87 Comments

• Snowdrop | Jul 20, 2011, 05:11 AM EDT

  Sig 'em on AlQuida.

• ancavker | Jul 19, 2011, 04:30 PM EDT

  Joycean: Your first mistake is to try and understand the Irish. As a realative of mine always says, "ahh now sure we are are an odd bunch".

• themurphia | Jul 19, 2011, 12:28 PM EDT

  Eddiebhoy:That's ok...if you are on Facebook/twitter maybe you can raise awareness on those sites...just picking up on the 'bhoy'...isn't there a QC and Scottish Assembly member in Glasgow who are a Celtic supporters...who might if you haven't contacted them already be willing to help? ...bhattmurphy solicitors phone number 02077291115...All the best let us know how you get on...slan agus beannacht

• EddieBhoy | Jul 19, 2011, 12:09 PM EDT

  Re - themurphia , thanks for taking the time to reply , will fight on and try anything and everything to try and get this poor man released , again many thanks

• themurphia | Jul 19, 2011, 11:48 AM EDT

  Eddiebhoy:try emailing this firm: mail@bhattmurphy.co.uk they specialise in prisoners rights..no relation btw..I've emailed Liberty Human Rights Campaigners.. but it's an online form so whether they'll pick it up I don't know suggest you phone them...they are in London also

• themurphia | Jul 19, 2011, 11:20 AM EDT

  Unfortunately the decision to revoke lies with the Home Office...the license can be revoked and the licensee returned to serve the unexpired period of license on the grounds of an allegation of further criminal activity/wrongdoing even if that is later dropped... if as you say approaches to Govt ministers have fallen on deaf ears then it needs someone with political clout to make representations on your behalf...sooner rather than later...I expect that is why you have contacted Niall's paper...given the urgency you should perhaps contact the News media and campaingning organisations such as Liberty or Prisoners Rights Campaign Howard League...Maybe someone in N/Ireland can help you with names of broadcasters...?

• EddieBhoy | Jul 19, 2011, 09:32 AM EDT

  Being from Glasgow , I would not wish to comment about so called Dissident activity , the word in my eyes being of British design and derogatory to Irish Men & Women , and also designed to alienate one section of the community from another . I am here to raise the gravely important issue of a man called Brendan Lillis , who currently lies dying in the Hospital Wing of Maghaberry Gaol , who had his Licence revoked on charges which were later dropped , Brendan is critically ill , his partner cas campaigned & lobbied tirelessly for his release on compassionate grounds . The Doctors have intimated a few days ago that he has as little as 10 days to live . All avenues have been exhausted NI Secretary Of State , Justice Minister , various other Govt officials all emailed . All to no avail , no replies or pass the buck to the next official . This man & his family are fast running out of time . His detention is in contravention and breach of legislation set out by the European Convention Of Human Rights on several different counts ! Is this publication prepared to highlight this man's agonising quickly approaching death . This is no trivial matter and surely is news worthy , - E.Travers concerned humanitarian Glasgow

• themurphia | Jul 18, 2011, 06:34 PM EDT

  Here's a little meterological joke for you...Q:Why is the Irish summer like a Muslim country...?A:Because it's Sunni in places but mostly it's Shiite...!Well it makes me laugh!

• themurphia | Jul 17, 2011, 01:26 PM EDT

  walter: What are you on/about...? where have I mentioned Mountbatten...?I think it's a bit rich if I may say so to use the O'Dowd's site to promote your own work after the tenor of your IT piece about him...For those who wish to read an alternative memoir of the 'Troubles' I recommend Seamus Deane 'Reading in the Dark'..no connection just a very moving well written book of many written about growing up in the 'Troubles'...

• Sparklet | Jul 17, 2011, 09:59 AM EDT

  It might do, Walter. But if I could change it, I'd drop the T altogether. I dont care that much if people think Im a man. Unless I'm meeting them face to face. :) I sometimes think I shouldnt come here either as I get wound up. You wouldn't know it from some of the things I say, but I used to be very passionate about the six counties, and I still do refer to Ireland as a 32 county nation. But I've become a little more logical and practical, especially since civil rights is no longer the huge issue it was. I despise the British history in Ireland, but the key word there is history. Things still aren't perfect, but I think they're going in the right direction, and you can't change the past. Anyway, don't be a stranger!

• WalterEllis | Jul 17, 2011, 05:59 AM EDT

  Sparks: No problem. Just one of those things. But here, while talking to someone reasonable, let me make a confession. I have become more than a little addicted to IrishCentral in recent weeks. I can't seem to stop commenting ... and it's mostly over-the-top stuff that does nobody, least of all me, any good. It's not as if I don't have other things to do. So I'm going to TRY to make a clean break. From now on, unless someone says something obviously outrageous, I shall do my very best not to say anything. Can I keep to this? I hope so, but we'll have to see. Anyway, good luck with whatever you're doing. Meantime, wouldn't "Sparklette" (with the extra -te) clear up the gender issue? Just a thought ...

• Sparklet | Jul 16, 2011, 06:54 PM EDT

  Walter, I realised as soon as I posted that it made it look like it was you who had referred to Mountbatten as a rat. If only there was an editing option! Anyway, my apologies.

• WalterEllis | Jul 16, 2011, 05:46 PM EDT

  themurphia: I didn't raise the Mountbatten issue. It was you and Sparklet who dragged me into it. Sparklet, no doubt unintentionally, even managed to make me appear to have been the one who said Mountbatten was a "rat" (see below), when the slur was, of course, put forward by "Patriot". In the circumstances, it seemed only fair to point out my somewhat mellower, if tenuous, connection to someone directly affected by those terrible events. In your case, tm, you challenged me to deal directly with Patriot's abusive comments on Mountbatten. Then, when I did just that, you denounced me as crass. I try to be fair in these columns. I apologise when I make mistakes or go too far. But, with a few honourable exceptions, the rest of you prefer to sling mud from behind your pseudonyms. I think you owe me an apology, but I'll not be holding my breath. By the way, my book is long out of print. So I won't make a cent. Thank gawd for that, eh?

• themurphia | Jul 16, 2011, 05:13 PM EDT

  Never waste a crisis eh Walter...Crass...opportunism...!

• WalterEllis | Jul 16, 2011, 04:45 PM EDT

  Sparklet: This gets worse and worse. Sorry for the gender assumption. If anyone's interested, Timothy Knatchbull, who survived the 1979 bomb blast that killed his twin brother Nicholas along with Lord Mountbatten, Mountbatten's sister-in-law and a young Fermanagh boy Paul Maxwell, had this to say of my childhood memoir, The Beginning of the End, published in 2006: "I adored accompanying Ellis down the byways of his early life, and relished the laugh-out-loud stories and his lovely writing. To those not possessed of a happy Irish childhood, the book offers insight, colour and its fair share of shocks. Northern Ireland during the Troubles was evidently both a wonderful and an awful place in which to grow up. It’s up to the reader to decide which was uppermost."

• Sparklet | Jul 16, 2011, 11:48 AM EDT

  Walter, I will never have a Brit wife. Or a wife of any kind. I'm a girl. :) And for the record, that "rat" Mountbatten wanted to see a united Ireland, and I think I read that the IRA actually apologised for his murder based on that fact.

• WalterEllis | Jul 16, 2011, 11:32 AM EDT

  themurphia: Fair point. Patriot: grow up and drop the terrorist talk. Ireland has seen more than enough death and destruction over the last 40 years without you baying for more. And even if Sparklet did have a "Brit" wife, in what way would that detract from the force of his argument? And I'll tell you this for nothing: if you ever need to find work in England, you'd better hope that nobody there finds out what you think of them. Not much danger of that, though, is there?

• Sparklet | Jul 16, 2011, 11:21 AM EDT

  Sorry, not wanting to spam, and should have read all the posts before I submitted - but Patriot (I assume it's Pat Riot, as the word patriot is totally inappropriate) is making my blood boil. **Walter, and others here in Ireland, may be too cowardly to fight against those who murdered their ancestors, but many others are not. ** Does the word 'ancestors' give you a clue, you ridiculous man? Because the murderers are also dead! Should every black man take revenge on white people because of what the KKK have done in the past? Thank God the majority of people in Ireland - whether you like it or not - don't think the way you do. Suffice to say that the Irish hate that kind of attitude and the people who promote it.

• Sparklet | Jul 16, 2011, 11:15 AM EDT

  Patriot, I dont have a Brit wife. (Needs a rolleyes smiley)

• themurphia | Jul 16, 2011, 08:43 AM EDT

  ellis:Well tell him then...why tell me...!

• maloney | Jul 16, 2011, 08:10 AM EDT

  I see no harm in sending a little pocket money to the lads for a few at the pub. What with the lack of jobs and all.

• joycean | Jul 16, 2011, 08:06 AM EDT

  WalterEllis:Excellent post.Concerning Irish-Irish-American relations: When our parents and grandparents left Ireland, they didn't have the Internet to keep in touch, or to express ideas anonymously,very important advances.People weren't frequent corresponders; they had to watch what they were saying and were easily misunderstood.My children keep in touch with distant relatives, friends much more than I have. We may be in the process of closing some of those cultural gaps that have opened up over the past century.

• WalterEllis | Jul 16, 2011, 07:27 AM EDT

  themurphia: I'm ignoring Patriot's "salute" to the Warrenpoint massacre and the murder of Earl Mountbatten. Best to leave those comments where they lie.

• themurphia | Jul 16, 2011, 07:10 AM EDT

  Oh thats ok then..!

• WalterEllis | Jul 16, 2011, 04:47 AM EDT

  Patriot: I may be wrong, but I doubt that you, if given the chance, would put a bullet through the head of a young PSNI officer, Protestant or Catholic, who happened to respond to a call for help in Belfast, Derry or Armagh. Your blood got up when you read about what happened on the streets this week. You may even have seen something nasty yourself. But, unless you are actually a member of the Real or Continuity IRAs (which seems unlikely), then you, too, have opted not to take up arms against the present political settlement. Is this because you are a coward? I don't think so. It is more likely because, come Monday morning, you will have a job to go to, or one to find, and a family to feed or support, and also because, when you turn on the tv, there will be Martin McGuinness, a long-serving senior IRA commander, telling you that the war is over and it is time to make peace with former enemies. The message of Michael Collins, in fact, though – let us hope – without the accompanying death warrant.

• Kilsally | Jul 16, 2011, 04:04 AM EDT

  the murphia - sorry but you are wrong - Northern Ireland is a patchwork quilt of communities - it is nigh impossible in some areas, like ardoyne where the two communities like cheek by jowl. There were thousands of parades last week and the only one with rioting was ardoyne and that didnt start until long after the parade has passed and everyone gone home. The Ardoyne shops are on a main road - you only have to use google maps to see that - with no residential houses on it - instead you have nationalist houses behind the shops on one side and loyalist houses behind the shops on the other side of the road. It is neither anationalist or a loyalist area.

• Realist | Jul 16, 2011, 01:34 AM EDT

  patriot: I truly hope you don't intend to act out your tired old school-boy fantasy of "Brits out". Though if you do, I hope nobody is hurt and that you go to prison, where you belong. Alternatively, you could simply grow up. People have moved on, I suggest you give it a try.

• hancock | Jul 16, 2011, 01:28 AM EDT

  I don't know how you genius ultra successful Irish have been able to put up with us Americans all these years. I guess having your English friends having your backs all these long years has made it possible. God bless you all.

• patriot | Jul 15, 2011, 06:41 PM EDT

  Walter, and others here in Ireland, may be too cowardly to fight against those who murdered their ancestors, but many others are not.

• patriot | Jul 15, 2011, 06:20 PM EDT

  So sparklet gets his brit wife and we are supposed to roll over and let 800 years of brit oppression go by the boards. No. Brits out of Ireland now and forever. And I don't give a hoot what you think, the fight is right. I salute Warrenpoint and the killing of that rat Mountbatten!

• joycean | Jul 15, 2011, 06:17 PM EDT

  I think there are cultural differences between Irish and Irish-Americans. For instance, in the US, it is considered very impolite, even illegal, to judge people by ethnicity (Driving while Black, Racial Profiling).I have to be careful to avoid any suggestion of cultural bias, so I am very aware of it when I am at the receiving end. I don't care if the Irish are friends with the British, and I really doubt many well-travelled Americans do. When Americans go to Europe,they go to see the sights that they have seen in history books or documentaries: the Tower of London,Big Ben, the Eiffle Tower,the Louvre, the Alps, Germany's incredible medieval villages. I've studied and taught Irish literature, and I may look for the Ireland of Joyce, Frank O'Connor, Frank McCourt, Yeats. I've also studied the Irish history that I needed to understand them. That may seem "so early twentieth century."

• Sparklet | Jul 15, 2011, 05:24 PM EDT

  WalterEllis tells it as it is.

• Towngate | Jul 15, 2011, 04:30 PM EDT

  Well,ankie@02.19: I didn't intend to rattle you cage. I thought they had sent you to another compound! ~~~ I know you have difficulty wid da lingo so I'll 'go easy' on you. I was expanding a point made by JOHNTOBIN that "what if" those who are always crying "Brits OUT" were to be told that Britain was intending to expel all Irish from her terror-tories,and they all had to go and live in the Republic - or 26 Counties, or whatever you want to call it - now, that would double the population who are scrabbling for a living here already and things would turn very nasty indeed. We should be grateful that the Irish are allowed to thrive freely in Britain as this takes pressure off the Irish State. ::: But I have a feeling that what really got yer dander up was the chilling realisation that it would mean that all Irish Catholics and Protestants would have to leave Northern Ireland and head South of the Border! I am not saying this should, could, or will, ever happen, but if you keep misbehaving, the Irish protestants could be thrown out 'with the bathwater', and they'd be so upset, I wouldn't foncy yur chonces thon, son, - so I wouldn't! - So relax for the moment ... we're only saying " What if?"

• WalterEllis | Jul 15, 2011, 04:27 PM EDT

  Let's be honest, it's small enough moment in human history. But we have, I think, reached the point where the native Irish (descended from those who chose to remain In Ireland, regardless of the problems they faced) and the so-called Irish of Irish-America (who opted to leave and make new lives for themselves in the United States) have diverged sufficiently for anthropologists to list them as separate entities. The two don't talk alike; they don't think alike; they don't have the same cultural references. All that they have in common is a history that, for Irish-Americans, centres on the Famine and 1916, but for the Irish – whatever difficulties may lie ahead – is rooted in friendship with Britain and a shared European destiny. Is that a tragedy? It is if you are an Irish-American who cannot let go of a mythical past. But for the rest of us, it is the future.

• OBPiper | Jul 15, 2011, 03:17 PM EDT

  Enough already! All of these militant groups, "Catholic" and "Protestant" alike, need to join forces against the real villains who have decimated Ireland's economy and mortgaged her future!! No money for cavemen!

• themurphia | Jul 15, 2011, 02:38 PM EDT

  As someone I cannot remember who once said...'the problem with the English is that they cannot remember their past...*not true*...the problem with the Irish is that they cannot forget theirs'...I'm not sure that distinction applies anymore...Ireland has becocme the Whore of Europe...the litter of the Celtic Tiger have wiped their history and sold their children to the highest bidder...I'm glad the Diaspora keep the traditions heritage culture history and language alive..or to use a phrase familiar to the new consumers of Irish Society...once it's gone it's gone...!

• ancavker | Jul 15, 2011, 02:19 PM EDT

  towngate: What a bunch of worthless in accurate, made up incoherent mumble jumble;you need to get back on your meds.

• ancavker | Jul 15, 2011, 02:16 PM EDT

  joycean: Yes the Irish do have very entrenched negative views about Americans. And it gets old. They are big know it alls when it comes to the U.S. and how and the world, and when something is mentioned about their own country, than they get offended, and say we do not understand. It's time for them to get rid of their trendy European leftist persona; it does not fit them well.

• Sparklet | Jul 15, 2011, 02:13 PM EDT

  Sorry, to clarify. It's generally the average American tourist not IAs who do the begorrah thing. I got carried away there. :) The annoying thing about the IAs is that they live in the past and think the rest of us do too. I think it's an inherent guilt about their ancestors leaving. I spoke to one IA who kept apologising because his great great grandfather had abandoned Ireland. But Ireland has moved on, and they should too.

• hancock | Jul 15, 2011, 02:06 PM EDT

  So is that statement sparky.

• Sparklet | Jul 15, 2011, 02:03 PM EDT

  Sorry but those who come over asking if there are really leprechauns and expecting the locals to say begorrah and top of the mornin, are a joke.

• themurphia | Jul 15, 2011, 01:45 PM EDT

  These so called 'parades' are nothing more than triumphalism...not celebrations of culture...if that were the case they would not demand the right to 'march' note term down the queen's highway as they insist on calling it past Catholic/Nationalist communities...Any male only organisations that have bizarre initiation ceremonies bearing a close relationship to Satanism/Freemasonry are suspect to put it mildly...I caught a glimpse of one on the News and there were more PNIS than 'marchers'...I didn't see the goat or the 'purple arch'...what is that all about...?It's about time the Charades Commission either did it's job or just disbanded...However it seems more likely that the institution like the marchers will die a death of natural causes...i.e. they will cease to have any relevance...The burning of effigies of Catholics bears no relationship to The St Patrick's Day parades which celebrate the Patron St of Ireland...

• Kilsally | Jul 15, 2011, 01:17 PM EDT

  patriot and warrenpoints `brits out` and `british thugs` are classic IRA propoganda designed to conjure up images of occupation when in fact they are refering to the northern irish police and to the largely irish protestant unionist population born and bred in northern ireland. Forgot to say but many Nationalist dominated councils fund the Orange Order Twelfth celebration two examples being the Twelfth in Ballyronan, County L`derry and Stewartstown, Counjty Tyrone both funded by the Sinn Fein controlled council and both areas largely Nationalist with no trouble what so ever - so Orange parades are not the problem in ardoyne.

• hancock | Jul 15, 2011, 01:01 PM EDT

  Irish trating Americans as a joke . Priceless.

• joycean | Jul 15, 2011, 12:52 PM EDT

  Sparklet,In the past, the British, American, and Irish governments exaggerated the extent of involvement in IRA support by Irish Americans. Most Irish Americans have never had any connection with it. Most think IRA stands for Individual Retirement Account. If they visit your country, they do so instead of taking a cruise, or some other vacation.I live in a tourist area here. We complain about lost tourists asking for directions, etc., but we appreciate the extent that they help our economy.When I was in Hawaii, I was amazed at the Aloha spirit toward tourists.My experience is that the Irish have very entrenched,negative stereotypes about Americans and it shows in a look, a gesture, the tiniest ways.I very much dislike being a "bit of a joke."

• themurphia | Jul 15, 2011, 12:37 PM EDT

  Sorry should have said...according to Tim Pat..the switchboard at RTE was deluged with phone calls from Seosamh/ine public about the way in which the chat show host had tried to prove MacAdaimh's 'the most hated man in Ireland...85% of which were in Gearoid's favour...So now!

• themurphia | Jul 15, 2011, 12:31 PM EDT

  How about this for a bit of weird chemistry...I have just picked up at random a book from my orphanage of neglected unread books...the chosen tome contains an introduction by Tim Pat Coogan...*aside...I decided some years ago that I would return to other literature once I had read all the Irish authors...however I digress!*...Not only does the mighty TPC refer to the O'Dowd but also to Gearoid MacAdaimh's first appearance on the Late Late Show in 1994 when the host Gay/bore pilloried him along with a panel of apologistas of the West Brit variety...And now look where we are...The book's very good since you ask...karma it's a strange dogma...!

• PhoenixZouave | Jul 15, 2011, 11:53 AM EDT

  Todays' situation in Ireland is very similiar to the situation that caused the assasination of General Wilson in 1920. "Peace process" does not include having renegade groups of SAS pukes roaming around doing Whitehall's biding. You cn never assume the English/Ulstermen are playinf fair--because they never do. They always break the rules that they think they are not bound by in any way.However they have that PR veneer that they are SINCERE! Never going to happen. As my late father said in the '70's "Don't think that the Casement diaries are real because the English ALWAYS play dirty."

• Sparklet | Jul 15, 2011, 11:50 AM EDT

  Patriot, surprisingly, the IAs might hate the Brits more than anyone in the whole world, but they in turn are hated, or at least looked down on, by the Irish. I mean - should we hate the Brits of today, who we work side by side with, and frequently marry - or the Irish Americans, who are rooted in the past and don't have a clue about Ireland today. Trust me. The IAs aren't hated, but they are seen to be a bit of a joke, and it's people like yourself who create that emotion.

• Towngate | Jul 15, 2011, 08:01 AM EDT

  JOHNTOBIN: Well said; but is an even more dynamic idea than you perhaps intended: If Britain expelled all the Irish out of Great Britain and Northern Ireland alone - excluding for the moment; the Irish living in any of the 38 British Commonwealth Countries ! - to the Republic, the total population would spike to c.13 million overnight! ~ Britain would then have to think of instituting some form of Plantation Scheme to reapportion the vacant land to the new population which might be drawn from anywhere in the Commonwealth! ~ So now, patriot, think about how lucky you are and how much worse things would be. Btw: I read lots of books, but don't know about the Hart one you mention. Let me know which ones you have written - so I can complete my education! Finally, funny you mention "the only way is...to kill your enemy" - that's all well and good, Pat, the problem is: your enemy feels exactly the same as you do!

• hollabackgurl | Jul 14, 2011, 10:55 PM EDT

  Stupidity and inexperience rise up with every generation, who overlook the past because they're young and stupid and untested and they don't actually know the history anyway. Dissidents are incredibly stupid to try the same old war and expect a different result.

• JOHNTOBIN | Jul 14, 2011, 09:28 PM EDT

  To patriot-how about the Brits kicking all the Irish out of the United Kingdom?

• warrenpoint00 | Jul 14, 2011, 08:36 PM EDT

  Aw Niall, wonder who your reliable republican sources are they obviously do not understand the Northern gael.Ireleveant of the so called dissidents excuse history dictates to us that generations of Irish people have risen and will continue to rise against british occupation in Ireland.Dissident or non dissident Irish have every right to defend their homes and their housing estates from british fascists thugs, they are IRISH after all and have every right to summon the Irish diaspora in their hour of need. Maybe your reliable Irish republican source can explain how a ten or fourteen year old Irish boy can be determined as a dissident republican.Looks like your hard work and crusade into the peace and the politics of the Irish northern gael is slowly sliding into a New York man hole.

• Kilsally | Jul 14, 2011, 08:15 PM EDT

  hmm that didnt quite work last time patriot and quite simply never will when 1million Northern Irish people consider themselves to be British as well as Irish. Or perhaps you are suggesting a spot of ethnic cleansing?

• patriot | Jul 14, 2011, 07:03 PM EDT

  The only way is back to the barricades and kill your enemy. Brits out!

• patriot | Jul 14, 2011, 06:59 PM EDT

  Towngate: Read a book! And not one written by a liar named Hart or published in the UK.

• patriot | Jul 14, 2011, 06:58 PM EDT

  And they will get good support in America too! The Irish in the states hate the brits more than anyone in the whole world, so they will stand behind the true patriots in Ireland as they always have. Brits out now!@

• Searlit | Jul 14, 2011, 06:17 PM EDT

  @ antoman, Eh, but thanks for asking.

• Towngate | Jul 14, 2011, 05:59 PM EDT

  Niall,a Chara,agus an Sparklet: ~ Describing Ireland,Irish history and its People is like watching a really fat naked person rolling down a hill! ~ Exactly what you see, depends on: who you are; what you're looking for; and where you're standing! ~ So if we "...sighing, look through the waves of Time", as the song goes, we can see on one occasion at least, fifty ships slipping out from the Poddle, down the Saleach and out onto the Irish sea on a 'shopping trip abroad'. This would not be a State Visit, now, or a Diplomatic Envoy, you understand! ~ ~ ~ The story goes that this was a very successful outing as they not only returned home with their own boats laden with, ahem!,'relocated items acquired from neighbours'... but an extra 200 boats filled with live cargo of young men, women and children! The country was sparcely populated at the time and we must assume that this ethnic relocation is probably how Ireland became populated and therefore that is who we truly are! - A veritable smorgasbord of the peoples stolen from northwest Europe and Scananavia. ~ ~ ~ Now,these jaunts were no more 'invasions' any more than the landing of Henry II unopposed in Ireland by invitation of the Irish King and with the blessing of the Pope in Rome was. ~ ~ ~ If only we Irish could take a broader look at who and what we were and are now, we would see how ridiculous our ongoing 'barsarker' skirmishes in 'the North' are today. Niall, a chara, It must be disheartening to read of even more disturbance after all your efforts, but fighting is in the Irish blood , but don't worry; if you keep quiet about my peoples boatloads of 'human resource acquisitions'! ~ I won't drag you to The Hague to answer awkward questions about where your forbear 'Niall' got his "Nine Hostages"! ~' Deal? Good! ~ Slainte! .................... Nobody can miss the irony that we are still raiding mainland Europe in order to scratch a living!!!

• themurphia | Jul 14, 2011, 05:23 PM EDT

  It's enough to give you the pip...!

• cillowen | Jul 14, 2011, 04:22 PM EDT

  no justice from the orange ade boys therefore no peace. crazy b....... in love with the mother they crave madly.

• Sparklet | Jul 14, 2011, 02:30 PM EDT

  Peterrocco, an historian stated in The Story of Ireland (available on dvd) that the Irish actually invaded the UK before they ever invaded Ireland. It was a light-hearted comment, but apparently factual. We're obviously talking about the year dot, but according to you, the passage of time doesn't nullify the crime.

• joycean | Jul 14, 2011, 01:47 PM EDT

  I wish people would read this article. It does not say any Americans have actually contributed a penny, just that some Irish terrorists would like to scam them.

• kaydog1 | Jul 14, 2011, 12:32 PM EDT

  "Excuse me, Sir, would you like to donate some money to help Irishmen kill other Irishmen? Every little bit helps, you know."

• PhoenixZouave | Jul 14, 2011, 12:15 PM EDT

  The 19th century history of the Fenian Brotherhood of America proves that contributions to the IRA or IRB are fruitless. The Irish forces want money but refuse any strategic or tactical advice from Irish-America. Don't forget the 130 Irish-American officers from the Union army who returned to Ireland after the American Civil War. Although among them were Colonel Michael Kerwin, Colonel William Halpin, and Lt. Colonel Dennis Burke, these senior officers were shunned and side-tracked by James Stephens. Contribution withou imput is unacceptable.

• antoman | Jul 14, 2011, 12:00 PM EDT

  @Searlit-Doing good.,yourself?There was an article here a while back about James Joyce I believe and getting from one part of Dublin to another without having to walk by a pub.Not easily done.Such will be the case for parade routes.How do you plot the route of a Orange Order parade without offending a part of the community by marching through their streets.NASA may have to get involved eventually.What with having a birds eye view like.

• Kilsally | Jul 14, 2011, 11:55 AM EDT

  peterrocco - Republican Sinn Fein (as opposed to just Sinn Fein) are a political front for dissident terrorists who shoot Catholic cops in particular but any copper will do or member of the district policing boards

• joycean | Jul 14, 2011, 11:39 AM EDT

  seagreen, I often thought that Black/White relations in this country would improve when Americans realized most of the current residents of the American South are descended from immigrants whse ancestors din't arrive in this country until well after the Civil War and never made it past the Mason-Dixon Line until 20-30 years ago.And most Black are mixed-racial like Obama.

• Kilsally | Jul 14, 2011, 11:37 AM EDT

  My own Orange parade was hosted by the Ballyronan district this year (each district taking turns to host the parade so the locations rotates to different town / village every year and returns every 7/8 years). This year it was in a largely Nationalist village (was alot more mixed several decades ago but the demographic has changed since) but the Orange Hall is located in the rural county londonderry / derry village centre - no problems with anybody , bunting and orange arch went up a few days before and everything taken down the next day - everyone gets on, each has their own tradition and community and housing is much more mixed without these almost apartheid housing estates you see in the cities where the same half a dozen areas have the exact same riots at the exact same locations every year - you can set your watch by them. Next year I believe our Twelfth will be hosted by Tobermore district which is the complete opposite and almost completely loyalist village - the parade is not organised to `go through nationalist areas`, it moves about and every district takes it turn to host and organise the event.

• Searlit | Jul 14, 2011, 11:30 AM EDT

  How are you doing antoman? Funny thing, edible puzzles. Of, course, there's truth to what seagreen says, however there is an unattended wound in the heart of Irish Sovereignty. It seems especially gaping during this time of economic chaos. I still think orange marchers are the cause of the continued aggression in the North. Wouldn't most of us cringe, if we witnessed someone cutting an unattended wound every year? Negativity breeds negativity. Ask yourself who profits? Violence is the most costliest of terms. Go place your hands on the Treaty Stone, and think about it.

• Kilsally | Jul 14, 2011, 11:29 AM EDT

  The Irish President has just hosted Orangemen at a Twelfth Party at Aras an Uachtarain and Tourism Ireland the all-island tourist body along with the NI Tourist Board promotes the Orange festivities and the Irish Dept of Foreign Affairs funds the Apprentice Boys Maiden City Festival which is coming up in August. Orange culture is part of Irish culture like it or not, thats why the colour Orange is in the Republic`s flag. Much talk of equality and respect of different traditions but it seems only one tradition is included.

• Kilsally | Jul 14, 2011, 11:22 AM EDT

  Very inaccurate article - there is not a single Orange march that `goes through Nationalist areas` with the exception of the Drumcree march in Portadown which hasn`t marched for 10 years or more - that parade marched to drumcree church and back on that route for 200 years long before houses were on the garvaghy road. The ardoyne riots like the riots in east belfast last month are at an interface area, a main road that separates two housing estates - one loyalist and the other nationalist (or protestant / catholic if you will) - anyone with the slightest bit of intelligence only needs to google `ardoyne maps` and look at them to see that the `nationalist area` actually is a main road with shops not houses with side roads to one side belonging to nationalist and roads to the other side with houses to loyalists and that the parade does the exact same as other parades in mostly loyalist areas or rural areas where there is no trouble. The comparison with the kkk is wrong the orange order is the protestant equivalent of the roman catholic AOH - again like the east belfast loyalist rioting you will notice these rioters are all teenagers in very poor areas - unemployment and social disadvantage play a part here.

• peterrocco | Jul 14, 2011, 11:15 AM EDT

  Any group can be put on the State Department's list of terrorist organizations. It is done on a whim without evidence. For instance, Republican Sinn Fein was put on the list because they demonstrated against George bush when he visited Ireland. On Bush's word they were placed on the list and they are a legal political party in both statelets of Ireland. The list is partially sincere, but it is also partly a joke. Any U.S. domestic group that demonstrated against Bush was put on the FBI's list to monitor and harrass. Lists are bogus. I have my own list.

• joycean | Jul 14, 2011, 10:54 AM EDT

  The various IRA groups are on the State Department list of terrorist organizations. Anyone who knowingly contributes to them or provides ANY assistance violates US law. I doubt if Gerry Adams or Martin McGuinness would be allowed to enter the US. Cat Stevens' plane was turned around in midair and returned to London with all passengers.

• peterrocco | Jul 14, 2011, 10:24 AM EDT

  Lived in the north three years and saw it all first hand. There are some things worth fighting for and Irish Unity is one of them. Lets start a new and get rid of Stormont and Leinster House. No one wants violence, but the Irish did not invade Britain, it was the other way around. Time does not nullify the injustice of invasion. Under international law, people have the right to resist a foreign power. You either support them or crawl under a rock.

• seagreen | Jul 14, 2011, 10:07 AM EDT

  Year 2077 Thousands of Indian/Irish, Chinese/Irish, Nigerian/Irish, Romanian and Polish/Irish fill the stands of the stadiums in Belfast and Dublin in a home and home series to watch the last 53 full blooded Irish from the North and The Republic fight to see who used to be the ruling body in charge ...

• pilib04 | Jul 14, 2011, 09:54 AM EDT

  Maybe it's time for McGuinness, Adams and the rest of the Sinn Fein leadership to pay a visit to the American-Irish Diaspora and update us on what is going on.

• joycean | Jul 14, 2011, 09:33 AM EDT

  I have noticed that to identify yourself as an "American," or worse an "Irish-American" is to subject yourself to scorn in Ireland.I made the mistake once of saying my grandfather was born in Canada and being warming welcomed until I corrected it and said I was an Irish-American. Antoman identified George Dillon as an "American" which says volumes to the Irish. And look at the charming words of Citizen69. And you wonder why America wouldn't stand up for you in the IMF hearings and why Obama didn't make your problems go away.

• WalterEllis | Jul 14, 2011, 09:16 AM EDT

  What is your own view on this, Niall? In your blog, you neither condone nor condemn the rioters. Nor do you urge Americans to steer clear of the new fund-raisers who are undoubtedly coming their way. I assume that you would expect Irish-Americans to abdure the dissidents and to give their support to the Stormont administration. But it might help if you spelt it out.

• Rebelforce | Jul 14, 2011, 08:53 AM EDT

  I don't think there is any question that we would have riots in America's inner cities too if we allowed the Ku Klux Klan "the right" to celebrate their "heritage" by forcibly marching through Afro-American neighborhoods under police protection. This should be a no-brainer. These sectarian, violence-provoking marches should not be allowed in areas where they can absolutely be expected to arouse the ire of the people. It also would be helpful for us to know the religious breakdown of the youngsters who were arrested in the civil disturbances caused by these sectarian marches. We know that rioting occured from both the loyalist and nationalist side.

• joycean | Jul 14, 2011, 08:52 AM EDT

  I am sick of the Irish trying to blame Americans for their problems. Notice the groups being targetted:civil rights groups and NORTHERN nationalists. I know better than to give a damn about Irish civil rights or about Northern Ireland.

• citizen69 | Jul 14, 2011, 08:51 AM EDT

  I wonder where you are from peterrocco? I'm guessing not Northern Ireland. Yet you think its ok to support terrorism in a country where these dissidents have no support?

• tullyallen | Jul 14, 2011, 08:49 AM EDT

  crowd of eejits

• bootsjoyce4 | Jul 14, 2011, 08:30 AM EDT

  I think we, Irish-Americans are just sick of the bloodshed from both sides

• antoman | Jul 14, 2011, 08:03 AM EDT

  What with hunger(free cheese) and massive unemployment.If Americans want to help Ireland they can do so by posting edible jigsaw puzzles.It will give the unemployed something to do and they can have the puzzle for the supper.

• peterrocco | Jul 14, 2011, 08:00 AM EDT

  This is the best news in a long time. For years there has been growing resentment to the group of people who have sold out to the British such as Niall O dowd and sean mc manus and others who want to perpetuate themselves and give up all that people had struggled for. A warm welcome to the dissidents and to hell with the sellouts.

• citizen69 | Jul 14, 2011, 04:57 AM EDT

  IOh it must be so romantic In the words of a song from Belfast's legendary punk bank, the Stiff Little Fingers.... EACH DOLLAR A BULLET. When the fighting's over there And they're passing round the shamrock And you're all filled up with tears "For the love of dear old Ireland" That you've never even seen You throw in twenty dollars And sing "Wearing of the Green [Chorus:] Each dollar a bullet Each victim someone's son And Americans kill Irishmen As surely As if they fired the gun.