"People in the Republic dont care about the north" - Irish Times

Bard

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2001/0205/breaking37.htm

so now it's official?

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Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted. -Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)

Paladin

Pfffft. Who cares (<---take note of sarcasm)

pol

It always was. Paladin I do.

Shinji

Too right. On the one hand, we've been desensitised to the violence by 20 years of waking up to Morning Ireland telling us about another shooting; on the other hand, precious few people in the South actually care that deeply about the politics of it. Sure, there's a general feeling that a united Ireland would be nice; but it doesn't really affect the vast majority of us, and there's always the spectre of unionist violence in the Republic to contend with.

I heard an Irish guy the other day describe the northern political situation as "totally internal civil unrest within the UK". Aside from being struck by the fact that I'd never heard it described like that before (and how true it is!), I was amused by the upset reaction of the English guys he was talking to...

FreaK_BrutheR

Pompous blue shirt dublin attitudes towards the north and indeed the north of the republic are tarring the rest of the free-state's opinions. If these people gave as much time to thinking of the rest of the people in "Their" country as they do to ironing the aforementioned shirts perhaps we would alreadylive in a united Ireland by now. There are alot of Irishmen and women do care, alot more than one might think.... i hope! Up the republic.

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http://run.to/pile

Blitzkrieger

I used to care but it's been going on so long with no progress I just don't give a toss anymore

Bard

I used to have an opinion on the north... but if you were to ask me about it now...

ní ceapaim

Hobbes

yea, I used to care. Now it's just used to boost a TD/PM political position.

Bard

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Bard:
ní ceapaim</font>

no double-entendre meant there, btw!

darthmise

LMFAO!!!!!!!!!

TwoShedsJackson

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Shinji:
I heard an Irish guy the other day describe the northern political situation as "totally internal civil unrest within the UK". Aside from being struck by the fact that I'd never heard it described like that before (and how true it is!), I was amused by the upset reaction of the English guys he was talking to... </font>

That might be amusing if it was true. Considering the IRA get most of their support and indeed weapons from the Republic and abroad, it's anything but.

Blitzkrieger

roflmao

Fidelis

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Bard:
ní ceapaim</font>

Heard a joke once right...

Provo #1: Jimmy, who's next on our list?
Provo #2: John Smith
Provo #1: What do you think we should do with him?
Provo #2: ní ceapaim.

It, of course, would be much funnier if I weren't a complete idiot.

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Nil Desperandum

Paladin

ROFL

Blitzkrieger

btw - doesn't ni ceapim mean "I don't think"?

isn't ni fhoil liom "I don't know" ?

(prolly crap spelling, etc.)

C B

nil fhios agam is "i don't know"
ni fhiol liom is "i don't have a clue"

C B

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by FreaK_BrutheR:
Pompous blue shirt dublin attitudes towards the north and indeed the north of the republic are tarring the rest of the free-state's opinions. If these people gave as much time to thinking of the rest of the people in "Their" country as they do to ironing the aforementioned shirts perhaps we would alreadylive in a united Ireland by now. There are alot of Irishmen and women do care, alot more than one might think.... i hope! Up the republic.
</font>

Obviously you are more interested in uniting the geographical entity of Ireland rather than uniting the people who live on it.

Panda

The where?

Excelsior

gerry told me they don't eat cheese in northern ireland.

flippin british people- they are so different to us.

but if we had a 32 county republic they would change so dramatically that they might even like cheese.

of course, we could split big counties like galway and cork in three and we'd soon have 32 counties.

GreenHell

/me thinks back to social geography
This fact is totally true in how most Irish people think about northern ireland in comparision to say 20 yrs ago.

a poor country tends to be more nationalist eg the trouble
rich country reduced nationalism to more of a hobby then a cause.

Canaboid

Imho people in the south have lost interest in "The Northern Problem" primarily because they no longer see an ideological struggle to unify Ireland but rather an ongoing turf war between many different criminal (paramilitary my ar$3) groups. All sides operating under the flag of freedom fighters and happy to use rabid hate figures (Paisley for example) to stir the emotions of their working class followers.
It's a sham(e).

amp

Right so what exactly are people living in the south susposed to do?
We voted to alter sections 2 and 3. What else do we do? Invade the North?

At the end of the day the problem of the north is between the two main traditions and IMHO it doesn't matter how much I or other residents of the south care, Unionists are mostly wierdo nutcases living in the past.

And the problem isn't just us in the south, don't care, the UK doesn't care and indeed the rest of the world doesn't really care either.

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Lunacy Abounds! Play GLminesweeper!
art is everything and of course nothing and possibly also a sausage

GreenHell

lets invade.

or
I have to agree with you amp as much as I would like to see a unitied ireland the decision is not to be made by us in the south.

Neway any unification of ireland should be voluntary.

Bard

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Blitzkrieger:
btw - doesn't ni ceapim mean "I don't think"?

isn't ni fhoil liom "I don't know" ?

(prolly crap spelling, etc.)</font>

"Níl fhios agaim" is anyway... not sure about "fhoil".

"Ní ceapaim" could be construed to mean "I don't think so" or "I don't think about it" ("I have no opinion" in other words).

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Bard

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Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted. -Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)

DeVore

Yeah lets invade, just to see what Tony Blair's face would look like!

Actually, considering I was born in NI, I dont have strong feelings towards the reunification of Ireland. I have decidedly mixed feelings to be honest.

Frankly the south is so apathetic to politics in general that the north is just another aspect of it.

Personally I'm looking out for #1 and lifes to short to start getting into a tizzy about whose head is on the coins you pay in tax.

Sorry, but I'm jaded by the bollo>< of it all. The only thing that really gets my goat is not being able to be proud of my national flag or sing the anthem without getting looks from other people. Without being labeled a sympathiser.

DeV.

Blitzkrieger

[snobby] One would have thought that you wouldn't be proud of that flag [/snobby]

Greenbean

Growing up in the north I used to feel strongly about the issue. I was Irish and those *******s would kill me if I didn't do something about it. I liked the IRA but I didn't like the killing. Not the most suitable thinking for a 6 year old kid. I grew up in a world that was more irish than anything I've experienced in the free state, its a wonder "little people" didn't grow in our back garden. Of course I realise now that it was because of the republican country area I was in. Took me a few years after moving south to realise that everyone doesn't learn irish dancing, play the fiddle, learn tinwhistle and play GAA.

I know what you're saying Devore, some guys in the puter lab here were reading the words of the national anthem in english and were pretty surprised by the nationalistic stance in the words; wtf did they think it was about? just a tune for before international rugby matches? It now feels shamefull to sing in that sort of way. Some people put it down to a good sense of avoiding xenophobia lest we become like the unionists or nazi but I put it down to a feeling of guilt because of what irish nationalism is used for.

What do I feel now? I thought I'd never get to the point were the less I know the better. When you're in that republican environment it fuels passion, I never thought it would die out once I left it all... its still there a bit. Now it looks like bunch of gansters fighting over drugs turf and it is a bit - there were alot of people making good money out of the trouble; but mostly the terrorists truely believe in their cause. I could never kill anyone over a nationalist cause; that takes a zealous belief in it all. The world is becoming global, I'm not in the thick of things and is it worth it? It's the irish peoples land forcefully taken but if you don't come back immediately does your right to it weaken? Yea I think so unfortunately - can you blame someone born 200 years later for something their great great great grand parents did? No. Can you blame someone for the injustices they do now? Yes. Thats were the troubles started, an equal rights movement.. its not quite over, many unionists still look at catholics as sub-human animals and I know most people won't believe me when I say that. Its obvious why most people in the south don't care, its because they don't and never had their basic rights infringed upon and the united Ireland idea is only that.

Greenbean

Don't and never had their basic rights infriged upon in their lifetimes I mean't to say. I'm sure everyone is well aware of 1916 and how strongly everyone felt then.