Why I'll say no to a united ireland
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well, not your finest attempt at learning. I demonstrated beyond doubt that Patrician yc operated in two youth centres in Downpatrick one of which has a hunger strike memorial located opposite the front door.
Not your finest moment choochtown, but as you say, let’s not dwell on that.I Want to take the rest of your post seriously and make a serious attempt at an honest answer.
My reference to those flags was simply a challenge to those who were trying to claim that Castlewellan youth club and the GAA were inclusive organisations. I was trying to bring people closer to reality.
If someone came on here and claimed that a youth club, set in a cul-de-sac in Clough surrounded by union flags with an orange Hall opposite, the local DUP office next door, and the loyalist band hall a few yards down the road, was an inclusive cross community youth club, then I would tell them to wise up.
You ask for my impression off the atmosphere in Clough. To some extent they are a mirror image of each other, but then to another extent they are very different. Most (in fact all but one) of the businesses in Clough are Catholic/nationalist owned. They do not need bulletproof glass and they do not get faeces pushed through their letterboxes. The local unionist community deal in these businesses.I Want to be completely honest and therefore I need to declare that I am aware of one nationalist family feeling intimidated and leaving Clough. They left the day after the IRA came in and murdered a Protestant in his bed. Maybe the unionist Community could have done more to put their arms around this Catholic family who were feeling under pressure and, to the best of my knowledge were completely innocent, but there was a fierce feeling of anger and grief circulating. Our community should not have allowed that Catholic family leave. I am confident that they are the only family that felt the need to leave Clough – compare that to the hundreds who left Castlewellan. (FYI for Southern posters, this was the murder that led to the retaliatory murder of Patrick kieltys father)
As for the sash on the farmer sculpture. Maybe it highlights hypocrisy or lack of consistency in me, but again I am going to be honest. I enjoyed it and it made me smile every time I went through Clough - it was so asking to be done, and was just for the 12th period and was removed afterwards. I don’t think it was a very serious issue. I was somewhere recently where public statues were wearing GAA jerseys following a local win - again I just smiled. So I do support the putting of a sash on that statue for the 12th. I think you need to lighten up.
You say “….realise that the striking scene that everyone who drives through that town is exposed to is the work of a few insecure, cowardly idiots (a 100 foot pole!! 🤣) and I have a little chuckle.”.
that is really very sad. These flags go up over the 12th period As an expression of our culture and identity. Your reference to a few insecure cowardly idiots, says more about you than the community who are celebrating. My understanding is that a decision was taken in Clough a few years ago to not have flags flying all year round and to remove all but one union flag at each entrance to the village.
To be honest, if the people of Castlewellan had behaved like the people of Clough, Then Castlewellan would still contain many unionist businesses and unionist families.As for the St George’s Cross flying on the pub in Downpatrick. It’s not rocket science. They fly the English Welsh and Scottish flags during the six Nations. Interestingly in this almost exclusively nationalist town I believe they do not fly the tricolour but fly the four provinces flag for the island rugby team. Fair play to them for understanding the community they live in - Pity those in one-horse Castlewellan weren’t as educated
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the only reason I get dragged into correcting your nonsense is that I realise decent Irish people in the south are reading this forum and potentially believing your propaganda and spin. So I’ll take your points one at a time.
1) you are spinning that I am suggesting that unionists left Castlewellan because of flags. Absolute nonsense. I gave you a catalogue of reasons they left and I am fairly sure I never mentioned flags. Certainly flags are like Irish language street signs and they can be used to genuinely celebrate a culture or they can be used to show who is in control, and both are used for either one or other of these purposes depending on who erects them.2) You imply that people don’t know, in small rural villages, the community background of businesses. I will absolutely stand over, and evidence if necessary, that there are only four significant businesses in ‘loyalist’ Clough and that three of them are owned and run by nationalists, and fully supported by the local unionist community.
3) You say I am talking nonsense about flags and an agreement of one union flag at each entrance to the village. Thankfully Google Street will evidence this for anyone who wants to look. The Google car mapped most of the village at the height of the 12th celebrations, which can’t be evidenced by the arch and a union flag on every post. But if you take a look at the break in the Google street route you will see Castlewellan Road has been filmed not in the summer marching season, evidenced by the election posters on the lamp posts. It is very clear to see on the whole road only one union flag at the entrance to the village. Seems I am being honest and accurate again. So no bullshitting from me.
4) As for the tall flagpole. This flagpole is on private property and the owner has every right to put it up. I am not sure why it hurts your eyes to see a union flag in a village that is overwhelmingly unionist. I think you’ll find it’s not the tallest flagpole in Ireland, I think that one is in your country and has a tricolour on top of it. Maybe you should campaign to get it taken down in case it offends me the next time I am on holidays.
5) Absolutely, I would smile if the statue was wearing a pride flag. I know it would wind up many dinosaurs in both communities, but I am sure most people would smile if it was up on gay pride day. You need to lighten up and get a sense of humour. Everybody I spoke to nationalist and unionist had a laugh about the statue wearing a sash.
The truth always comes through in the end!
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That is no different to the photos you showed of Castlewellan. One flag on a lampost and then a line of flags which was probably St. Patrick's day. They are certainly not there all the time.
As usual you like to present a certain picture of Unionist cultural expression as a 'laugh' or a benign expression that nobody could possibly be offended by.
That is called exceptionalism.This is also from lovely Clough in 2023. Children targeted again simply because they want to learn Irish.
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