Rory McIlroy's acceptance of Queen's award will raise eyebrows with some Irish Catholics

Well said Petedev.

Time for some new journalists for this site. Sean O Shea needs to come out of the self-created bigoted ghetto he inhabits. It has no relevance to the overwhelming majority of people in Ireland.

A correction to my earlier post re Bob Geldof and Daniel O'donnell. Daniel was actually presented with an honorary MBE as opposed to KBE; its still a British Civil Honour though. I wouldnt be at all surprised if there arent a few further Honorary Awards presented to Irish Subjects in the wake of the Queens visit to Ireland in 2011

Bob Geldof has a KBE so I really don't *see what all this fuss is all about.

Bob Geldof has a KBE so I really don't what all this fuss is all about.

Ciaradexy...I am not going there. I will let history decide...as we all will as this will not be decided any time soon. Just...no more blood over it. I am American and Irish because of it and I am old but I remember why we lost the farm after the Civil War caused by a divided Ireland. And...that is another subject that still bleeds. Enough.

Ballyhip-Its up to the people in Northern Ireland if they want to remain as they are, become an independent state or unite with the rest of us. If they want a united Ireland then its up to those in the Republic to decide if thats what we want but recent polls have shown the majority in the North want to stay as they are.

I'm always amazed, and amused, by the number of responses that certain subjects arouse. Scratch a wound and it sometimes bleeds. This one hemmoraged. Golf? Only the scar that hid the wound. I am 1st generation American with strong Nationlist roots from both sides of the faith believe it or not. I lived and worked in Ireland. I crossed the border many times. I want a 32 county Ireland. I am sure that I am on someones list in London or Washington. Yet, I, we can't solve it through tabloid dialogue. It will happen sometime and we may not recognize it but it is up to all the people of Ireland...such a unique place when one considers all the nations of the earth.

Well said TriciaG28 and Ballyhip. We have men on the Irish rugby team who consider themselves both Northern Irish and British so why shouldnt Rory?

SO'S you're just a WUM and a poor one at that

Agree with TriciaG28 and everyone else who correctly identified this as bigoted crap and with little knowledge of Irish golf. As a former member of the Golfing Union of Ireland (GUI) at Carrick on Shannon, I know that it does not represent NI or the Republic. It is an all Ireland golfing union. As for Darren Clarke, he tells the story of his mother telling him to a question he asked about his nationality, she simply said, "Darren, your Irish". Sean O'Se, next time they have a close up of Darren marking his ball, note how he marks it for identification. It's a shamrock, you dunce.

This is an appallingly badly written piece of bigoted crap. The sweeping generalisation that "Irish Catholics" will be in some way offended by McIlroys acceptance of a MBE is complete and utter nonsense. This attempt to create a scandal where none exists is pathetic. You also seem to be of the opinion that to be a Nationalist you need to be a Catholic. I think you're living in the wrong century. I would consider myself a Nationalist but I sure as hell am no Catholic. Yes, this article made me angry, but not towards Rory McIlroy. Instead it made me very angry towards the author who appears to be more a propagandist then a journalist.

I wonder what Rory's uncle would think of this. The uncle that was killed on Bloody Sunday ...

Borefield, an article was posted on here last week that showed a majority in NI wanted to stay as part of the UK. If thats what they want then thats how it should be.

Very poor and ill- informed piece and about 30yrs out of date. If that is the case, what are we to make of Robert (Bob) Geldof and Daniel O'Donnell, both KBE's (Knights of the British Empire) In both cases, as they were born in ROI these Knighthoods are Honorary, but were both accepted. Geldof, as we know is resident in the UK, but Daniel O'Donnell still lives in Donegal and I dont see is popularity having suffered because of his acceptance of an Honorary Title from the Queen!! There are hundreds of Northern Nationalists, who have already accepted civil awards without any dissolution of their political views and aspirations and there are hundereds (thousands) more who will equally do so in the future, in recognition of their service to their community or a particular sphere of life; and rightly so!!