Belfast as a U.I Capital

NIMAN wrote: »

At least we can all get on with each other in Derry.

I look forward to the news reports in the next week or so, where youse will all be fighting with each other and each side claiming "it was them that started it".

Where we have childrens playgrounds moved to accommodate huge death traps in the name of 'culture'.

Where the fire service have to come in and spray peoples homes for hours to stop them catching fire.

Where scores of police officers have to stand around a makeshift camp and get paid tens of millions in overtime each year just because some people aren't allowed to fly enough flegs.

Where money is wasted to placate each side equally. "We want our street names and every single printed piece of paper also printed in Irish too", for the handful of people who actually speak it in NI.

Oh yeah, Derry is a kip ok compared to all that. Maybe you should visit it sometime and have a look around. Perhaps when we were UK City of Culture a couple of years back might have been an ideal time. Or perhaps it has too many Catholics there for your liking?

Get on well??? Yeah right. I suppose when there are practically zero Protestants left (fountain last man standing so to speak) in the cityside it's easy to get on isn't it?

I have visited Londonderry many times and each time I thought it was a right kip.

From having to fight our way out of a chippie when it was discovered by the friendly Derry wans that we weren't Catholic republicans to just the general bad air and atmosphere of the place. Though maybe you are right. If you were Catholic and/or republican background then maybe it it would feel more welcoming.

I know people from the waterside who tell me that the centre is basically a no go area for them and you only have to watch the news every so often to hear of Protestants getting attacked in the city (men, women and children) for no other reason of their religion.

The really is no comparison with Belfast. Belfast at least looks like a small city. Londonderry looks like a very grey town. It reminds me of newry in fact. The walls are ok but the rest is really drab and depressing.

Re Irish signs are you saying they don't have these in stroke city. I would be surprised by that. Bi lingual signs are stupid I agree but it's not really a Belfast thing. My local town has some of them too despite the fact I have only ever heard someone speaking Gaelic once in my lifetime. And that was in Belfast.

tomwaterford wrote: »

And how many riots will there be in London,Glasgow and Dublin in the next week - 10 days..

Somehow or other I think Belfast will outnumber all three combined

I don't know that there will be any riots in Belfast to be honest. Where do you think the riots will be at?

I do know that say for example muggings and assaults will probably be higher in those other cities. And if you asked me which of those cities I would be most comfortable dandering around at night on my own then Belfast would be my clear choice.

Belfast in general is a very safe city. Of course you still have the odd dissident republican type running around but in general terms it's a safe city.

timmyntc wrote: »

First part in bold: completely subjective.
Second line: Anecdotal, doubtful if it ever happened (I'm protestant and regularly visit Derry and have never had any issues)
As for the third bolded line, what a load of ****e. I actually burst out laughing when I read that. You make it sound like Derry city centre is some sort of Mad Max style free-for-all in which protestants get attacked if they ever wander into the city.

First part subjective. Maybe so but so what. Sure that is true of almost everything on these boards.

Second part . True. And I have no specific interest on if you believe it or not. If you think things like that don't happen then you need to remove your head from your arse.

Third part. I'm going simply by what they tell me and as they actually live there I would probably go with them over you tbh.

Anyway because of point 2 I certainly will not be socialising in it again and when it comes to a city break for a few nights it's Belfast every time for me and mostly anyone else I know.

Feel free to say otherwise. They do have a good Halloween party though. I particularly liked those Derry WANs that dressed up as IRA men. The craic was mighty.

tomwaterford wrote: »

There's riots every year nearly as long as I can remember in Belfast in July??


Hold tight now for next few days and we'll see where they'll be exactly in Belfast....wonder have paddy power odds on such a thing?

Sure why don't you go and ask them. And then so put all your money on it.

Even if there was its most likely to be up in north Belfast near ardoyne I suppose. And even if you were visiting Belfast you would really need to be going out of your way to get caught up in a riot in ardoyne. It would be like me going to Dublin and ending up in some run down estate where they keep horses on the grass.

There is absolutely no way people in the Republic would vote to relocate the capital to Northern Ireland as a concession. As has been said already, it's pure tokenism. Dublin is the largest city, has the best infrastructure and is the economic engine of the island. There is no practical reason to remove its status as the capital.

timthumbni wrote: »

Get on well??? Yeah right. I suppose when there are practically zero Protestants left (fountain last man standing so to speak) in the cityside it's easy to get on isn't it?

I have visited Londonderry many times and each time I thought it was a right kip.

From having to fight our way out of a chippie when it was discovered by the friendly Derry wans that we weren't Catholic republicans to just the general bad air and atmosphere of the place. Though maybe you are right. If you were Catholic and/or republican background then maybe it it would feel more welcoming.

I know people from the waterside who tell me that the centre is basically a no go area for them and you only have to watch the news every so often to hear of Protestants getting attacked in the city (men, women and children) for no other reason of their religion.

The really is no comparison with Belfast. Belfast at least looks like a small city. Londonderry looks like a very grey town. It reminds me of newry in fact. The walls are ok but the rest is really drab and depressing.

Re Irish signs are you saying they don't have these in stroke city. I would be surprised by that. Bi lingual signs are stupid I agree but it's not really a Belfast thing. My local town has some of them too despite the fact I have only ever heard someone speaking Gaelic once in my lifetime. And that was in Belfast.

I am not saying Derry is perfect as a city, because like every other city in the world, we too have our assh0les. We have rough areas that I am not mad keen on, even though they are "from the so-called same side" as me. Some people are just scumbags, irrespective of their 'religion'. I might be as likely to get a slap in some parts of Derry as a Protestant would be. Scum will be scum.

From I am trying to look at the bigger picture. Derry as a whole is well received by tourists. It is a friendly city whether you try to argue differently. I also like Belfast as a place to visit btw, but the point I am trying to make is that Belfast has a larger proportion of people who can't seem to live with each other than Derry, easily! We will see riots and fighting this 12th from Belfast on the news, but you won't see it in Derry. You can try to make Derry sound like a no-go city or the Wild West if you want, but its simply not the truth. We are a city where community groups actually meet and discuss contentious issues. How much serious bother do you see reported from our annual Apprentice Boys march? Even when the 12th march is based in Derry, provide me with links to the serious riots that have followed.

And as a final thought, I work with and know quite a few Protestants, who do most of their socialising in the cityside, supposedly a place you claim is a no-go area for them and where Protestants are attacked on a daily basis. Absolute b0llix of course but you obviously don't want to hear the truth. You wouldn't be a big fan of Gregory Campbell would you?

As for Protestants only being present in the Fountain, it shows how clueless you are. Of course Derry is a Catholic-majority city, thats undeniable, but there are still Protestants all over Derry City. Here's a link to a 2013 Londonderry Sentinel article, might be worth giving it a minute or two of your time. you might learn something.

http://www.londonderrysentinel.co.uk/news/community-news/catholics-outnumber-protestants-on-both-banks-of-the-foyle-1-4737478

And yet Belfast gets most of the investment and infrastucture spending in NI compared to the rest of the province.

The 2nd city gets the crumbs from the table.

Decentralisation probably works, its just a pity is isn't tried in Dublin and Belfast a bit more often.

Don't understand how having State jobs and depts outside Dublin wouldn't work tbh.

At least workers would be able to find somewhere to live in Galway, Cork, Waterford, Athlone, Donegal, Sligo......