to the Polish people. As for De Valera paying his condolences on the occasion of Hitler's suicide on behalf of the Irish people having, "nothing at all got to do with Hitler", well that is laughable schoolboy denial. To reiterate, I'm glad the Irish Free State and latterly the Irish Republic survived to enjoy the peace and freedom secured for them by the blood and sacrifice of others.

• Realist | Feb 17, 2011, 01:20 PM EST

  sirpeter: Lol....I really don't know where to start. "Irish Catholics fought and died by the tens of thousands in the American civil war.To quote confederate speaking to the Union officer "..you'uns only won 'cause you had more Irish than we'uns." You then go on to assert that, and I quote, "What Irish individuals do under the leadership of another country is their business." If I didn't know any better I might think, "....your sense of reasoning is abysmal".

• sirpeter | Feb 17, 2011, 10:35 AM EST

  Seamus aka FallsRNat.Yes..Irish/American soldiers were very much to the forefront in oppressing the native Americans.That's a fact.But that has nothing to do with Ireland.What Irish individuals do under the leadership of another country is their business. Seems another silly point.It was not Ireland's policy to oppress the Native Americans. Seamus your sense of reasoning is abysmal.Your soul aim in all your posts is to distort proven fact's,mix them with your own imagination,along with unproven stories you heard,never to agree with anything that doesn't suit your agenda,refuse to answer anybodies question's and keep hammering away. At least I'm trying to understand the Unionist's point of view on that site you sent me..I'll tell you now it's not easy. They seem to have trouble agreeing with each other on their identity.Some want one identity another want's a different identity. If they don't agree who they are among themselves,how the hell am i suppose to know. I'll keep reading, see will the picture change.

• sirpeter | Feb 17, 2011, 09:24 AM EST

  Seamus aka FallsRNat..You're not reading my posts..As Dev said..Rather then courting been bombed by declaring war,we took a chance and it payed off. Saying if the allied lost the war is silly because that didn't happen. So we saved ourselves been bombed. That's the reality. No point in speaking hypothetically about something that didn't happen. History is a series of events,to change one important event,is to change a series of future event's related to that change. Seamus I'm not trying to be smart,but alot of what you post is hypothetical and therefore is just how you imagine how things will work out. Seamus I'm from Cork as you know. You stating Quote"The slaughter of innocent protestants in cork, the murders of protestant landlords".Unquote..That statement is loaded and is extreme..I have studied that topic in detail speaking to Catholic's and Protestant's from west to east Cork on what you said,because I myself found it hard to believe there wasn't some reprisals.This is what they told me. SOME protestants and SOME catholic spies were shot (more catholic then protestant)SOME Catholic's and Protestant's who were a bit to friendly to the British army were harassed ..BUT were not shot. This what I was told by the people who lived during the black and tan war and the civil war... These Catholic's and Protestant's are not trying to sell a book or have some agenda. Both Catholic and Protestant stories match up..NOW!! Seamus I want you to back up that statement with proof!! I want impartial evidence,not some loyalist bulls*it. Because if there was a slaughter of innocent protestants in cork, and murders of protestant landlords. I want to know about it. Back it up by a number of catholic and protestant witnesses with impartial evidence. Seamus, I agreed with you,that there was some harassment..But I'm not going to let you make a statement like that without it going unchallenged..Fair is Fair Seamus.

• DanOLoingsigh | Feb 17, 2011, 05:25 AM EST

  kurtjohnson – Not sure where you get your GDP figures? According to ‘The Economics of World War II: Six Great Powers in International Comparison’, the 1938 GDP figures – in dollars - were Germany 351, UK 284, France 186. Additionally it was the French delegation under Georges Clemenceau who pushed for punitive terms of the treaty, as his chief goal was to weaken Germany military, strategically and economically, having personally seen two German attacks on French soil in the last forty years. Lloyd George actually pushed for more favourable terms for Germany, but acceded to the French view later in the negotiations. It was to put right some of the perceived wrongs of Versailles that much of the later appeasement strategy was based. Right wing dictatorships were a feature of mid war Europe, Mussolini came to power in Italy, and they had been on the winning side.

• FallsRNat | Feb 17, 2011, 05:12 AM EST

  Sirpeter - how did keeping dev out of the war keep the irish state free? u are stating this because history told us that the Brit/US allied alliance won the 2nd WW, there would be no free state if the brits had lost, the SS stormtroopers could have picked the FS off at will if they occupied UK & NI. 300 years of oppression, give me a break, youse guys did enough killing of your own, yes the irish were sleeping on straw, but i'll bet the londoners/mancunians & other city dwellers wished they had straw to lie on, most had the street cobbles & carts if they lucky or huddled together, 50 or more so at a time in rooms in 2 up 2 downs. Get a bit of reality we won't the only 1s suffering. If the irish were so at the for front of US history, then they must have been 1 of the main oppressors of the Red Indians, the rightful owners of the US, yes?

• FallsRNat | Feb 17, 2011, 05:00 AM EST

  Kurtjohnson - u are talking absolute b*llocks, if it wasn't for Britain standing alone in the 2nd world war until the yanks arrived, there wouldn't be a free anything. Get off your victimhood, u see conspiracy everywhere u go. So Ireland have never oppressed anyone? The slaughter of innocent protestants in cork, the murders of protestant landlords, yes, my friend, we can bit as ruthless as anyone else. It's high time we left this talk behind, throw off our shackles & live in the 21st century. PS: I don't remember any other country giving us a £7b interest free loan, the IMF & EU comes with high interest repayments, funny how the Baron isn't talking about kicking the brits loan into touch, alongside the IMF's, is it because he knows that they will probably right it off & we will get the money for nowt.

• kurtjohnson | Feb 16, 2011, 08:49 PM EST

  The british terror state created the rise of the Nazis with the inhumane, humiliating, and vindictive treaty of Versailles. Chamberlain's behavior/policies had little to do with peace/appeasement and everything to do with britain's pursuit of its petty self interest through the traditional balance of power strategy - their main concern was preventing a French hegemony in Europe (France had by far the largest military and GDP at that point and was left leaning). Why on earth would Ireland be expected to ally themselves with a brutal oppressor that still occupied a significant part of its country and never willfully reliquinshed full independence to the rest (Ireland following the treaty was arguably less independent than Australia).

• DanOLoingsigh | Feb 16, 2011, 03:15 PM EST

  If Ireland is neutral why are Irish troops embedded with the NATO-led ISAF mission in Kabul? There is no reference to neutrality anywhere in BUNREACHT NA hÉIREANN, indeed Article 28 1 states ‘War shall not be declared and the State shall not participate in any war save with the assent of Dáil Éireann’.

• sirpeter | Feb 16, 2011, 03:11 PM EST

  Realist..I guess this was the real reason Churchill was bitching about Irish Neutrality..... "Irish Catholics fought and died by the tens of thousands in the American civil war.To quote confederate speaking to the Union officer "..you'uns only won 'cause you had more Irish than we'uns."

• sirpeter | Feb 16, 2011, 02:19 PM EST

  Seamus..Never disagreed that Britain didn't have to go to war after the invasion of Poland..Appeasement didn't work. Dev never said he believed the SS would stop at holyhead (show proof)Churchill didn't need to invade ireland as you say..But would have if necessary,he invaded iceland in 1940.Irish Neutrality is still in the Irish constitution,so Kenny can think what he wants..In order to remove it,it has to be put to the people in referendum. We made this very clear to Europe and they excepted. Our Neutrality is very much intact and the world can't do anything about it,unless the irish people change their mind by referendum. As Irishmen make naturally good soldiers,I'm sure the brits would be delighted.Explain how it's going to be a money spinner for us? Well have a good time if ye get that nday's holiday. Thanks for the sites,I am interested in reading their point of view. I'll let you know how i get on.

• FallsRNat | Feb 16, 2011, 12:53 PM EST

  sirpeter, stick to irish history mate, britain went to war because they had to, hitler wanted to takeover everybody, dev was a fantasist in believing that the SS would stop at holyhead. Churchill didn't need to invade ireland as countless irishmen joined the british army to fight for their freedom, not necessariliy britain's, they saw the brits as a less likely enemy. England is part of the United kingdom & NI & therefore doesn't have a separate army, english. scots, welsh, ulsterman & irish fijian, anzac, etc make up the british army. Enda kenny is the only irish politician who is willing to acknowledge that the price of peace foisted onto ireland by the americans after 9/11 is the end of the neutrality, whether they become part of Nato or the EU is a moot point, unless of course you rejoin the commonwealth, then i'm sure the brit army will welcome more recruits from the emerald isle. it really is inrelevant that Prince William is married in a Irish guards uniform at the moment because 95% aren't of irish origin, some of them maybe descended from irish stock, but they aren't irish by birth. Any way it will be a nice money spinner for the dublin gvt to during the marriage as they promote an irish 'tinge' to the celebrations. Up here in the north, we are all hoping for a nday's holiday so we can get pissed, spend the queen's shilling & have a good time. ps: if u are interested in looking at ulster culture sites, try scotchirish.net/forum/ ulsterscotsagency.com

• Kilsally | Feb 16, 2011, 12:50 PM EST

  The various War Memorials around the whole island of Irelkand pay tribute to the war dead of WW1 and WW2 and make a bit of a mockery of Irish `neutrality` - it is just a shame that the South and many Nationalists / Catholics in the North ignored / blanked recognition of their own relatives for generations and only now are coming round to recognising the gallantry and valour of their forefathers in the great wars. The Republic`s membership of the EU pretty much saw the end to Irish neutrality

• sirpeter | Feb 16, 2011, 10:48 AM EST

  Dano..The real down to earth point is, Ireland had suffered enough..No country in Europe had suffered 300 years of total oppression. An oppression so compleat,that by the 1840's, 75% of the population slept on straw.In Skibbereen Co Cork,you had one bed for every 450 people. Then the famine..Then ongoing emigration dropping the population from around 9 million to 2.5 million at it's lowest. then from 1914 to 1922..world war,revolution,Black and Tan war and civil war..Then the great depression. Ireland had enough!! Making Ireland a target for bombing just so the Brits could have a handy gas station in Galway..Wasn't worth one more Irish life. Keeping Ireland out of WW2 was De Valera's finest hour from a small countries point of view. Powerful countries and it's people look at things from their perspective and make judgment's with little or no understanding of the country they are judging. This why the likes of Realist annoys me with comment's like Quote"I'm glad the Irish Free State and latterly the Irish Republic survived to enjoy the peace and freedom secured for them by the blood and sacrifice of others".Unquote. He forgets the forced contribution Ireland made to the British Empire in millions dead and the 300 year ongoing process of sucking as much wealth out of Ireland as possible.

• DanOLoingsigh | Feb 16, 2011, 03:25 AM EST

  The value of Ireland in WW2 would principally have been in the Battle of the Atlantic; if British, and later US destroyers had been able to refuel in ports such as Galway, they could have stayed at sea much longer, and been more effective in securing the shipping lanes. Irish neutrality did favour the allies after Pearl Harbour, but this was not the case during the most dangerous, for the Brits, part of the war, following the fall of France. Refusal to allow RAF anti-submarine aircraft to overfly from bases such as Castle Archdale, Northern Ireland was a case in point. A secret agreement in 1941 changed this, allowing RAF patrols to use ‘the Donegal Corridor’, and avoiding much wasted flying time.

• kurtjohnson | Feb 16, 2011, 01:04 AM EST

  "The United Kingdom and France went to war with Nazi Germany in defence of another people's liberty - the Poles." Comedy gold. Also, it's now a matter of record that Churchill had invasion plans for Ireland during WWII.

• sirpeter | Feb 15, 2011, 09:10 PM EST

  ballyhip..Yes I know. Ireland did everything to help England during the war.Your not telling me anything i haven't already read. I just didn't want to add that dimension.

• sirpeter | Feb 15, 2011, 09:04 PM EST

  Realist..You are some dipsh*t..Quote "The United Kingdom and France went to war with Nazi Germany in defence of another people's liberty - the Poles.Unquote..Did they go to war when Hitler invaded Austria?? Or when Hitler took over Czechoslovakia?? NO!! they didn't...You are some plonker!! You don't know what you are talking about. As for the last of your crappy posts..Woundedbollix..Surprisingly answered that one quite well..Guess he's on his meds again.... What's with ..These "deserters" as if the were not deserters?..They were deserters!!! and were lucky to be treated with just contempt...Continue to be a fu*king idiot and i won't be refraining from anything...Your choice Buster!!

• sirpeter | Feb 15, 2011, 08:42 PM EST

  Realist..Refrain from foul language!! Who the fu*k are you to question my countries neutrality. You think I'm going to let you put my country under the microscope and criticize it,without me knowing where you come from. Anyone who comes out with a little knowledge and even less understanding about my country I will throw the fu*ks into them..You think you can bring down my country and I'm suppose to take your sh*t..Well you can go fu*k off..You had better get a little be more understanding about Ireland and how Irish people view the world. To answer one of your questions...not for you ..but to anybody who might read your stupid post..De Valera is not the Irish people,he is an individual, so what he did, giving his condolences to the German ambassador is no reflection on me or the Irish people (This again is why you are a pr*ck)De Valera's answer to why he did that,was on a personal level he had a very good relationship with the German ambassador,and he said he was a pure gentleman.So on a man to man personal level,nothing at all got to do with Hitler, he gave his condolences because he liked the German ambassador. He didn't gave a sh*t about Churchill or what the rest of the world thought.

• ballyhip | Feb 15, 2011, 08:16 PM EST

  Whoa guys! Ireland wasn't exactly "neutral" in WW2. Here is a little bit of evidence, (R. M.) Smyllie’s message was that Ireland was de facto on the side of the allies – "Unneutral neutral Eire" was the title of an article he wrote for Foreign Affairs in 1946. We now know that OSS and other intelligence agencies used Ireland (not NI) as a station for their activities with full knowledge of the Irish. Ireland "leaned" towards the Allies for many reasons but in practice made The Emergency a convenience for both powers until 1943.

• sirpeter | Feb 15, 2011, 05:36 PM EST

  Realist..Eire's neutrality must be respected..That's right!! Ireland's part as an independent nation since 1922, on the world military stage was non existent up to WW2.WW2 was an extension of WW1. All the intrigues and power struggles and empire building, had absolutely nothing to do with Ireland, building up to the world wars. We neither benefited nor were we involved. Why should we declare war on anybody and invite destruction by German bombers. Ireland couldn't do squat anyway. If Hitler decided to not bomb us, till they have over ran England. That was fine by us. If the Germans invaded,then it would be our problem. Only a stupid nation would have declared war without the means to protect itself. As for Britain!! didn't they invade neutral Iceland in 1940 by force. They didn't resist..But we would have. Forget moral issues,there is no morality in war. The bombing of the open city of Dresden proves that, and the extermination of the Jews. Ireland declaring war would have been of little hindrance to Hitler..But costly to us..If we were of militery value..England would have invaded anyway..So do a bit more thinking on the matter Realist.

• WoundedKnee | Feb 15, 2011, 05:29 PM EST

  Realist: Do you have any idea what normally happens to deserters in wartime? They're SHOT. The Irish ones got off very lightly. And in fact there were desertions in the other direction. Back a decade or more ago I had the honor to meet an elderly Irishman who had gone to england in the 1930s to join the British Army because there was no work in Dublin and the Irish Army wasn't recruiting. When the War broke out, he deserted from his unit, and went back home to join the Irish Army and defend his homeland against all threats. Now that man was an Irish patriot, and he wasn't the only one. For 50 years he was afraid to go back to England, because he had heard of other Irishmen who had taken the same path as he did and who had been thrown in jail when they made the mistake of going to England even as late as the 1970s. You're not worth 1% of one of these men, Realist.

• ballyhip | Feb 15, 2011, 05:28 PM EST

  What should we think of his wedding outfit? Karl Lagerfeld said it for me, "I’m a kind of fashion nymphomaniac who never gets an orgasm". William shouldn't have that problem with Kate at his side...or other places.

• Realist | Feb 15, 2011, 04:07 PM EST

  The United Kingdom and France went to war with Nazi Germany in defence of another people's liberty - the Poles. The Irish Free State remained neutral to maintain the, as you so aptly put it, "existence of our own people". Quite some distinction I think. Well, I'm just glad that the Irish Free State and latterly the Irish Republic survived to enjoy the peace and freedom secured for them by the blood and sacrifice of others. I'm sure that's just what passers-by think when they look up at the bronze statue of "General" Sean Russell as they stroll through Dublin's Fairview Park of a Sunday afternoon - but let's leave kindly Mr Russell to later, shall we.

• Realist | Feb 15, 2011, 03:09 PM EST

  sirpeter: I have a question for you....who was the only World leader to visit a German embassy to sign a book of condolences on the occasion of Hitler's suicide? Also, I think we'd all appreciate it if, should you choose to respond, you refrain from relaxing back into the foul language, filth, and petty name-calling with which you seem a little too comfortable and, I'm afraid, reflect poorly on your upbringing.

• Realist | Feb 15, 2011, 02:58 PM EST

  sirpeter: Just a few facts for you....50,000 Irish men and women crossed the border and joined British forces fighting the Germans. In particular some 4,000 servicemen deserted the Irish Free Army to fight on the British side. These "deserters" were regarded with particular contempt by Eamon de Valera (the Irish Taoiseach) whose administration was to pass a law in 1945 to prevent any of them getting jobs with the state for seven years. Also, many of the children of these "deserter" soldiers were put into care on the grounds that they had been abandoned by their fathers.

• Realist | Feb 15, 2011, 02:49 PM EST

  "Eire's neutrality must be respected. A neutral Irish Free State is of greater value to us than a hostile Ireland. We must be glad that Ireland has remained neutral up to the present." Adolf Hitler, July 1940.

• sirpeter | Feb 15, 2011, 01:13 PM EST

  Realist..I had you pin pointed as a pri*k, pretty quickly.Glad to see you are living right up to it..Which makes you my newest abuse victim. To correct your dumb post,which I might add ranks among the dumbest.Britain went to war as a last resort.Because they had no choice after the invasion of Poland. Ireland didn't sit back smugly..De Valera refrained from joining either the Allies or Axis powers. While the possibility of both a German or a United Kingdom invasion were discussed in the Dail..Pursuing a policy of neutrality required attaining a balance between the strict observance of non-alignment and the taking of practical steps in order to repel or discourage an invasion from either of the two concerned parties. That's right fu*kface..Churchill would have invaded Ireland if he felt it was necessary for the survival of England. Now listen to this you runny little piece of dribbling snot...Small nations like Ireland do not and cannot assume a role as defenders of just causes except their own. Existence of our own people comes before all other considerations. No government has the right to court certain destruction for its people; they have to take the only chance of survival and stay out. As for there hasn't been an English army since 1707.Why don't you go fu*k yourself you nit-picking toe-rag.

• sirpeter | Feb 15, 2011, 12:34 PM EST

  ancavker..I'm only speaking in general..One could say the Roman empire had a stabilizing effect too. You could say that the US post-war invasion/occupation of Japan, and allies of western Germany stabilized those countries,but only after their own military armies destabilized them in the first place,but I agree at times you are going to need an army to oust a rogue army. That's what i mean by a just war. But I don't think armies are their for the sake of humanity. I don't think the US army is there for the sake of humanity either..If they were, why was Rwanda let down so badly...No oil or anything worth protecting,maybe..In any debate their is always exceptions to the rule. In the last 60 years the middle east has been very unstable..Those places are rocks and desert..But they have one commodity the west wants.. oil. Not hard to see the big picture there. In history it will be put very simply and the details will be for those who want to study the middle east...The west came for the oil,controlled it's government's as best it could, and took it..Just as the white man saw native American land and took that too. Simplistic maybe..I don't think I'm a million miles from the truth,no matter what way the media dress it up.

• Junewg | Feb 15, 2011, 12:19 PM EST

  WAY to show Irish support for the royal couple

• Realist | Feb 15, 2011, 11:40 AM EST

  ancavker: Lol....the Nazis didn't do any direct harm to the British in 1939 but they still went to fight them. Meanwhile the Irish Free State, by way of example, sat back in smug neutrality as others fought for freedom. I salute the 50,000 men and women of that same Free State who ignored the shameful stance of their own government to do the right thing. By the way, there hasn't been an "English Army" since 1707.

• ancavker | Feb 15, 2011, 10:49 AM EST

  Bailey: 65% of the army?? That seems high. Are you telling me there were more Irish thin the English army than English or Scottish. Whatever the number was, the fact remains that those who joined even for the pay check, went out and killed people who had never done any harm to them.

• ancavker | Feb 15, 2011, 08:46 AM EST

  Sirpete…sorry I was irritated by some of the tedious one-liners; the US post-war invasion/occupation of Japan, and allies of western Germany were highly successful in stabilizing those countries, also UN in South Korea, and to a large extent NATO actions in Kosovo. The internet is no substitute for talking to real people, eg in Afghanistan the ordinary Joe doesn’t have too much access to PCs. What we don’t hear is how many displaced persons and refugees left AFG for Pakistan and Iran, and how most are now back in the country, and fearful of a return of the Taliban. I’m not convinced that AFG can be turned around, but for the sake of the many, many of their citizens who only want to live in a stable, progressive country and give their children some semblance of a future, I hope it can. BTW I was in Iraq in Saddam’s time, and my trade is in post-conflict development, not as part of occupying forces…

• sirpeter | Feb 14, 2011, 06:35 PM EST

  That's the thing about children Dano,they can see right through the bulls*it.By the way Dano. A debate needs counter argument to points made.You didn't make any, so there was no debate.Anyway I'll leave you to admire the afro heads.

• DanOLoingsigh | Feb 14, 2011, 05:40 PM EST

  @Towngate.. Judging by the level of debate, I guess you’re right, better leave the little ones to frolic in the playpen.

• dan Breen | Feb 14, 2011, 05:28 PM EST

  I hope he dies in one !

• sirpeter | Feb 14, 2011, 03:59 PM EST

  No Dan, you wouldn't find me now in Iraq and Afghanistan,Id never sign up to to shot at, while the Robber Baron's steal a nation's wealth. Soldiers are expendable..Never liked that part, and the cut in the pillaging..A car salesman would do better. Never met an foreign army yet that brought much stability to a foreign country. History is jam packed with army invasion..Definitely not stabilizing. Course you will find a lot of native young men, and some young women, trying to bring some stability,they are the real hero's..No Dano the natives don't have any luxuries. They don't have much of a health care system either..What's the Iraqi body count now? Dano..A million plus? Ye are along time giving the Iraqi people their freedom. All that Iraqi money stolen by the contractors and the place still looks like sh*t. Pity ye didn't find the old WMD's. Don't think I have to travel to find out how the Iraqi's feel Dano. It's all there on the Internet. Course Dano what they tell you, and how they really feel is going to be slightly different.Occupying forces have a tendency to do that to people. Still 10 cent on the barrel is not a bad return for their oil.... Creakygate..Any St Valentines day card from her majesty? NO!! Bet you sent her one.

• kateomprint | Feb 14, 2011, 01:39 PM EST

  Do I care what he wears to get married in NOOOOOOOOOOO

• DanOLoingsigh | Feb 14, 2011, 11:43 AM EST

  Sirpete – Maybe you haven’t heard yet, but soldiers have to go where they are sent. Unlike you, I suspect, I have worked in both Iraq and Afghanistan…I saw a lot of young men, and some young women, trying to bring some stability and order to much damaged people and countries. The ‘natives’ in your words, do not have the luxury of sitting back and taking cheap shots at anyone they choose, so don’t presume to ‘know how they feel’, go there and find out.

• Towngate | Feb 14, 2011, 10:51 AM EST

  CANCEL 911,Dan. - It's a brain-dead DOA!

• sirpeter | Feb 14, 2011, 08:22 AM EST

  Dano..I see you have great respect and are impressed by men in army uniform.Why would that be Dano? I mean you have got to be a bit of a thicko to go to Iraq and Afghanistan. It's not like they are fighting a just war or anything. I mean they are more like hired gangsters with impressive military hardware, suppressing the civilians, while they are been robbed. The whole world knows that, Dano...It's hard for me to have respect for a bunch of thieves,murderers and torturers. If one of the gangsters gets plugged by the natives,my only worry is how many innocent people pay the price for that one gangster. I have sympathy for the Iraqi's,I know how they feel. The Irish people are been robbed as well by gangsters,ours are dressed in suits and scare us into signing EU treaties. Been given Treaties and Freedom, the two things any nation should fear most. The Native Americans were given Treaties and Freedom too. No..Hired thugs for the Robber Baron's,that's all the army is.

• DanOLoingsigh | Feb 14, 2011, 05:14 AM EST

  Sirpete - you tell a Drum Major in the United States Marine Band (they wear the ‘Bearskin’ in ceremonial dress) he’s in a ‘black fellas get up’, meanwhile I’ll call 911.

• CitizenWhy | Feb 14, 2011, 12:52 AM EST

  There was total opposition to ending the Penal Laws in the Irish Parliament. There was also fanatical opposition in the UK Parliament as well but there was also strong support, which gradually won the day. Even the Duke of Wellington was challenged to a duel for supporting Catholic Emancipation. But the British Administration wanted Emancipation and worked steadily toward it. Yes, Irish ownership was severely whittled down in the 1700s, but that was under the Irish Parliament. English Catholics continued to own land during this period (my Irish relatives, the equivalent under law of landowners, married some of these English Catholics). Of course independence was a necessity.l Both my parents played a role in the Irish War of Independence. My father led a Flying Squad, my mother craried messages for he Quartermaster brother. My mother's house was burned down three times by the Black & Tans so I am familiar with what happened. Incidentally, King William wanted to honor his Treaty of Limerick, and its grant of rights to Catholics, but the fanatical Anglican Irish Parliament refused to ratify it.

• kurtjohnson | Feb 13, 2011, 11:08 PM EST

  At least his mother was somewhat sympathetic to the cause -I recall she got into trouble for taking him and his brother to see a movie viewed as sympathetic to the nationalist community in the statelet (can't recall which one offhand).

• sirpeter | Feb 13, 2011, 10:41 PM EST

  That's some afro hairstyle..It only suits the black fella. What self-respecting Irish person would ware that get up.

• seanomelbourne | Feb 13, 2011, 09:44 PM EST

  If the act of union was meant to temper extreme measures. Why then did the British not remove the penal laws until 1829 The British canceled and re-introduced the anti catholic laws at a whim In the mid 17th century the Irish owned 60% of the land by 1800 it was down to 5% ownership.By the way Irish Jews were forbidden by law to hold public office until 1858 and Atheist 1886.I believe Citizenwhy your premise is incorrect nothing much changed for the Irish until 1918.

• CitizenWhy | Feb 13, 2011, 08:16 PM EST

  Well at least you can say that many members of the British elite serve in the military. This is certainly not the case in the United States, where the elite declare wars but do not serve.

• CitizenWhy | Feb 13, 2011, 08:15 PM EST

  To seanomelbourne: The act of Union dissolving the Irish Parliament was necessary to temper down its extreme measurements against Irish Catholics. It certainly did not represent the Irish nation, but only the Acendency at its worst.

• bridgetony52 | Feb 13, 2011, 07:53 PM EST

  It’s somehow reassuring to see the Irish American Pavlovian ‘chip on both shoulders’ response to any Brit Royal story on this site

• DanOLoingsigh | Feb 13, 2011, 07:35 PM EST

  A number of Irish and other guards soldiers have been killed fighting alongside US military in Iraq and Afghanistan so may well have been buried in just that uniform. Hope you give your own dead military a little more respect?

• REMITROMJR | Feb 13, 2011, 07:23 PM EST

  Hopefully he'll be buried in the same uniform; preferably on April 29th (to save the Queen the cost of having the uniform dry cleaned).

• seanomelbourne | Feb 13, 2011, 07:13 PM EST

  The act of union was not enacted by the irish people,but forced on us by a colonial power.

• Bailey2000 | Feb 13, 2011, 06:56 PM EST

  I think it has to be a good thing that we once again see that the relationship between Ireland and Britain isn't and never has been as simple as us and them. In 1800 when the act of Union was passed the Irish were 40% of the total population of the Islands and 65% of the army. Time for all of us to grow up and acknowledge the bonds as well as the enmities.

• mamaginnty | Feb 13, 2011, 06:01 PM EST

  Its a load of bull s..., Commodore of this, Colonel of that, a grandmother is the colonel-in- chief. At least the irish people did not bestow these names on the royals.

• macphisto | Feb 13, 2011, 04:58 PM EST

  I DONT THINK its apporate for him to were the irish reg uniform, asa he has ABSALUTLY NOTHING TO DO WITH ireland, and is a pr stunt to get the irish to feel he is part of us, WELL HE ISENT and i feel it would be an insult to all irish republicans that ran them out of our country !

• seanomelbourne | Feb 13, 2011, 04:37 PM EST

  Old bunch of traitors.

• srdools | Feb 13, 2011, 11:20 AM EST

  He will not use this uniform,because at some point he would have to put on that hat. I mean,look at it!

• donal1951 | Feb 13, 2011, 10:00 AM EST

  My father, at the tail end of World War I, ran off from Ballinasloe and joined the Irish Guards. Fortunately for him, the war ended before he finished training and, aside from a short stint in Egypt, he did ceremonial duty at Windsor Castle. He, long gone to meet his Maker, would be delighted I'm sure if Prince William honored the old regiment by getting married in its uniform.