[woodoo]

Originally Posted by poeticseraphim

There is concern. However the republic is never certain if it should stick it's nose in or not. Also the quality of journalism here is appalling. If Syria gets coverage NI should.It is not just here but in the UK too. Politicians don't want to admit that the peace process has hit a few bumps.

We are not really as informed as we should be.


The nationalists in the north and the republic don't seem to connect as one people.The north is not interesgd in the south ...nor is the rest of the uk interested in the north it seems to me anyway.

All threads just go downhill into nonsense fairly quickly.

Does the north want us to take an interest??I always get the impression that they don't and really don't have any interest in the south.

It always seems the real opinion of the people in NI is shrouded in mystery they really are afraid to get to the crux of the issues in the media on both sides of the border..I get the sense the community is still pretty phyically segregated today.What do they want the future to look like? More integration? ...Or less?I suspect most people just want to get on with their lives.

I am never sure if our interest is welcomed by either side of the community or if it is reciprocated.

Some good questions there.

[southsiderosie]

Originally Posted by junder

Sonething I have noticed on this forum over the few years I have posted on this site, is the news / information about significant events in northern ireland never gets talked about. An example being the riots at arydone this year. Is due to not caring, not hearing or just general exasperation about the northern Irish situation?

I think these things move in waves. Last year, there would have been quite a few NI-related threads running at any given time. But some of the Republican posters who drove a lot of that content aren't active (or as active) on boards anymore. Then until recently it seemed that there were a gazillion libertarian-related threads. This summer, there has been a lot of posting on Syria/the Middle East. Topics of interest cycle through.

I also think that the tendency of NI-related threads to collapse into trench warfare relatively quickly means that, outside a dedicated group of people interested in the region and/or republicanism, there isn't much broader interest in discussing it because more likely than not it will just end up a train wreck anyway. Which is a shame, because there are interesting topics of discussion involving NI, and not all of them have to do with sectarian conflict.

[Fenian Army]

Take all the north related threads, leave out the first page and they are all indistinguishable.

There is also the fact that there are numerous other places on the internet to discuss such things in which discussion on the north is better facilitated.

I've noticed over the last while that there are many threads on subjects I was sure would spring up in the forum which havent.

[Fr Tod Umptious]

I think interest in the North from the Republic has certainly waned since the perceived normalisation of conditions up there.

I have noticed this in the way the media deal with NI now.
Back in the mid 80s when I was growing up RTE devoted a lot of news coverage to NI, fair enough the Troubles were are their height but it was as if there was an editorial implementation of Articles 2 and 3 of the constitution going on in RTE.
Everyday news items from the North seemed to get as much if not more coverage than everyday news items from the Republic.
If a tree fell on the roof of a school in the middle of a stormy night in Lisburn you were likely to hear more about it on RTE than if the same thing happened in Newport co. Tipp.
It was as if the powers that be in RTE, and beyond, had the attitude that NI was as much a part of the country as any other place, regardless of what sort of listeners/viewership they had in NI
During the morning paper review on Radio 1 they used to review the Belfast Newsletter as much as they would the Irish Press.

I am not sure what level of interest people from NI have in the Republic at the moment but I have always found a certain amount of ignorance ( and I do not mean to be disrespectful) among unionist people from the North when it comes to the Republic.
Ask one of them to show you Tipp on a map and they would struggle, yet I'm sure most in Tipp could point out Fermanagh.

[Fenian Army]

I think that had more to do with section 31 and a desire to portray a "version" of the truth which would satisfy the public so they wouldn't go digging further, which they might have if the north were ignored.

[laoch na mona]

standard ni thread involves nationalists calling people west brits and such while unionists refuse to see fault with the likes of the orange order

[Dr Galen]

I think an awful lot of people with an interest in NI, kid themselves about how much others care about the situation or indeed anything to do with NI in general.

It's anecdotal I know, but certainly the vast majority of people I am acquainted with, aren't really that bothered. The North to many people down here, is nothing more than a place to get cheap deals on groceries.

Even speaking personally, having been born and lived there til I was 19, I'm really not interested in a whole lot of what goes on at home anymore. I may be a particular case, not really having any ties to my birthplace these days, but I know quite a few people who I grew up with who are of the same mindset tbh. FWIW most of us couldn't wait to get out of the place when we were growing up.

[junder]

Originally Posted by Dr Galen

I think an awful lot of people with an interest in NI, kid themselves about how much others care about the situation or indeed anything to do with NI in general.

It's anecdotal I know, but certainly the vast majority of people I am acquainted with, aren't really that bothered. The North to many people down here, is nothing more than a place to get cheap deals on groceries.

Even speaking personally, having been born and lived there til I was 19, I'm really not interested in a whole lot of what goes on at home anymore. I may be a particular case, not really having any ties to my birthplace these days, but I know quite a few people who I grew up with who are of the same mindset tbh. FWIW most of us couldn't wait to get out of the place when we were growing up.

To be honest that kind of sums up my experince of people in the republic, they just don't care about northern Ireland (speaking as a unionist that's not a bad thing) guess it comes down to understanding, while I can grasp the general flow of politics in the republic, because I don't live there I don't get the different nuances of political goings on in the republic, I Think that's the same in regards to northern Ireland, for people on the republic

[K-9]

After Hours seems to be getting a few NI threads lately so it might explain why it is quieter.

Generally I'd say it is because of the peace process and the increasing normalisation of politics there, the marches and riots are an annual talking point but not as bad as previous decades. People are glad to see Government getting on with everyday stuff and the riots are just a reminder of what we don't want to see ever again, my perception is the rioting is more to do with socio-economic condition these days anyway.

[Pure_Cork]

I care about the North of Ireland but post on hardly any threads about it.

Hoping to go to Derry in a few weeks for a Cork City match!

[Judgement Day]

Originally Posted by K-9

After Hours seems to be getting a few NI threads lately so it might explain why it is quieter.

Generally I'd say it is because of the peace process and the increasing normalisation of politics there, the marches and riots are an annual talking point but not as bad as previous decades. People are glad to see Government getting on with everyday stuff and the riots are just a reminder of what we don't want to see ever again, my perception is the rioting is more to do with socio-economic condition these days anyway.

Wasn't it always?

[Dubhlinner]

Here's a funny thought, what would this board have been like if it had been around during the troubles

[IrishFeeney92]

Originally Posted by Dubhlinner

Here's a funny thought, what would this board have been like if it had been around during the troubles

Its time we moved on, 30 years later grudges cant still be held, where does the line stop?

[Duffy the Vampire Slayer]

Originally Posted by Fr Tod Umptious

Ask one of them to show you Tipp on a map and they would struggle, yet I'm sure most in Tipp could point out Fermanagh.

I doubt that very much. A lot of Irish people wouldn't even be able to point out Dublin on a map.

[Dubhlinner]

Originally Posted by feeney92

Its time we moved on, 30 years later grudges cant still be held, where does the line stop?

I fear you think i meant something I don't.