Who cares About northern Ireland?

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?

Nodin

junder wrote: »

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?

We had people complaining about the number of NI related threads at one stage. Ye can't win, really.

junder

Nodin wrote: »

junder wrote: »

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?

We had people complaining about the number of NI related threads at one stage. Ye can't win, really.

I'm not having a go, just curious

Boulevardier

Our interest is not reciprocated. The NI news on UTV and BBC-NI almost never mentions anything here in the ROI unless there is a NI aspect to it. The only exception is the odd Donegal story.

Nodin

junder wrote: »

I'm not having a go, just curious

Well the truth is that when you start an NI thread, it turns into a cluster**** early on. And yes, all sides are to blame. Thats not a scenario that encourages discussing issues, be it the marching season or even the improvement of side roads in the border areas.

spank_inferno

Regarding the recent riots, it got the usual coverage in the media.

A sense of "same ol-same ol" probably led to a muted response here.

DipStick McSwindler

This post has been deleted.

maccored

I think whats more frightening is the simplistic and naive attitudes like feeney92's

I dont think people care. i also dont think the majority of posters have the slightest clue about the north and its inherent problems. thats probably why they dont care.

celtictiger32

i actually do have an interest in news from the north likewise an interest in news from any part of this island.

i found the marches/rioting etc didnt get as much coverage as previous years i wonder was that due to the relevance?

DipStick McSwindler

This post has been deleted.

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.

thecommietommy

junder wrote: »

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?

Dunno about that, in the next few days part 1 of the NI census is comng out. From what I have heard, part 1 will avoid the Protestant v Catholic head count (possibly due to the orange marching season been in full swing), more to do with your occupation, have you ever attended third level education etc

As someone from a southern perspective, well the unionist dominated state is gone forever with equality the name of the game and an ever growing nationalist population (already at school level nationalists may well be in the majority ?), a united Ireland is only two decades away at most by which the south will have easily recovered from the present condition it is in. Interesting times ahead

NIMAN

I'm from NI. Lived there 32yrs, moved to Republic 12yrs ago, and I hardly care about it any more!

To be honest, I now see things from a Southern Irish POV, and that all that sh1t in the North is so pathetic to be arguing/fighting over. If they all realised how the real issues like jobs, drugs and drink problems, education, health etc affected both sides equally, they would see how pointless it all is.

Has the potential to be a decent wee country, but never will be.

Judgement Day

NIMAN wrote: »

I'm from NI. Lived there 32yrs, moved to Republic 12yrs ago, and I hardly care about it any more!

To be honest, I now see things from a Southern Irish POV, and that all that sh1t in the North is so pathetic to be arguing/fighting over. If they all realised how the real issues like jobs, drugs and drink problems, education, health etc affected both sides equally, they would see how pointless it all is.

Has the potential to be a decent wee country, but never will be.

Are you talking about the whole island?

woodoo

The Ardoyne riot was small fry compared to last year. But there has been a lot of talk about the OO and the Band playing outside the church.

woodoo

poeticseraphim wrote: »

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

junder wrote: »

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

Dr Galen wrote: »

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

K-9 wrote: »

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

DipStick McSwindler

This post has been deleted.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

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

feeney92 wrote: »

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.

Magill

The fact is, most of the people here (N.I) don't pay an awful lot of attention to these incidents either.. for me its probably comparable to say the gang/drug problems in limerick/dublin of recent years, it happens, i hear about on the news, i cringe a little, thats the last i'll think of it. The reality is, MOST of the people here have moved on and outside of a few area's, life here is just as civil as anywhere else on this island.

The problem I have with North related threads is the amount of ignorant dung that is posted, usually from idiots who've probably never even been to the North, its infuriating. Most of these people paint the entire country with the same brush.

Dannyboy83

Dr Galen wrote: »

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.

Very much agree.
I also find Irish people do this with Britain.

Britain occupies a position of high importance in Irish history and in the Irish mindset.
Many Irish people seem to believe it's the same in reverse...

RubyRoss

Riots during marching season is a ‘dog bites man’ story at this stage. The London riots were ‘man bites dog’ and earned huge coverage.

Also, I think many people in the South now see the trouble areas of the North as being just that – trouble areas no different to similar sections of the Republic’s cities.

I dip into Northern radio & TV sometimes and wonder how the public there do not revolt against the constant barrage of conflict related content. It makes me think fondly of LiveLine and people outraged by parking, ticket pricing and other such grievances of ordinary life.

These annual scuffles just hi-jack normal society – it is a good thing we do not pay more attention to them. One poster compared it to coverage of the Syrian conflict – these are TOTALLY different circumstances.

junder

RubyRoss wrote: »

Riots during marching season is a ‘dog bites man’ story at this stage. The London riots were ‘man bites dog’ and earned huge coverage.

Also, I think many people in the South now see the trouble areas of the North as being just that – trouble areas no different to similar sections of the Republic’s cities.

I dip into Northern radio & TV sometimes and wonder how the public there do not revolt against the constant barrage of conflict related content. It makes me think fondly of LiveLine and people outraged by parking, ticket pricing and other such grievances of ordinary life.

These annual scuffles just hi-jack normal society – it is a good thing we do not pay more attention to them. One poster compared it to coverage of the Syrian conflict – these are TOTALLY different circumstances.

Are these riots just random acts? Or are they symptoms of a larger problem. I remember in the euphoric post gfa days when people were saying that's it the troubles are over they will never darken northern Ireland again, now those same people are holding thier breath expecting the troubles to ignite any minute. As the provies said To thatcher after the Brighton bomb ' you have to be lucky all the time, we just have to be lucky once' same thing applys to the do called dissidents. Thier bombs have got larger and more sophisticated, so far we have been lucky in intercepting them, again they just have to be lucky with just one

RubyRoss

That's true but the dissidents are a tiny minority who attempt to hijack social and political life. To give them publicity is to give them undue legitimacy.
These are the only people who want to go backwards.

thecommietommy

junder wrote: »

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

I'm a bit doubtful by your OP and the post above, I have many relations in the six counties met innumerable people from there etc. Not trying to insult you, but it's a contradiction that unionists have to come on to .ie forums (boards.ie, politics.ie ) etc to discuss politics. Try and discuss NI with some English people :eek: You may as well be talking to a Swiss or Estonian person for all the ordinary English person cares !!!!!

And also, correct me if I'm wrong, but I interpret from your OP that your trying to say you personally openly discuss in the north about NI's politics in the pub after work, on the train, in college or whatever. Are you seriously going to tell me that you would openly raise a controversial topic in the presence of nationalists an issue like the trouble in Ardoyne and the orange march :eek: ?? ??

Fr Tod Umptious

thecommietommy wrote: »

I'm a bit doubtful by your OP and the post above, I have many relations in the six counties met innumerable people from there etc. Not trying to insult you, but it's a contradiction that unionists have to come on to .ie forums (boards.ie, politics.ie ) etc to discuss politics. Try and discuss NI with some English people :eek: You may as well be talking to a Swiss or Estonian person for all the ordinary English person cares !!!!!

And also, correct me if I'm wrong, but I interpret from your OP that your trying to say you personally openly discuss in the north about NI's politics in the pub after work, on the train, in college or whatever. Are you seriously going to tell me that you would openly raise a topic in the presence of nationalists from any side of the border issues like the orange order marching wherever it liked or claim that the unionist state or wasn't sectarian or whatever :eek: ?? ??

Oh For Fcuk Sake

I'm out

Good thread while it lasted

thecommietommy

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Oh For Fcuk Sake

I'm out

Good thread while it lasted

Oooooops, I seem to have upset the cozy love in, back to let's ignore the elephant in the romm.

Fr Tod Umptious

thecommietommy wrote: »

Oooooops, I seem to have upset the cozy love in, back to let's ignore the elephant in the romm.

Well the elephant in the room is that even though they are not killing each other any more NI society is becoming more segregated.

Great piece in the Boston Globe from a few years back about the very thing
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/03/14/a_segregated_peace/?page=full

People in the South tend to just ignore NI as a result of the perception that everything is rosie, and possiblty due to being tired of the same old s**t when something does blow up (not literaly)

But what is the use in having an tried old "it's the Brits/OO/your fault.." type swipe at another poster that you know is of a certain persusaion when all we are discussing is if people are interested in NI or not ?

maccored

people in the south tend to ignore the north because many of them cant see how it relates to them. the fact its a big chunk of land on the top of the same small island people in the south live on, seems to bypass many. Personally I find that amazing ... but then again, not too surprising.

thecommietommy

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Well the elephant in the room is that even though they are not killing each other any more NI society is becoming more segregated.

Great piece in the Boston Globe from a few years back about the very thing
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/03/14/a_segregated_peace/?page=full

People in the South tend to just ignore NI as a result of the perception that everything is rosie, and possiblty due to being tired of the same old s**t when something does blow up (not literaly)

But what is the use in having an tried old "it's the Brits/OO/your fault.." type swipe at another poster that you know is of a certain persusaion when all we are discussing is if people are interested in NI or not ?

Sorry I don't know why you have interpreted my post as blaming anyone, the gist of my post was asking the OP would he openly raise a controversial topic such as orange marches or the sectarianism of the past in the presence of nationalists.

And as for elephant's in the room - let's not mention the British army were murdering people also, let's pretend it was just "they" i.e. the unionists and nationalists, while little Tommies who joined up for 3 meals a day and some pocket money were helping old ladies across the road etc

Fr Tod Umptious

thecommietommy wrote: »

Sorry I don't know why you have interpreted my post as blaming anyone, the gist of my post was asking the OP would he openly raise a controversial topic such as orange marches or the sectarianism of the past in the presence of nationalists.

And as for elephant's in the room - let's not mention the British army were murdering people also, let's pretend it was just "they" i.e. the unionists and nationalists, while little Tommies who joined up for 3 meals a day and some pocket money were helping old ladies across the road etc

But again you are trying to drag this thread down the same old route that will result in a clusterF**k.

The thread title is 'Who cares About northern Ireland?', what does the actions of British army did during the troubles have to do with that ?

If you want to discuss who did what then why not open a thread about it ?

thecommietommy

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

But again you are trying to drag this thread down the same old route that will result in a clusterF**k.

The thread title is 'Who cares About northern Ireland?', what does the actions of British army did during the troubles have to do with that ?

Your the one who brought in the subject of "they" and killing and obviously ignored the British ones.

If you want to discuss who did what then why not open a thread about it ?

Ok I have changed the question to - are you seriously going to tell me that you would openly raise a controversial topic in the presence of nationalists an issue like the trouble in Ardoyne and the orange march :eek: ?? ??

Fr Tod Umptious

thecommietommy wrote: »

Your the one who brought in the subject of "they" and killing and obviously ignored the British ones.

Typical of the pedantry you find on NI threads here, someone jumping all over the precise terms people use in their posts in order to steer the conversation down a certain route.

thecommietommy wrote: »

Ok I have changed the question to - are you seriously going to tell me that you would openly raise a controversial topic in the presence of nationalists an issue like the trouble in Ardoyne and the orange march :eek: ?? ??

What's wrong with have that type of discussion ?

K-9

thecommietommy wrote: »

I'm a bit doubtful by your OP and the post above, I have many relations in the six counties met innumerable people from there etc. Not trying to insult you, but it's a contradiction that unionists have to come on to .ie forums (boards.ie, politics.ie ) etc to discuss politics. Try and discuss NI with some English people :eek: You may as well be talking to a Swiss or Estonian person for all the ordinary English person cares !!!!!

And also, correct me if I'm wrong, but I interpret from your OP that your trying to say you personally openly discuss in the north about NI's politics in the pub after work, on the train, in college or whatever. Are you seriously going to tell me that you would openly raise a controversial topic in the presence of nationalists an issue like the trouble in Ardoyne and the orange march :eek: ?? ??

I don't get that impression at all, more that when he does talk to people from the South N.I. politics doesn't come up much. I'm sure the OP will clarify.

Mod note
It would be nice to discuss the OP without going over the usual topics ad nauseam. Please stick to the topic in the OP without going over the usual "well they did this" lines, we all know where it leads.

junder

thecommietommy wrote: »

junder wrote: »

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

I'm a bit doubtful by your OP and the post above, I have many relations in the six counties met innumerable people from there etc. Not trying to insult you, but it's a contradiction that unionists have to come on to .ie forums (boards.ie, politics.ie ) etc to discuss politics. Try and discuss NI with some English people :eek: You may as well be talking to a Swiss or Estonian person for all the ordinary English person cares !!!!!

And also, correct me if I'm wrong, but I interpret from your OP that your trying to say you personally openly discuss in the north about NI's politics in the pub after work, on the train, in college or whatever. Are you seriously going to tell me that you would openly raise a controversial topic in the presence of nationalists an issue like the trouble in Ardoyne and the orange march :eek: ?? ??

You assume alot and are totally wrong, the reason I raised the subject ( and it was out of genuine interest, not malicious intent) is because living in northern Ireland, I am aware of things happening that in the context of northern Ireland are very important and yet don't get discussed on this site, I am curious about that, nothing sinister about that. Is it lack of knowledge ( which can be remedied) or because they don't care ( which is fair enough)

junder

thecommietommy wrote: »

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

But again you are trying to drag this thread down the same old route that will result in a clusterF**k.

The thread title is 'Who cares About northern Ireland?', what does the actions of British army did during the troubles have to do with that ?

Your the one who brought in the subject of "they" and killing and obviously ignored the British ones.

If you want to discuss who did what then why not open a thread about it ?

Ok I have changed the question to - are you seriously going to tell me that you would openly raise a controversial topic in the presence of nationalists an issue like the trouble in Ardoyne and the orange march :eek: ?? ??

All depends on the context of the conversation and the enviroment. I was involved in a political youth programme were I represented the youth wing of a political party and met with other people who represented youth wings of most of the political party so yes we did discuss controversial subjects. While I was at universty my circle of friends was diverse, including a good friend who was a member of the workers party and was interned so, yes again topics relevant to northern Ireland were talked about. Correct me if I am wrong but this a politics forum, a good place to talk about politics, including northern Irish politics maybe? Would a strike up a conversation on a controversial subject with a random person I met on the bus or in a pub, of course not

thecommietommy

junder wrote: »

You assume alot and are totally wrong, the reason I raised the subject ( and it was out of genuine interest, not malicious intent) is because living in northern Ireland, I am aware of things happening that in the context of northern Ireland are very important and yet don't get discussed on this site, I am curious about that, nothing sinister about that. Is it lack of knowledge ( which can be remedied) or because they don't care ( which is fair enough)

Ok good reply. The thing is - and I 'm not trying to insult or stir anyone up - is that NI/Stormont is a glofied regional council, the main action happens in parliament Westminster or down here the Dail. NI has got a similiar population to greater Dublin* 1.8 million. Now I used to watch Hearts and Minds most weeks, but quite a lot of the issues that used to arise were by any standards were fairly local and trival eg the allocation of housing in a new estate in Belfast etc

Take todays UTV news** - Ardoyne gunman caught on camera, Quinn's no-show nephew to be arrested ( on RTE also), Shotgun found by Antrim children etc Now let's see RTE*** - Peter Darragh Quinn Seán Quinn Jnr to be jailed, 12 shot dead at Batman premier in Denver, HSE writes to hospitals over implementing cuts etc So apart form the Quinns, to look at 2 of the UTV main stories - Ardoyne gunman caught on camera and Shotgun found by Antrim children, their both fairly minor trival stories. Doubtless today in Dublin their will be an armed robbery, a court will pass judgement on a gangland murder, both fairly minor trival stories also. The thing is apart from the Quinns, their isn't a lot as per the UTV news for people to get into a big discussion on boards.ie is there ? For example I don't expect people in the rest of the country to get into a big discussion on say, Eirigi Dublin city councillor Louise Minihan going to prison for seven days for not paying a fine. and likewise most of the stories from the north.

* See Greater Dublin 1,804,156. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin#Demographics
** http://www.u.tv/news
*** http://www.rte.ie/news/

thecommietommy

junder wrote: »

All depends on the context of the conversation and the enviroment. I was involved in a political youth programme were I represented the youth wing of a political party and met with other people who represented youth wings of most of the political party so yes we did discuss controversial subjects. While I was at universty my circle of friends was diverse, including a good friend who was a member of the workers party and was interned so, yes again topics relevant to northern Ireland were talked about. Correct me if I am wrong but this a politics forum, a good place to talk about politics, including northern Irish politics maybe? Would a strike up a conversation on a controversial subject with a random person I met on the bus or in a pub, of course not

Yes. And I have been inumerable times in the north, have relations there etc. Have taken part in various political discussions etc ( one with a member of the PUP and former loyalist prisoner - whom on personal level I got on quite well with due to our common interest in sport !!! Can't say we seen eye to eye on politics though ) But it takes place in, a let's say, neutral controlled enviorment with a pre arranged meeting or with close friends or relations. But still I wouldn't go into a nationalist pub on the Falls and turn around to a stranger and say " how do you think things have gone since the Good Friday Agreement " etc

Down here you could strike up a random conversation with almost anyone, though it would probably take the line " Jayus the crowd that are in now are little different than Ahern and Fianna Fail before them....... Ah sure their feckin' all crooks regardless " etc If I told them I was a United Left Alliance voter, you'd probaly get " well your ok with your objections, but I'm afraid to say Joe Higgins or Boyd Barret don't seem to have the answers or alternatives".

johngalway

junder wrote: »

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?

Over exposure fatigue for me, have been hearing about NI all my life. The more I hear and see of the peoples representatives and certain organisations the less I want to know really. In the context of NI recent history is a riot even news? Seems to be a somewhat regular past time "Let's have a day out throwing petrol bombs at the police/shinners" which ever applies. There's never a shortage of fancy words, and always they get lost in the detail and revert to form. If NI decides to be serious about growing up and leaving the past behind then I might be interested, until then they can keep the squabbling to themselves.

Honest opinion.

junder

johngalway wrote: »

junder wrote: »

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?

Over exposure fatigue for me, have been hearing about NI all my life. The more I hear and see of the peoples representatives and certain organisations the less I want to know really. In the context of NI recent history is a riot even news? Seems to be a somewhat regular past time "Let's have a day out throwing petrol bombs at the police/shinners" which ever applies. There's never a shortage of fancy words, and always they get lost in the detail and revert to form. If NI decides to be serious about growing up and leaving the past behind then I might be interested, until then they can keep the squabbling to themselves.

Honest opinion.

Again its about context. A riot on its own not it self news. However in this particular riot we had armed men on the streets ( worth noting a certain mr Colin Duffy was seen at the arydone) after the gfa there's things stopped happening even riots were rare, surly it's note worthy in itself that even people in the republic have yet again become used to violence in northern Ireland.