The IRA won’t apologize to their military victims of The Troubles

:)

Thank you for the interesting dialogue barneyjo

@seanomelb - thank you for being so forthright. To quote the closing line of dialogue from my favourite cowboy film Outlaw Josey Wales, and spoken by Clint Eastwood; "Perhaps we all died a little in that damn war" Much food for thought in that for us all :)

Barneyjo I acknowledge that your personal experiences are tragic in the extreme and thankfully I never had to witness your pain and that of your sister and many others who lived in the north at that time.But you really cannot state that because we were not their that we have no knowledge or were not affected in some way by the events in the north. It was The Irish diaspora who countered the British propaganda machine in the U.S. Australia and in other nations against the wishes of their respective governments. I can assure you that the Australian government made every attempt to harass republican protesters and I had my business and home raided on an illegal warrant and was consistently followed by federal and state police and harassed on a weekly basis and I was not alone others were pursued as well. So barney I did not live the tragedy in the north but paid a penalty for sympathizing with you.

@seanomelb - I do not have any "grand truth" as you put it, only my truth. I can certainly relate to the awful experience you relate with regard to your family, but you do not make it clear if you yourself were present and held along with your family? We certainly all have stories to tell, but I think you will find that where we live is quite material. In your own case the view you have of British Troops would be even more coloured due to their treatment of your family on the Derry/Donegal if you you had been present rather than if you were abroad. It is one thing to hear reports on the media or from another person about how a 29 year old woman was blown to bits, it is quite another to be a witness to the aftermath of that event I assure you. This event occurred 30 years ago, yet I can still get the acrid smell of burning flesh, feel the nausea rise at the very thought of what I along with my younger sister witnessed that day. I was in a state of shock and to my shame I neglected to shield this awful sight from her eyes. And I know that she has also disturbed memories of that day also. Although I was not physically injured, I count myself a victim, like many others for having lost much of the potential of my formative years to the awfulness of a war (for that is what it was)There were others who got it worse; much worse. So no, with respect, I think you will find that your view of the irish world, and indeed the view of all from afar is markedly different from those who endured the fear and uncertainty of daily life here!!

barneyjo my sister(in her wedding gown)and her entourage were prevented from entering Donegal for her wedding by British troops they were held their for 6 hours before my mother lost it and shamed them in letting the wedding party through.Your bleeding heart attitude does not give you any impetus or "grand truth" we all have memories of what happened and the fact that some of us are not "on the ground' so to speak, is irrelevant. WE all have stories to tell of our experiences and where we live is immaterial.

@citizen69 - Your concolusion is the most obvious one I'll grant you. However there were other industrial centres in Ireland, albeit not on the same scale as Belfast which could conceivably have developed over a period. I also happen to think that James Craig and Michael Collins were moving towards a working relationship not unlike that reached between the DUP and Sinn Fein Leaderships which could in time have taken the whole country along a different road. Sadly he was cut down before that relationship could develop further. I also happen to think that Collins's overtures to Craig and the Unionists probably impacted on the minds of those who were responsible for his assination, whoever they were!! Tragic in every sense.

@Barneyjo: For sure, the history of this island would be markedly different but for better or worse? The industrious north would definitely have improved the economic prospects of Ireland but only if the Unionist population were willing to accept a 32 county republic. All indications were that had Partition not happened then Ireland would have been crippled by a huge civil war much worse than the one the Free State endured. Who knows how long that would have lasted? Either way i think most of the poverty black spots in the north would still be in the same predicament today. Who knows though.

@citizen69 - fair point. However I am sure you can at least consider the prospect that the history of this island would be markedly different today, if the island had not been partitioned and evolved as a singular 32 county entity as a sovereign state?

@sirpeter: Unlike some i don't blame Britian for all my failings in life. My situation was more linked to poverty. I come from a working class family of ten children. As with Rep. of Ireland and every other country, poverty and low educational attainment go hand in hand. Places like Ballymun & Tallaght wouldn't have been much different than the Shankill. When i was in School your country didn't have a pot to piss in so i doubt i would have been living the high-life in a United Ireland. In fact apart from a brief 10-15 year period where RoI were spending money they didn't own your country has systematically failed to provide for it's young people. Try telling the 1,000 kids who leave RoI every week that they have a good job waiting for them. Any country that cannot prevent the constant hemorrhaging of it's own people trying to find a better life elsewhere is no county i aspire to be part of.

@maireadinmelb - Madam,at no point did I ever say that the opinions of anyone other than myself were wrong; I said they were qualified which in this case means that they are offered by posters separated from Irelands recent events, either by distance, years, generations, or in some cases, a combination of these factors. You quite rightly state that "sometimes from the outside there is a different perspective" that difference, and I have tried to illustrate that difference in my earlier post with events that have occurred me during my life. There have been other such events, more personal, and painful which have profoundly affected and shaped my life from the day they occurred. I will not speak of them hear for it brings me pain, just to remember them as I type. And I am not unique. There are many, many thousands of people who can recall incidents and events like those I describe. If Citizen69 is sincere (and I believe he is)he is able to recall many of the same events, but from a potentially different perspective (the other side of the "fence")I neither wish to be offensive or abusive in any of my posts on any topic (except when I get a bit riled) but I make the point again that your view of Ireland today is tempered by distance, years, and 3rd party information resources, and respectfully, that is what makes it "qualified" not wrong, but "qualified" :)

Again you make assumptions about what people have seen and experienced. You know nothing of me or my family or of Sean of canadianirish and their families! To assume makes you an ass! so just accept that sometimes from the outside there is a different perspective - not wrong but different!

@citizen69.See what thanks you got from the Brits for your loyalty to the crown.When I was growing up every Protestant had one of two options after secondary level education.A good job waiting for him or onto college.I tell no lie.I knew a a guy once in a Protestant club.He was an electrician,a tradesman.We didn't half joke with him about it.Because he did it to spite his parents.They had other plans apparently.Still they made sure he got good contracts.

They should not apologize for anything. War is war, Brits invaded we stood up to them,. If someone breaks into your home and you shoot them, do you then apologize for it? NO. You have every right to defend what is yours.

@Citizen69 - the school that let you (and others) down is no longer here. You are!!