129 Comments

• seanomelbourne | Mar 14, 2011, 11:51 PM EDT

  do you mean a flying column? sorry falls I would most likely be asked to leave.

• sirpeter | Mar 14, 2011, 09:26 AM EDT

  FallsRNat..I agree totally with the grudge part and since you understand it so well Seamus..The Queen should too. You are a bit of a prod lover though.Defending their whole history and point of view,while shunning the nationalist point of view. That is a bit of a prod lover if you ask me.Course the prods do like to instill their own insecurities on Catholics by portraying how great they are. Bet that cricket game, Ireland won nearly killed them. Glad I wasn't listening to their excuses..pppp

• FallsRNat | Mar 14, 2011, 09:11 AM EDT

  he's even out of step with Martin (i was PIRA) McGuiness who is warning against anti queen demos, he's finally woken up to the fact that most people see it as an overdue visit from our nearest countries monarch.

• FallsRNat | Mar 14, 2011, 07:09 AM EDT

  sean - will u b flying over to support the lads then?

• FallsRNat | Mar 14, 2011, 07:08 AM EDT

  sirpeter - u excel yrself, prod lover c'mn, uniformed terrorist, i don't think so. some people have been watching me 4 years, they had their chance when i was in my fatigues, they know, that if i disappear, they will too, there will be no negotiation, u shd know yr history, we always carry a grudge

• sirpeter | Mar 13, 2011, 11:06 PM EDT

  FallsRNat.."if you really think that a marxist govt under the RA is the best way forward".. Ah come on Seamus..You really are overreacting..It will be a Gerryist government in a United Ireland..An Irish Nationlist Royalist,Ex British uniformed terrorist,and Prod lover. Jesus, Seamus..No wonder you are imagining all sorts of things. Some people must be watching you..Don't walk down any dark alleys alone for fu*k sake.

• seanomelbourne | Mar 13, 2011, 09:40 PM EDT

  I hope the people turn out in droves to greet her "royal smugness" and turn their backs to her as she passes by.

• pilib04 | Mar 13, 2011, 08:28 PM EDT

  Gerry Adams is right again. No visit by the head of the Saxe-Coburg Gotha family. These dysfunctional morons have no business visiting anything.

• FallsRNat | Mar 12, 2011, 08:14 PM EST

  yes sean, i started off as a republican & got sickened by all of the violence, then became a nationalist, but got turned off by the the inability of St John of Hume to engage in anything, but tribal politics. If all the irish state has to offer is a return to the old sectarian ways of Baron von adams & his ilk, then yes, i will become another paddy without a state, unlike youse, i won't run 3000 miles away, i'll move to the UK with my wife/kids to start a new life. the whole point of a free state is that it is open to all peoples regardless of ethnicity, religion et al. unfortunately SI is none of the above, if you really think that a marxist govt under the RA is the best way forward with all their baggage then youse guys are as deluded as ever, i take it u will be returning from OZ to take up residence in the new UI, or are u another plastic paddy full of shi*e.

• seanomelbourne | Mar 12, 2011, 01:04 AM EST

  Who's reality your a royalist and by your own admission an ex british serviceman. I merely stated fact.

• FallsRNat | Mar 11, 2011, 09:22 PM EST

  seano - if u can't accept reality, don't comment, snide remarks will get u nowhere

• seanomelbourne | Mar 11, 2011, 12:59 AM EST

  Remember fallrnat is an ex British uniformed terrorist.

• FallsRNat | Mar 10, 2011, 06:43 PM EST

  sirpeter - the queen has only to utter 1 sentence & the illusion of a UI will be gone forever. She announces that Coronation St & Eastenders will no longer be beamed into the emerald isle. Gerry - honesty - don't make me laugh, when i challenged him in the falls with the rest of the fallsters, he couldn't even look us in the eye over his PIRA status, we're not the doe eyed press or starry eyed southerners, we are the old style republicans, u can't pull the wall over our eyes. If Gerry was only PSF not PIRA, then Davy Ervine was only PUP, no chance he was in UVF, u can remodel yrself as much as u like, but u must not deny historical fact.

• sirpeter | Mar 09, 2011, 04:51 PM EST

  FallsRNat..Gerry says it wasn't..So I believe Gerry..Just more hearsay to discredit Sinn Fein. Most honest man in Ireland is Gerry.If there was a swap with the NP's they would flock back in their thousands. It would double the population of Ireland. The only problem is the English,Scotish and welsh would come too..Hell ..Who could stick the NP's..Bangin' and a Drumin' half the year.

• sirpeter | Mar 09, 2011, 01:36 PM EST

  when are you all going to stop and start living all this bitterness is not good for anyone, least of all our young people.Both sides were as bad as each other. WE NEED TO MOVE ON.

• FallsRNat | Mar 09, 2011, 12:18 PM EST

  pittsburgkid - i'm afraid that u over estimate as both people do what the english think about the ulsterman & ni et al. They don't care about them, what they do care about is terrorists who blow them or their mates up & get rewarding them with a UI. There is no room in the UK for anymore people, unless a 1 for 1 swap could be agreed, every NI who goes to UK is replaced by a SI back to UI. Funny how the mainstream irish who live outside kilburn aren't enamoured with that thought of returning to the mother country. Though a bonus for UI would be the relocation of Celtic to croke park, after all, to be a RC in scotland, when the ulsterman return (probably not in the best of mood) will be a great rarity indeed.

• FallsRNat | Mar 09, 2011, 12:12 PM EST

  sirpeter - bullsh*t, PIRA & PSF were 1 & the same, my uncles were in separate organisations in the 50s & 60s, 1 in sinn fein & the other is the OIRA. When sinn fein set out on their democratic path, they did so without the ira, my uncle sean is convinced that uncle dermot sold him out to the police, funny how, lists of ira members fell into police hands. When the provos were formed he dallied with them for a little while & was informed that to stop anymore incidents like the previous campaign, that u couldn't be in 1 side of the organisation, but both. The baron attended the talks with Willie Whitelaw in 1973, no sinn fein were present therefore he must have neen a member of pira?

• Pittsburghkid | Mar 08, 2011, 08:39 PM EST

  Did you ever think that the English are tired of supporting the orange? The English put the Scotch-Irish in Northern Ireland to get them away from England. Maybe the English want the Scotch-Irish back in Northern England to conteract with the Muslims. The English after 400 years might the Scotch-Irish were not that bad, especially after dealing with the Muslims. Of course Gerry Adams doesn't want peace, then he would be out of a job. In America we have Jesse Jackson, who thinks it still 1968.

• sirpeter | Mar 08, 2011, 07:39 PM EST

  Dano..When you grow up in NI,you get used to getting called every name under the sun..You can't get much worse then been called a murderer. Believe me if they had evidence they would have it out by now. I know you don't believe me,but when a person has been tortured and jailed and had 20 shots fired at your car by loyalist's,been hit three times in the neck, shoulder and arm,always fearing for your life and family. You transcend to a higher level. Suing someone for libel would be a waste of his time.Even if he won the case.What difference would it make. People still wouldn't believe him,people that matter anyway,maybe the people who do matter know he wasn't in the IRA. I can tell you Dano. Gerry Adams has been pushing lies aside all his life. People think that Sinn Fein had a grip on the PIRA and they were one..I'll tell you now that is not true. They had influence..Yes..But you don't tell the PIRA what to do. You have to use the softly softly approach or any influence you had would be gone. Gerry Adams managed to hold onto the PIRA and broker a deal with the Unionist's and deal with the British and Irish government. Without him there would be no peace in NI..He waited till the time was ripe before he made his move. He stopped the killing on both sides and got power sharing for the first time in NI..That's not only a good politician,but to me that's a statesmen,and they still hammer him.Even though he had some real help from the USA..He was the peace process. I look at the big picture. The PIRA would never have been defeated..They can't even stop the tiny RIRA. Gerry Adams brought peace to NI where all the government's and others failed..He's not worried about having a good name.

• seanomelbourne | Mar 08, 2011, 07:21 PM EST

  Pacifist! The IRA did not conduct a sectarian war they conducted a war on unionist /British state terrorism they were the sectarians who denied proper jobs,housing and healthcare to the nationalist population and the IRA fixed the problem. You can sit on your barbed wire fence pontificating some misguided moral high ground silently giving succour to ethnic cleansing as it occurred in the north.People like you are more dangerous than the enemy at least we know where they stand.

• DanOLoingsigh | Mar 08, 2011, 06:15 PM EST

  Sirpete – I get it…but GA could take an action on the allegations and force the evidence, if any, to come out. Why does he not do this to protect his name?

• sirpeter | Mar 08, 2011, 01:51 PM EST

  Dano ..OK..I don't know Irish law that well.Wrong choice of words. But you know what I mean.

• DanOLoingsigh | Mar 08, 2011, 01:36 PM EST

  Sirpete – without wishing to sound pedantic, your use of the tem ‘proven beyond a reasonable doubt’ is inaccurate in this case. An untrue allegation of membership of the IRA would constitute defamation, and under Irish Civil Law…based of course on English common law, would fall to be remedied by a civil action, where the level of proof is the lower ‘balance of probabilities’. Gerry Adams is quite entitled to sue any of his accusers, and given his strong adherence to the law, one wonders why he has not done so, therefore resolving the matter once and for all? The criminal route of prosecution is not open to individuals.

• sirpeter | Mar 08, 2011, 08:53 AM EST

  Cont)On Gerry Adams (Read my comment below)Yes thickos, pacifist is the only word for those,who continually believe something to be a fact without evidence.Hearsay..Hearsay..Hearsay..Is not fact. ONES own opinion and conjecture is not fact either. Pacifist..For a person who is suppose to be a pacifist..It's very selective..You have already stated homosexuals are evil, and now you are willing to judge a man without evidence

• sirpeter | Mar 08, 2011, 08:40 AM EST

  (Cont)You say God alone judges. Becareful Pacifist,God gave man/women free will and reason.He might just have put that Bible on Earth as a test.When you die,you might just see that bible in the claw of the devil as well as in the hands of God. The devil might hiss to God..Pacifist's heart has interpreted the book my way,that soul is mine.Hypocrisy the ultimate sin. PS..It is also hypocrisy to kill on another's behalf,nobody died or killed for you Pacifist's. To think they did is just your own ego..(think about it more deeply)

• sirpeter | Mar 08, 2011, 06:39 AM EST

  FallsRNat...Seamus..Weather Martin was carrying a rocket launcher on bloody Sunday and lied about it, so what.He was in the IRA. What the hell has that got to do with Gerry Adams..Seamus...Your main weakness here is you saying "I can't quite believe him" Which means you cannot prove he is telling lies and you are unsure. In ANY court of law..Saying "I can't quite believe him" is not proof and therefore Gerry's word has to be taken at face value. Until it is proven beyond a reasonable doubt,what Gerry says had to be taken as truth. If people are willing to jump to conclusion's because of hearsay, then they are thickos. This is the reason I defended the 1641 massacres,because it was not proven beyond reasonable doubt that they did not happen. Give me proof and then I will believe he was in the IRA..Not hearsay, which is bullsh*t. You're wasting my time having to correct ya. Unless your agenda is reinforce those lies,which that post appears to be. Stop posting bullsh*t and stick to proven facts.

• pacifist | Mar 08, 2011, 05:02 AM EST

  seanmelbourne, I beleive in the principle that people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones and as I'm Irish I think we should put our iwn house in order and not make excuses for those who murdered supposedly on our behalf. Certainly the British Army committed atrocities in Ireland and other places in the world and Loyalist terrorists carried out horrendous crimes, but the percentage of 56% of murders carried out by nationalist terrorists during their 30 tears of sectarian terrorism is the reality. The remaining 44% deaths were at the hands of the Loyalist terrorists, the UDA, UDR and the British Army. And marymoore, the Provisional IRA was supported by Gerry Adams to say the very least and he was a proponent of that terrorist campaign - so what did he do? He stopped advocating that strategy because he and Sinn Fein/IRA knew it was unwinnable and cynically donned the mantle of peace monger. Was Gerry Adams sincere? Only in that he opted for the better tactic for himself and Sinn Fein politically in my opinion. Yes - it is time to move on. When Gerry Adams and Sinn Fein/IRA repudiate those awful crimes, but the same expectation should apply to the Loyalist terrorists and the British authorities and their crimes.

• seanomelbourne | Mar 07, 2011, 11:42 PM EST

  Falls When the tough get going the OIRA ran away and changed it's name to the workers party.Pacifist has an anti Irish stance for a "pacifist". Why doe's he not call out the Brit army and their unionist terrorist as murders.Your hiding behind a thin veil,did you borrow it from Fallsrnat?

• maryemoore | Mar 07, 2011, 10:07 PM EST

  He needs to get over himself. The war (which he helped lead) is over. Not to diminish the horrible things that happened, but it's time to move on and to continue the peace process. Or was Mr. Adams not sincere about that too?

• pacifist | Mar 07, 2011, 07:55 PM EST

  sirpeter, God alone judges who is deserving of death and not mortal beings like you and I. The disastrous consequences of the partition of India and Pakistan were rooted in the religious rivalry and hatred of the Indian and Pakistani peoples. But partition was what they wanted and the conseqwuences cannot be laid at the feet of Mountbatten. Elecktros, Gerry Adams has been denying for years he was in the IRA and I certainly don't believe him. It may be that he lied initially for his own reasons- and I doubt that they were honourable. But now he must maintain the lie or else lose all credibility. However I don't think those who disagree with me are, as sirpeter suggests about those who disagree with him, thickos. Again, on the number of murders for which the Provisional IRA was guilty, I don't know the actual figure. But independent accessments put the figure of murders carried out by nationalists at approximately 56% and I believe the vast majority of that percentage was by the Provisional IRA.

• FallsRNat | Mar 07, 2011, 07:26 PM EST

  sirpeter - duh, didn't martin mcguinness claim he was 1) unarmed on bloody sunday & the forced into a retraction 2) carried a unloaded smg, nobody believes this even my uncle conceded that the OIRA was armed that day & he knew cause he was there. so the baron claims he was never in the PIRA, somehow i can't quite believe him.

• STUMPTOWN | Mar 07, 2011, 07:25 PM EST

  GERRY, who was the first person that ask England to attack Ireland? Hint, you can ask his predecessor in June in Ireland.

• FallsRNat | Mar 07, 2011, 07:23 PM EST

  is he a free stater or british, under the terms of the GFA surely he is the latter, but if u want to keep him down there, that's fine.

• seanomelbourne | Mar 07, 2011, 06:03 PM EST

  Don't know why you lot are so anal about Adams.He's just another compliant freestater.

• sirpeter | Mar 07, 2011, 04:16 PM EST

  elektros..If you had no idea he denied it.It tells me you don't have a clue anyway. This bullsh*t has been going on for 30 years. You must have been on the planet elektros.Or else your brain was.

• sirpeter | Mar 07, 2011, 04:10 PM EST

  I think Gerry would know if he was in the IRA don't you think,he says he wasn't,nobody can prove it.Wouldn't make any difference if he was,so why would he lie. Didn't make any difference to Martin McGuinness who said he was. So why are the thickos here so obsessed weather he was or not.

• elektros | Mar 07, 2011, 03:18 PM EST

  Pacifist - I had no idea he denied it. Everyone knows he was in the Provisional IRA.

• elektros | Mar 07, 2011, 03:15 PM EST

  I'm a descendant of the “very strong Irish diaspora” in Britain (specifically England), although I moved to the USA! I think Gerry Adams still thinks he's in the North.

• sirpeter | Mar 07, 2011, 03:07 PM EST

  pacifist..Mountbatten got what he deserved...He had plenty blood on his own hands. A despicable man..His rushed transfer of power in India led to disastrous consequences for the people of the sub-continent.The hastening of the process of the handover of power would unleash an orgy of violence and retribution never before seen in the Indian sub-continent. Taking liberties coming to Ireland.

• sirpeter | Mar 07, 2011, 02:52 PM EST

  Kilsally,,,Read that!! Mar 07, 2011, 12:21 PM EST and forget about the IRA..When it comes to killing on this Earth...We all know who the experts are. Keep going back to the IRA and ignore the rest of the slaughter by Government's..Are you British or American?..Because if you want to see how killing is done look to them or elsewhere...

• pacifist | Mar 07, 2011, 01:56 PM EST

  So Gerry Adams is objecting to Queen Elizabeth visiting the Irish Republic? This is a man who denies he was in the IRA - a denial I don't accept. What he can't deny is that on the political side of the Provisional Republican Movement - Sinn Fein - he was a fellow traveller with that murderous and sectarian terrorist organization which slaughtered his grand uncle Lord Mountbatten. He justified this cold-blooded murder by calling it an executuion and saying that Mountbatten suffered something he inflicted on many others. This was a blatant lie in that Mountbatten was not involved with ground forces of the British military but served in the Royal Navy during the 2nd World War. That atrocity at Mullaghmore also resulted in the murders of two teenage boys and an 83-year-old woman. And Adams has the audacity to lie about Mountbatten's reputation? And the visit of the British Monarch will cause offence to many Irish victims of British rule? What of the offence given by the people of Louth to the people who were victims of the IRA by electing Gerry Adams to the Dail during the recent General Election - this man who was and is an apologist for the Provisional IRA murder machine?

• STUMPTOWN | Mar 07, 2011, 01:46 PM EST

  Gerry, who was the first person to ask England to invade Ireland?

• Kilsally | Mar 07, 2011, 01:38 PM EST

  Sirpeter - the IRA did not kill a few innocent people here and a few there. They set off bombs in shopping centres and chip shops killing women and children. broudskins - Gerry Adams did not move the `North` one bit - what he did was realise the bomb and bullet would not remove `the british` whether the british army or the unionist / protestant irish (never can figure out which they mean but it helped their propaganda in the US to portray the situation as hordes of englishmen occupying `the north`)

• sirpeter | Mar 07, 2011, 12:55 PM EST

  Seamus!!..I know all the appeasing the NP's is a waste of time. Gerry knows this and I know this. All I can say is when Sinn Fein are strong enough North and South,We'll be coming to have a little chat about the border. The British army is never coming back to help youse,they have enough of ye.They are backing out the door,slowly but surely.Ye haven't a friend in the world..Cornered..Sold out by your own people. Seamus I hope you like Scottish Haggis (heart,liver and lungs)*vomit..

• sirpeter | Mar 07, 2011, 12:21 PM EST

  Dano ..Ah Come on!!..In all fairness the PIRA did only kill 2000 people over 30 years,the other 1500 or so was the loyalist's and British army. As armed struggles go,it was a picnic.The Nationalist's and Loyalist's they went easy on eachother.They both have there belief's. The IRA and Loyalist's were very selective and killed sparingly.A few innocent people here a few innocent people there. I mean Hitler killed on an industrial scale.He had his belief's. The U.S.A want to give people freedom around the world,that's there belief,even if they have to kill a few million innocent people while they are giving that freedom.It's all good to the U.S.A and If you can pick up a bit of oil along the way,it's even better. The Brit's well..They don't give you anything..They just kill ya.They would kill ya just for fun.Bloody Sunday is an example of that.But even the Brit's have their belief's. A dead person is a dead person. You can argue all day who is right or wrong. But in my eyes when it comes to killing for what you believe...I have to say the PIRA and the Loyalist's they were almost gentlemanly towards eachother. To see that pic of Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness laughing together.You can tell it was all just a bit of rough and tumble. *I love black humour,wasted on this site though*

• FallsRNat | Mar 07, 2011, 11:44 AM EST

  Listen if the baron kept quiet, nobody would know he's there & HM would have a very successful visit.

• FallsRNat | Mar 07, 2011, 11:32 AM EST

  sirpeter - bloody hell, there are 2 of us on this board who are from NI RC stock & we are leaning to staying within the UK, you & the baron need to start looking at yr political ideals, if u turn off the 'tims' what chance have u got for a UI

• sirpeter | Mar 07, 2011, 11:13 AM EST

  JOHNTOBIN..We have private Protestant clubs in Ireland and in the Cricket clubs and sports clubs, because they have strong leaning towards England they never play the Irish National Anthem. They don't say anything,but they conveniently switch channels till it's over or leave the sound down,little things like that.These would be people who lived in Ireland for 200 years.But God save the Queen is left on..But the way I see it is ..it's there sports club. I can hardly complain when I'm in there private club. Even if it is in Ireland

• DanOLoingsigh | Mar 07, 2011, 09:46 AM EST

  Gerry Adams actively promoted the mayhem of the so called ‘Armed struggle’, a euphemism for bombing and shooting anyone who disagreed with ‘the movement’…and then he stopped…many of his acolytes followed his lead...some did not…he deserves credit for his change of mind…but to laud him as some kind of visionary is a bit of a stretch…if Hitler had decided in 1944 to abandon his ‘final solution’, how much of a hero would he have been?

• broudskins | Mar 07, 2011, 08:05 AM EST

  johntobin you bollox, the hard work of gerry adams and the like are what have moved the north into a state of matured peace rather than a reactionary violent environment, despite antagonizing

• Dublinjas | Mar 07, 2011, 04:28 AM EST

  There's a Mayo man running the country now so there is hope for all of us. Thank God the Gombeens have left us alone for a while.

• kickstar | Mar 07, 2011, 03:25 AM EST

  When Eamon Deviouslera stated in April 1934 that Ireland was a 'Catholic Nation" And a "Catholic State". Sir James Craig, Northern Irelands first Prime Minister,stated truthfully that if the south of Ireland was going to call itself a Catholic Nation, then Northern Ireland could be called a Protestant Nation, His exact words were "All I boast of is that we are a Protestant Parliament and a Protestant State". And with this monolithic state to the south of his border how long would the Protestant people of Northern Ireland have survived if this state had completely moved against them, Thus the siege mentality that permeated the society in Northern Ireland for the next 70 years, I was born educated and grew up in NI, and am from the Nationalist side of that nation, I never suffered any grief other than being hassled by the British army when they came in to "protect us", I once met Captain Long when he was education minister in Terence O'Neills Stormont Govt, He was a decent man as was O'Neil, but that Govt was not given a chance due to fears by Protestants that he would run NI. into an all Ireland Republic, this was the time paisley came on the scene. My politics have changed over the years, where once I seen only a united Ireland as the only acceptable solution to Irelands woes, I now consider I have more in common with my Ulster Protestant countrymen than I have with any other Irish people, and do support their views in large degree. I think the Queens visit to the Republic is an affirmation of that states coming at last to maturity, and the close ties that have now grown between the two Nations, In spite of opposition from people like Gerry Adams, Who have little to offer anyone.

• JOHNTOBIN | Mar 07, 2011, 02:20 AM EST

  sirpeter-God Save The Queen WAS the Australian national anthem at that time.Personally I was never really that keen on it either.However,thats beside the point.People who are happy to reside in a country should respect the traditions and protocol of that particular country.Ned Kelly lived and died almost ahundred years before this particular event.I also have great sympathy for Ned Kelly.

• sirpeter | Mar 06, 2011, 09:09 PM EST

  FallsRNat..If you are a born again proddy nothing is going to change your point of view. You are so transparent,with your set the record straight...You can't even post the loyalist on loyalist killings..How can you ever be taken seriously. Do you honestly think I'm not going to spot that or something. "Other 80"..HA HA..Is that the loyalist on loyalist killings? ha ha ha..

• sirpeter | Mar 06, 2011, 08:57 PM EST

  "Were all the people who went to Australia on convict ships?" A good few yeah!! Don't want to offend them now do we.They were in an Irish National sports group.

• sirpeter | Mar 06, 2011, 08:51 PM EST

  JOHNTOBIN..God Save The Queen..just courtesy..Sorry man, to much of an ask. The Irish can't do courtesy when it comes to God Save The Queen.It's not even Australian anyway.Now Advance Australia Fair that's a grand anthem.

• FallsRNat | Mar 06, 2011, 08:04 PM EST

  right let's set the record straight on the killings in the troubles; 1)Republicans - 2139 2)Loyalists - 1050 3)Security forces - 367 4)other - 80 we the RC peoples have waged our own dirty little war, we were responsible for the deaths of 402 of our fellow catholics

• JOHNTOBIN | Mar 06, 2011, 07:59 PM EST

  sirpeter-God Save The Queen was the Australian national anthem at that time,like it or not.It would have been just courtesy to observe it.Both anthems should have been played.I personally think The Solders Song is a wonderful stirring piece of music.

• FallsRNat | Mar 06, 2011, 07:41 PM EST

  sirpeter - were all the people who went to australia on convict ships?

• FallsRNat | Mar 06, 2011, 07:38 PM EST

  i must be dreaming when i read a comment below that to solve the differences on the island of ireland, it's all right to shoot, bomb someone into a different point of view. shite, it hasn't worked for 95 years, let's try a different tack.

• sirpeter | Mar 06, 2011, 07:34 PM EST

  JOHNTOBIN..God Save The Queen is a hard pill to swallow for alot of nations around the world. It was meant as no disrespect to Australia to not play it. As an Irish National sports group,it just wouldn't go down well. How can you expect a group of people whose great grandfather's were dragged to Australia in convict ships to feel good about that..Ned Kelly would not be for it at all.

• JOHNTOBIN | Mar 06, 2011, 06:17 PM EST

  I can remember going to dances back in the early nineteen sixties in Melbourne which were run by a Irish National sports group.At the conclusion of the evening the Irish national anthem would be played but not the Australian anthem which at the time was God Save The Queen.I felt it was an act of disrespect to Australia in not playing it.

• oldboreen | Mar 06, 2011, 06:02 PM EST

  Jerry Adams did not 'slam'the forthcoming visit of Queen Elizabeth to Ireland.His response to the visit was predictably balanced and thoughtful, which is more than can be said for your ill-judged and unhelpful headline Mr Carroll.The majority of the people of Ireland, north and south, will behave as I would expect them to behave,with dignity and good manners,to suggest otherwise is to denigrate them.

• jacersagain | Mar 06, 2011, 05:47 PM EST

  My opinion is that I don’t care if the Queen visits or not. I won’t be in any rush to see her wherever she visits in our land. I never rushed to see any other Royal person from any other European country who visited Ireland on a State visit. The UK’s Queen is no different for me. I have no time for any ‘Royal’ family. As I’d say to any other person visiting Ireland in courtesy, I would hope she enjoys the visit but I won’t be going out of my humble way to help her do so. This debate on IC is going nowhere.

• jacersagain | Mar 06, 2011, 05:44 PM EST

  Agreed Kilsally. This is a false headliner from ICentral. Gerry Adams did not ‘slam’ the upcoming visit of the Queen. He merely said that he thought that the visit would be “premature”. That’s HIS opinion. When might he opine as to 'when' would be a “right” time?

• Kilsally | Mar 06, 2011, 05:29 PM EST

  Pretty strong headline for a rather wishy washy Adams statement. Every other party in Ireland North & South has welcomed the visit in this new era post peace process

• Kilsally | Mar 06, 2011, 05:28 PM EST

  sirpeter said: "had 40 years to have a just and fair society,but instead it was the cry a Protestant Ulster for a Protestant people. If the Catholics were given a fair chance,there wouldn't have been any PIRA or killing. " An often quoted term used in the ignorance that the NI Prime Minister was responding to Republic of Ireland`s Prime Minister speech 2 days earlier where he said Ireland was a Catholic country for Catholic people "I say that if I had a vote on a local body, and if there were two qualified people who had to deal with a Catholic community, and if one was a Catholic and the other a Protestant, I would unhesitatingly vote for the Catholic. Let us be clear and let us know where we are."

• bootsjoyce4 | Mar 06, 2011, 04:48 PM EST

  It might seem ignorant but I was raised to despise the British Monarchy.

• maloney | Mar 06, 2011, 04:00 PM EST

  mairead..LOL, the queen was a fluck of birth!!!I almost pissed myself laughing!!

• sirpeter | Mar 06, 2011, 03:14 PM EST

  Dano..Your dreaming if you think we would have been further down the road.The Prods had 40 years to have a just and fair society,but instead it was the cry a Protestant Ulster for a Protestant people. If the Catholics were given a fair chance,there wouldn't have been any PIRA or killing. It's not easy to march for civil right's and be peaceful, when your house is been burned down. The Irish are not Hare Krishna's at all. Wasted years, wasted lives? Yes!! But it was only when the British and NP's realized they could not defeat the PIRA,things changed. The NP's who were suffering as well had to find a solution. Here is the real proof of who kept the killing going..When Paisley and Co decided to sit down with Sinn Fein..The killing stopped.It stopped didn't it? Paisley and Co, could have stopped it at any time..But they spent 30 years trying to defeat the PIRA. Those are the fact's as I see them.

• DanOLoingsigh | Mar 06, 2011, 02:33 PM EST

  Sirpete – Just think how much further down the road we could have been if your mates had put the guns away after Sunningdale, and let the eyes of the world focus on the intransigence of Paisley and Co. Wasted years, wasted lives.

• sirpeter | Mar 06, 2011, 01:48 PM EST

  Dano...Happy to disappointed you. I wouldn't even lower myself to even acknowledge her with a banner. As for the roadmap that's the thing Dano,we do get to decide which road it goes down,and it won't be your road that's for sure. It's a question of wills Dano and the will of the vast majority of Irish people will vote for my road. The GFA is the start of that road,it's just a matter of time Dano..Just a matter of time.

• DanOLoingsigh | Mar 06, 2011, 12:59 PM EST

  Sirpete – disappointed you’ll have your back turned too, how will you know when to wave your sad little banners with your sad little ‘No Queen here’ comments, huddled on the corner in your sad little anoraks with your sad little mates?

• gcwfromcanada | Mar 06, 2011, 12:56 PM EST

  Has there ever been any issue that Gerry Adams hasn't voiced his opinion on? There is never a story out of Ireland that hasn't got his 2 cents attached. If Ireland and Britain are ever to move forward, someone has to make the first move. I think the role of peace maker looks very well on Ireland!

• DanOLoingsigh | Mar 06, 2011, 12:51 PM EST

  Sirpete – the thing you must know about a map is that it has more than one road, and more than one destination. You don’t get to decide the road that will be followed, nor the final destination. The people will decide, and a United Ireland isn’t uppermost in their thoughts right now. As to your duty, start by accepting the will of the people, or campaigning democratically to change minds…that means abandoning the failed strategies of the bombs, guns and hunger strikes...

• sirpeter | Mar 06, 2011, 12:47 PM EST

  Nelsonbarry can turn his back if he want's. I too will be turning my back. I have no respect for her or the British Government,who didn't have the MANNERS to show up as a mark of respect to commemorate our million dead in Ireland's most tragic event,caused by that lot. Dano..Get a grip!! with your Nelsonbarry where's your manner's.

• Joecummings | Mar 06, 2011, 12:39 PM EST

  The Queen has never been to Ireland..maybe going is onher bucket list? Who knows???

• sirpeter | Mar 06, 2011, 12:29 PM EST

  Dano..That's exactly what's there, a roadmap,and now that roadmap has to be implemented.If that roadmap is not implemented,or is destroyed,then it will be the duty of the next generation of Irishmen/women to continue the struggle to renew that roadmap by any means in their power.My duty was given to me by the Proclamation of 1916:IRISHMEN AND IRISHWOMEN: In the name of God and of the dead generations from which she receives her old tradition of nationhood, Ireland, through us, summons her children to her flag and strikes for her freedom. They meant all of Ireland. I understand well what the men/women of 1916 who fought and died meant,and the hunger strikers did too,and so do I. What you think means nothing to me. I understand you very well. The roadmap is not the end,It's a means to an end. No!! They didn't fail..They got this roadmap for peace and reconciliation.It's a good one this time. I think it will work.But if it doesn't,then there is no one to blame, but the Irish and British government's. Dano in case you don't realize it.Everybody is moving full speed ahead. Now Dano..Try and read between the lines as to why Gerry Adams has to make statement's like that.Or why the British government has to say Quote"We will not sit down and talk to terrorist's"Unquoet. When the British Government was always talking to the boys.

• srdools | Mar 06, 2011, 11:35 AM EST

  Good thing obama won't be there at the same time because he would bow so low that the people behind HIM would have to turn their backs. But if this goes well then maybe some of oliver cromwells relatives can pop-in for holiday as well.

• DanOLoingsigh | Mar 06, 2011, 10:28 AM EST

  Nelsonbarry – she’s been INVITED by the President…turning your back…where’s your manners?

• Nelsonbarry | Mar 06, 2011, 10:20 AM EST

  Gerry Adams is right, Liz should stay home, but if she visits , please,no violence. It would only show that we have stooped to the British level. If at a ceremony, just turn your backs, the message will be sent.

• DanOLoingsigh | Mar 06, 2011, 10:18 AM EST

  Sirpete – You say partition will end one way or the other…The roadmap for ending partition has already been agreed by the Irish people, so what’s the other way you allude to, I wonder?…and who gave you any DUTY to fulfil the aspirations of sad and deluded hunger strikers, bombers, and other anti-democrats. Your boys tried all that, and FAILED….Time to move on.

• sirpeter | Mar 06, 2011, 10:11 AM EST

  @mcdolan and JOHNTOBIN...Don't intertwine British foreign governmental policy with the movement of ordinary Irish and English people between our two islands. Ireland also gives work and a home to English people. To think somehow English people should be grateful to Ireland and vice-versa is just plain stupid,as the free movement of labour suits the economics of both countries. Ireland IMPORT'S 7.5% of ALL British goods,that's alot of Irish money and ALOT of employment WE Irish are keeping British people in. When a country sells nearly 10% of it's goods to another country. An economic downturn of the buyer country is a nightmare for the seller. It is in Britain's own economic interests to see a wealthy Ireland not a poor one. We are trading partners and want to be on friendly terms in all ways...But we also have political issues to sort out. But don't think both countries won't move on in every other way,just because of certain issues.

• MalcomAC | Mar 06, 2011, 09:37 AM EST

  Good on Liz Windsor for making the trip. Irish policy - and its past - are not her fault.

• GeorgeDillon | Mar 06, 2011, 09:25 AM EST

  "are present day citizens of Ireland,either north or south." Tobin, I'm not a citizen of Ireland north or south. I'm a citizen of Ireland. And I don't want Mrs Windsor to visit Ireland, not because I have anything against her, but because I don't want to give servile Irish kissasses like you an opportunity to make me cringe and vomit. It'll be particularly bad if she goes to Cork, as Cork people have a long tradition of toadying. They even, if my memory is accurate, have a Victoria Street and a Victoria hotel. They'll probably rename one of their slums "Elizabethville". Shameful.

• sirpeter | Mar 06, 2011, 09:18 AM EST

  @JOHNTOBIN..Quote "This mental attitude is one of the main factors that has held back the development of Ireland over the last ninety years".Unquote. It was this statement I found offensive. First of all Ireland is a highly developed country in every way.As a matter of fact for a very small country of less then 5 million,the Irish pack a bigger punch globally in all aspect's of human endeavor ,probably more then any other country in the world of similar size and population,historically and in modern times. Great Irish military leaders we had in abundance and this reflects in the history of the USA and Britain.But military power we do not have, and so came under the yoke of British Imperialism. But the Irish refused to be suppressed mentally and we Irish payed for that in millions dead over the centuries right up to, interment without trial,torture of prisoners,hunger strikes to the death,and discrimination of Catholics right into the 1980's. A Peace process that needed the power of the United States to bare down on the halls of Westminster, who put obstacle upon obstacle in the way of the NI peace process. This is all fact. Partition is still there,and while force has been put aside,the struggle for a United Ireland is more active then ever and will NEVER end.We will not be moving on anywhere until partition has been removed or becomes redundant. Partition was forceably put in place against the wishes of the vast majority of the Irish people in 1920 and by God it will end one way or the other. As a conscientious Irishman and a member of Sinn Fein,it is my duty to fulfill the aspirations of those who payed the ultimate price,for freedom,justice and equality for all.Even against those timid Irish souls who allow themselves to be brainwashed by the FF/FG media who try and attach violence to Sinn Fein,while FF has committed the most violent act upon the Irish people in the history of the state. No!! Her visit is pre-mature.

• FallsRNat | Mar 06, 2011, 08:59 AM EST

  GA can't move, he is a 1 track politician, surely the people of Louth knew this, in his time as Belfast MP he did nothing to represent his constituents, apart from attacking the british state, however, he continued to take the queen's shilling & a baron title. The anti british sentiment is declining throughout the north as we are trying to get on with our lives without the omnipresence of the paramilitaries. Good luck to youse southerners with him.

• DanOLoingsigh | Mar 06, 2011, 07:35 AM EST

  Maireadinmelb – Irish people in the south don’t get ‘a trial before a jury of one's peers’ if there is a risk of intimidation…its called the Special Criminal Court, it was used as a model for the NI system…If GA claims the visit is premature…He needs to detail what other measures are required?

• REMITROMJR | Mar 06, 2011, 04:20 AM EST

  "Democratic Unionist MP Jeffrey Donaldson said he was worried about violent demonstrations...“I believe the security forces will be able to handle it." Hopefully, Mr. Donaldson will be proven incorrect!

• JOHNTOBIN | Mar 06, 2011, 04:19 AM EST

  I heartily endorse the comments of mcdolan.I would like to know just what percentage of the people that make such anti British statements actually are present day citizens of Ireland,either north or south.I personally have Irish ancestory and fully supported the history of the terrible struggle of the Irish people for independance from English rule.However,this is the year 2011 and the world has to move on.

• mcdolan | Mar 06, 2011, 02:13 AM EST

  In the very short time since he has a received a mandate from the people of Louth to represent them in the Dail, I have read nothing positive in Gerry Adams's public statements,and I am very disappointed that this seems to be the stance he will take on everything. It is time to move on! Britain is our largest trading partner; it is a place that have given employment to thousands upon thousands of Irish people and their descendants; it is our nearest neighbour; and it gives Ireland the largest number of tourists. Let's grow up! 800 years of animosity and hatred is enough.

• JOHNTOBIN | Mar 06, 2011, 12:57 AM EST

  To sirpeter,one just has to read the debates of the Dail,especially up to the period of the nineteen sixties in which so much time was taken up discusing and debating the injusticies of the Border.It is still there after all that.Also,what are your feelings about all the Irish people who have migrated to the United Kingdom in search of a better life and higher standard of living over the years.

• Ulsterman | Mar 05, 2011, 10:24 PM EST

  Maybe she wants to see just what the $8 Billion the Irish Republic begged the British to give it has been used for. Seems ironic the Southern Irish love the English--but hate England (maybe that's why a million of them CHOOSE to live there). The Ulster people ironically love England but hate the English. Gerry Adams had no problem taking lots of money from the British government for his London luxury residence over 25 years. Hypocrite!

• seanomelbourne | Mar 05, 2011, 10:16 PM EST

  How many of her armed secret service personnel will guard her.A plague on all monarchy's.

• maireadinmelb | Mar 05, 2011, 08:24 PM EST

  As long as subjects of the queen ( I will not use capitals, she did not earn any title it was a fluck of birth!) are in Irish streets prohibiting irish people from basic human rights, ie a trial before a jury of one's peers!! she can go jump! I dont care if someone was stupid enough to invite her!!

• sirpeter | Mar 05, 2011, 06:11 PM EST

  JOHNTOBIN..Just shut up,you don't know what you are talking about. It's your mental development is what's held back. Stupid comment you made.

• sirpeter | Mar 05, 2011, 06:08 PM EST

  Bernadett..Without Mr Adams there would be no peace process and no peace process without the help of the USA putting pressure on the British..But there is still unfinished business.

• JOHNTOBIN | Mar 05, 2011, 05:52 PM EST

  This mental atitude is one of the main factors that has held back the development of Ireland over the last ninety years.

• Bernadett | Mar 05, 2011, 05:49 PM EST

  Sorry i forgot to mention we DO have a peace proses and i do believe Mr Adams was involved in that or has he changed his mind about that.

• Bernadett | Mar 05, 2011, 05:44 PM EST

  I have to say I think it will be a good thing its time we all moved on and Gerry please dont bring all that hate down south we have an enough on our plates with the banking crises and remember the LADY was invited, there is a lot of irish people that are happy about the visit.Its the 21st century so let it go gerry

• sirpeter | Mar 05, 2011, 05:20 PM EST

  I might as well clear this up now real fast..No-one is expected to bow,curtsy or genuflect in anyway towards the Queen ( notice the correct usage of a capital letter when shortening her official title of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II ) unless they so wish. She simply shakes hands with people like everyone else. The correct way of addressing her is either Your Majesty or Ma'am in a similar way that the President of Ireland is addressed as Your Excellency or President depending on the occasion. Course Creakygate will lick clean the path in front of her.

• EireinAmerica | Mar 05, 2011, 04:48 PM EST

  Maybe Lizzie wants to indeed maneuver her way into gas and property profits. And Seanomelbourne, George Dillon, thanks for standing up for Eire, Lads!

• EireinAmerica | Mar 05, 2011, 04:43 PM EST

  Maybe she wants to ask for the place back.

• seanomelbourne | Mar 05, 2011, 04:37 PM EST

  The crown is a symbol of tyranny in Ireland. "No queen to sully our shores" Let us not pretend what she represents never happened.

• GeorgeDillon | Mar 05, 2011, 03:25 PM EST

  moygannon: You're right. All those guys with "revolutionary principles"--they were full of hate, weren't they? Casement, Pearse, Tone, Collins, Connolly... And of course our own Washington, Jefferson, Franklin--they were just as bad, full of hate... It must be great to be you, you're better than them all.

• GeorgeDillon | Mar 05, 2011, 03:21 PM EST

  What's that shuffling sound? Oh, I see now--it's poster joreilly doing his bowing and curtesying exercises. Come on Relly, you can do better. Bend over further!

• joreilly | Mar 05, 2011, 03:09 PM EST

  Hi Gerry, For God's sake,and for Ireland's sake please grow up !!!Remember ,if Bill Clinton hadn't fought so hard for your invite to the U.S.A way back,you'd still be in the trenches murdering each other.Please ,get over it ,and show a little maturity. J.O'R.

• Towngate | Mar 05, 2011, 02:35 PM EST

  The Queen has graciously accepted the kind Invitation of the Irish President to make a State Visit. ~ Of course, there will be those who will have mixed emotions about it; but maybe it's time for us to display a little grace, humility and open-minded courage in return. ........To mo chara GERRY ADAMS, I say this: ....................... Great States require Great Statesmen; and now as a TD you Represent not only the Irish Electorate - but all irish people ~ particularly the ones who did NOT vote foryou in Louth and everyone else in the country who does not share your Personal Opinion on this matter. . ~ Time to get into 'the long trousers' now, Gerry, and show us if you are really big enough for the important road that lies ahead! ~ and that goes for the rest of us too!

• GeorgeDillon | Mar 05, 2011, 01:49 PM EST

  Irishphotograph: You're involved in marketing Irish Gas? Have you talked to sir peter? He has large supplies.

• moygannon | Mar 05, 2011, 01:48 PM EST

  Adams must live a miserable life. The hate exuding from his remarks is a testament to his revolutionary principles and Ireland will never be free as long as bird brain politicans exist.

• AOHBard | Mar 05, 2011, 12:13 PM EST

  Would it be appropriate to hand her a bill to bring back to Westminster asking them to pay for all the damage that their army has done over the years? (diplomatically, of course)

• curranart | Mar 05, 2011, 11:41 AM EST

  How typical of Micheal Martin, hes no different than Cowan, people in this country need to open thier eyes to whats really going on, peace progress my bum, they stole the country during the plantation, now they do it again only no need for plantation with the likes of Cowan and the rest. Its up for grabs and we stand idly by.

• curranart | Mar 05, 2011, 11:36 AM EST

  It will cause offense to many Irish citizens. Any one who is under the illusion that the trip “is an indication that we are living in changed and changing times",needs to get a grip. The trip is typical of any that have ever happened through out our bloody history,as said before,its like a dog pissing on a lamp post. Then at the end of the day she owns the place dosent she.

• DanOLoingsigh | Mar 05, 2011, 11:32 AM EST

  Gerry Adams is right again. The royal visit should be Easter 2016, when Liz Windsor, if she hasn’t done us all a favour and died before then, is made to stand next to President Adams, on the steps of the GPO, and review a march past by the descendants of the men of 1916… delivers an eulogy at the Famine Memorial… opens an interpretive centre on Inishvickillaun on the theme ‘Why everything bad in Ireland is because of me and my ancestors’…rededicates the Sean Russell memorial….and visits every house in Mullaghmore to apologise for the upset caused when her uncle blew himself up in an attempt to blacken the reputation of ordinary decent republican psychopaths.

• cillowen | Mar 05, 2011, 11:19 AM EST

  When and only when .. Reparations in the form of billions of euros or pounds for the rape, pillage (forests laid bare, usurped lands) and murder by benevolent neighbor's symbol (Hanoverian / changed to Windsor during WW1 royal). Their Germanic cruel strain so evident across the world's people now carried on by across the pond (now mixed bag of soul) cousins. As to Irish diaspora in England that has to be understood as how those who having no easy escape run to get close to avoid those haymaker left and rights from their master. Its like how the weaker apes show timidity and back into the bigger and their more poweful APE fornicaters. Emmigration that we see today bespeaks of that trend. The big vicious mucky mucks tends to hold the status in spite of what I write. Madoff a great example who in time will be understood with sympathy books pouring forth. Thank you Allah.

• DanOLoingsigh | Mar 05, 2011, 11:12 AM EST

  talon3355 - ‘RIR Metals’? Does this refer to Royal Irish Regiment and medals… then that regiment has not been decommissioned. Better to hover over that ‘Comment’ button for a second or two while you check out your facts and spelling.

• CanadianPat | Mar 05, 2011, 11:03 AM EST

  Hide the silver!

• STUMPTOWN | Mar 05, 2011, 10:52 AM EST

  GERRY SHOULD FACE THE FACT THAT IRELAND LIKE THE U.K. ARE BOTH MEMBERS OF THE E.U. AND WHAT YEAR IT IS IN THE HISTORY BOOK. GERRY, WHO WAS THE FIRST PERSON TO ASK ENGLAND TO INVADE IRELAND? WOULD YOU WELCOME THE POPE TO IRELAND FOR A VISIT? TIME WAITS FOR NO ONE.

• talon3355 | Mar 05, 2011, 10:34 AM EST

  "overcome the difficulties of the past one.”The Queen has not reconciled this fact. It should be her as head of state to reconcile Differences ushering in change.But, it has been the Blatant Stewart style that has lead... to differences. I do not know if She has it in her to Change. CitizenWhy, you can not See, Take one ex -Giving the RIR Metals when they where decommissioned.

• haikued2 | Mar 05, 2011, 10:24 AM EST

  Could be worse. Could be Lady Gaga

• Taraskryne | Mar 05, 2011, 10:14 AM EST

  Gerry Adams TD. Buíochas le Dia!!!!

• CitizenWhy | Mar 05, 2011, 09:51 AM EST

  Irish photograph is on to something. The Irish gas fields must be of interest to the UK as an energy source. The worst thing would for the Irish government to sell off this asset in order to help pay the ECB or, God help us, to continue pouring money into the Irish zombie banks. ... As for Madame Windsor, she's a nice lady, her visit is partly designed to soften up the north for future power sharing between the UK and the Republic, she does represent Ireland's largest trading partner, and perhaps she wants to buy some of the auctioned Irish properties, thereby glamorizing the purchase of more properties by, let's say, the Russian kleptocracy resident in London. ... I can see why Sinn Fein has a problem with the visit, but I hope they merely boycott the visit rather than do anything insulting. And, yes, my parents were active in the Irish War of Independence. ... Finally, let's not forget, Madame Windsor is descended from Brian Boru.

• Murph46 | Mar 05, 2011, 09:49 AM EST

  "The queens visit under certain conditions will benefit Ireland" They probably said the same of Cromwell!The only way her visits benefits is if she takes ALL Brit soldiers home with her.

• Murph46 | Mar 05, 2011, 09:46 AM EST

  Not only that,but there is the start of frenzy over the royal wedding in April.Who the hell cares.Look what Charley and the royalites did to Di !

• tomgallagher | Mar 05, 2011, 09:42 AM EST

  I think it will be a great step forward for Ireland and the naysayers should try looking forward instead of backward all the time.

• cuddlybuddly | Mar 05, 2011, 09:34 AM EST

  I like the idea of her coming to Ireland, it's us inviting her into our country, she only gets to visit. I remember with pride all who fought for our freedom and I wonder what she will say about that or will it remain the invisible elephant in the room, an apology would be fitting- a public apology from the Queen and then return North of Ireland back to us, where it belongs...I think Gerry Adams could be right, it's premature...and I wouldn't listen to a word Brian Cowen had to say about anything

• Irishphotograph | Mar 05, 2011, 09:30 AM EST

  As a descendant of one of Ireland's greatest rebel leaders John Devoy (IRB)....join my FB page Irish Gas should be Irish Owned and I tell you why The Queen's visit under certain conditions will benefit Ireland..

• antoman | Mar 05, 2011, 09:17 AM EST

  One must be careful of what one likes.If one likes one's 18th century desk.Then one must pack it up and put it in the back of one's rolls royce for transport back to one's London.

• sirpeter | Mar 05, 2011, 08:55 AM EST

  Lizzy the Hun..With her German looking head.