'The Haunting Soldier' sculpture vandalised

TomSweeney · 22-11-2018 11:49AM

megaten wrote: »

Do you want to shove the yanks into everything?

AntiFa are quite active in Ireland, they are linked with Eirigi and socialist anarchy groups and have attacked people in Dublin.

BohsCeltic · 22-11-2018 11:49AM

vonlars wrote: »

What makes you think it's a British soldier? 200,000 Irishmen fought in WWI. Should we forget them simply because of whose side they were on while fighting for peace?

What peace ? Look at the state of the world now.

Gravelly · 22-11-2018 11:51AM

TomSweeney wrote: »

AntiFa are quite active in Ireland, they are linked with Eirigi and socialist anarchy groups and have attacked people in Dublin.

They are very careful about who they attack and keeping their face covered when they do it. Cowards, one and all.

The J Stands for Jay · 22-11-2018 11:51AM

Conall Cernach wrote: »

A statue to a British soldier in the place of one of the key battlegrounds of the Easter Rising. Who thought it was a good idea to put it up there in the first place?

Maybe have a look at the arch in front of the statue...

valoren · 22-11-2018 11:54AM

Baron de Charlus wrote: »

If you could just see past your bitterness, you'd realise that there's a difference between commemorating ordinary soldiers who fought and died in that war and glorifying the empires they fought for.

WW1 was a barbaric slaughter of millions of mostly working class young men, lured into signing up to be machine gun fodder for the agents of imperialism.

It's a shame we can't commemorate those men without all the usual toxic vitriol.

Precisely. The statue itself represents a returning soldier, the body language, his expression implying despair, sadness, trauma, dismay etc. It is certainly in no way represented as a means of glorification either for having fought a fight or for fighting for the 'empire', it is a dedicated memorial to soldiers from all sides of the war who died.

This was a cowardly protest conducted in the most cowardly manner possible under the cover of darkness by cowards.

22-11-2018 11:55AM

Baron de Charlus wrote: »

If you could just see past your bitterness, you'd realise that there's a difference between commemorating ordinary soldiers who fought and died in that war and glorifying the empires they fought for.

WW1 was a barbaric slaughter of millions of mostly working class young men, lured into signing up to be machine gun fodder for the agents of imperialism.

It's a shame we can't commemorate those men without all the usual toxic vitriol.

Ah your opponent's "bitterness", and your rationality. Give it a rest. There were plenty of other slaughters in world history but you're embracing one of the few which resulted in large numbers of British soldiers being victims rather than just perpetrators for a change. Why the moral selectivity about human death?

Should you take a tour around an Irish history book you might encounter some of these slaughters, carried out by the very British Empire you're trying to humanise here. Empires don't exist without their soldiers. You're trying, for your own political agenda, to separate them. Those people were not conscripted into the British forces, they volunteered and were well paid for it. The "following orders" Nuremberg Defence wasn't acceptable in Nuremberg, and it's just as unacceptable a defence for the footsoldiers of imperialist Britain as it was for the footsoldiers of fascist Germany.

TomSweeney · 22-11-2018 11:56AM

Gravelly wrote: »

They are very careful about who they attack and keeping their face covered when they do it. Cowards, one and all.

I went to school with a guy that was filmed attacking someone on a LUAS - he was part of the anitFa group

Wasn't exactly a tolerant chap, used to have all the n*gger jokes, also is a football hooligan, big supporter of a north dublin club associated with antiFa.

Would have been so easy for him to have become a far right neo nazi too,

He had a photo of himself on FB doing a nazi salute - years ago now, long since deleted.

different sides of the same coin.

Harry Palmr · 22-11-2018 11:56AM

Always beware the one note drum banger. Fuaranach should be outside the British Embassy with a placard or something.

Gravelly · 22-11-2018 12:00PM

TomSweeney wrote: »

I went to school with a guy that was filmed attacking someone on a LUAS - he was part of the anitFa group

Wasn't exactly a tolerant chap, used to have all the n*gger jokes, also is a football hooligan, big supporter of a north dublin club associated with antiFa.

Would have been so easy for him to have become a far right neo nazi too,

He had a photo of himself on FB doing a nazi salute - years ago now, long since deleted.

different sides of the same coin.

Sounds about right. The one lad I know of that has been involved with it is the son of friends of mine. Spoiled rotten all his life, got everything he wanted, but was always in trouble. Spent ten years in college at his parents expense, and left with no qualifications. Now calls himself an artist, while drawing the dole and pissing it away. It seems to be full of similar types - like a club for losers.

TallGlass · 22-11-2018 12:00PM

Conall Cernach wrote: »

A statue to a British soldier in the place of one of the key battlegrounds of the Easter Rising. Who thought it was a good idea to put it up there in the first place?

It's not a British solider, in fact it's just 'a solider', they tried hard to make sure it didn't associate with one side, it represents everyone.

If you want more information on it, then there should be a piece on 'Live Line' on the RTE website from a few weeks back.

Would be great if people actually researched the item they are about to vandalise, that said it could have just been a bunch of clowns just out to wreck it for no reason at all.

Odelay · 22-11-2018 12:00PM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

"Forget" - ah, if we aren't glorifying the footsoldiers of the British Empire by dedicating prominent positions in our public space to them and the "We fought for the rights of small nations" myths of their British imperial society then we are "forgetting" them. How very Royal British Legion of you.

Moreover, there are infinitely more worthy Irish-born people to commemorate than those who fought to defend the very same British Empire that held all of this country under its boot at the same time. Preposterous to commemorate those people.

If I were looking for people worthy of commemoration I'd start with commemorating all those who fought, century after century, for the freedom of this small country from the British colonial jackboot.

You’ve shown disrespect for men that put their lives on the line for what they believed in. They didn’t fanny about whining about a flag, they got in with it.
That deserves far more respect than you’ll ever achieve tapping away on your keyboard about something you have had no experience of.

22-11-2018 12:02PM

Grayson wrote: »

It took more courage to stay at home than go off and fight a war?

Yes - you can read, yes? The context of their making the decision to go to war in the summer of 1914 didn't entail much courage given the then strength of the British Empire and the anticipation that war would be over soon, not to mention the relatively good pay. Do you really think they would have been "courageous" if they knew of the deathtoll in, say, the Somme? Not to mention all the guys who were shot for deserting when the reality of this new type of war became clear. The answer to that question of their courage is a definitive 'No' because it's very noticeable that when the deathtoll became so high, the British couldn't recruit in Ireland. You're looking at the past from the vantage point of 1918 and projecting a whole slew of misplaced values on the guys who volunteered in the summer of 1914. Really poor history.

In contrast, the Irishmen who stayed at home in 1914 risked financial impecunity for their families and career advancement if the country remained under British rule when the war was over.

22-11-2018 12:06PM

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Always beware the one note drum banger. Fuaranach should be outside the British Embassy with a placard or something.

Another devastating cliched response from a long-standing apologist for the thugs of the British Empire.

TallGlass · 22-11-2018 12:07PM

TallGlass wrote: »

It's not a British solider, in fact it's just 'a solider', they tried hard to make sure it didn't associate with one side, it represents everyone.

If you want more information on it, then there should be a piece on 'Live Line' on the RTE website from a few weeks back.

Would be great if people actually researched the item they are about to vandalise, that said it could have just been a bunch of clowns just out to wreck it for no reason at all.

For anyone interested I have found the archive of the 'Live Line' show

https://www.rte.ie/radio1/liveline/programmes/2018/1107/1009323-liveline-wednesday-7-november-2018/

Under the heading 'WWI Statue', give the history of this statue. I found it interesting listening to it.

RandomName2 · 22-11-2018 12:09PM

Deleted User wrote: »

You're looking at the past from the vantage point of 1918 and projecting a whole slew of misplaced values on the guys who volunteered in the summer of 1914. Really poor history.

Said without a shred of irony :eek:

How about you tell us again how the US were really the bad guys in WW2 because of the bombings in Vietnam (during the Vietnam War), or the UK in WW2 was the same as ISIS because they bombed culturally important German cities? If you didn't record it in print it would be hard to believe.

I think you should make some mention of the Mau Mau uprising in the 1950s again due to its importance in WW1

bullpost · 22-11-2018 12:11PM

TallGlass wrote: »

It's not a British solider, in fact it's just 'a solider', they tried hard to make sure it didn't associate with one side, it represents everyone.

If you want more information on it, then there should be a piece on 'Live Line' on the RTE website from a few weeks back.

Would be great if people actually researched the item they are about to vandalise, that said it could have just been a bunch of clowns just out to wreck it for no reason at all.

A lot of geniuses around these days - Anti-homeless protesters occupying the offices of "Focus Ireland" , preventing homeless people getting access to the facilities the charity provide

Chips Lovell · 22-11-2018 12:11PM

Deleted User wrote: »

There were plenty of other slaughters in world history but you're embracing one of the few which resulted in large numbers of British soldiers being victims rather than just perpetrators for a change. Why the moral selectivity about human death?

Except nobody is saying "we should ignore all other slaughters except this one". The only person who's being selective here is you.

22-11-2018 12:11PM

Odelay wrote: »

You’ve shown disrespect for men that put their lives on the line for what they believed in. They didn’t fanny about whining about a flag, they got in with it.

Loads of people have put their lives on the line for what they have believed in. You might have missed the ISIL guys in the Middle East lately? Do you seek to commemorate them? If not, why not?

Odelay wrote: »

That deserves far more respect than you’ll ever achieve tapping away on your keyboard about something you have had no experience of.

Like the rest of the apologists for the crimes of the British Empire, you fail to explain why the footsoldiers of that Empire deserve respect from an Irishman who believes in the freedom of this small country from being ruled by that state, and occupied by its legions of footsoldiers who have garrisoned this island for many centuries now.

Your heroes; you commemorate their thuggery against my people and many, many other peoples across this planet to your heart's content.

arybvtcw0eolkf · 22-11-2018 12:14PM

Conall Cernach wrote: »

A statue to a British soldier in the place of one of the key battlegrounds of the Easter Rising. Who thought it was a good idea to put it up there in the first place?

Its a statue to remember all soldiers on all sides, its not a British soldier. Go visit it, or there's enough information online about it if you want to enlighten yourself.

Sigh.

22-11-2018 12:17PM

Baron de Charlus wrote: »

Except nobody is saying "we should ignore all other slaughters except this one". The only person who's being selective here is you.

Yet there you are only seeking to give pride of place in our capital city to these representatives of the "heroic" myth nonsense of modern-day British nationalists. Why aren't you seeking to commemorate the Irish "fallen" throughout the centuries, who died at the hands of the same Empire, in such a prominent public space?

There are more than enough memorials in Dublin to those who died for the political aims of British imperialism.

Chips Lovell · 22-11-2018 12:21PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Yet there you are only seeking to give pride of place in our capital city to these representatives of the "heroic" myth nonsense of modern-day British nationalist.

There you go again. Who is "only" seeking this? Nobody.

arybvtcw0eolkf · 22-11-2018 12:23PM

My guess here is the pond in 'the Green was dredged for cleaning and the bottom feeders went skulking about their work.

ohnonotgmail · 22-11-2018 12:23PM

I see this thread has gone as well as can be expected.

fryup · 22-11-2018 12:23PM

don't you know its the "curried chips brigade"

you know the ones that hang out outside late night takeaways ... tracksuit wearing, celtic supporting, up the ra chanting, wolfe tones listening, low IQ toe-rags that unfortunately every town & city in this country has

(if only we could cull a certain segment of the population)

Franz Von Peppercorn · 22-11-2018 12:32PM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Loads of people have put their lives on the line for what they have believed in. You might have missed the ISIL guys in the Middle East lately? Do you seek to commemorate them? If not, why not?

Like the rest of the apologists for the crimes of the British Empire, you fail to explain why the footsoldiers of that Empire deserve respect from an Irishman who believes in the freedom of this small country from being ruled by that state, and occupied by its legions of footsoldiers who have garrisoned this island for many centuries now.

Your heroes; you commemorate their thuggery against my people and many, many other peoples across this planet to your heart's content.

Hmm. Isn’t it possible to differentiate between the general British soldier as imperialist (as in that archway you pointed out), and the soldier fighting a militaristic Germany?

Franz Von Peppercorn · 22-11-2018 12:33PM

fryup wrote: »

don't you know its the "curried chips brigade"

you know the ones that hang out outside late night takeaways ... tracksuit wearing, celtic supporting, up the ra chanting, wolfe tones listening, low IQ toe-rags that unfortunately every town & city in this country has

(if only we could cull a certain segment of the population)

I’d say it’s the wokes.

RandomName2 · 22-11-2018 12:35PM

Franz Von Peppercorn wrote: »

Hmm. Isn’t it possible to differentiate between the general British soldier as imperialist (as in that archway you pointed out), and the soldier fighting a militaristic Germany?

But they were fighting for the British King, therefore by definition imperialists.

Never mind that volunteering was initially seen as a sign of good faith in relation to Home Rule, which was the first major step for Irish independence.

wexandproud · 22-11-2018 12:35PM

Odelay wrote: »

You’ve shown disrespect for men that put their lives on the line for what they believed in. They didn’t fanny about whining about a flag, they got in with it.
That deserves far more respect than you’ll ever achieve tapping away on your keyboard about something you have had no experience of.

I often wonder if some of the posters who are so anti everything British could open their minds for just a short time and go and visit some of the places along the battle lines. Go and just look at the very sad graveyards and read the names of the young irish men who were part of the generation that were ''butchered and dammed '' . Men for the most part who went , yes ' for the queens Schillng ' but for no other reason than to feed their family . Go like I have done and visit a few places and think of the awful sadness and tragedy it was .
some of the same poster are always talking about the injustice's the british army carried out , [and yes their were terrible things done] , while defending the fight for Irish freedom , the the same fight that sometimes involved bombing pubs , offices ,and city center's ,killed and maimed innocent people .I'll bet some of those who are quick to knock the brits have plenty of friends and relations who are happy enough to support or be supported by the ''the enemy '' when it suits them

facehugger99 · 22-11-2018 12:44PM

Baron de Charlus wrote: »

Guarantee you there'll be at least some people along to defend this vandalism and rail about "the Brits".

The mouth-breathers rarely disappoint.

Grayson · 22-11-2018 12:50PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Yes - you can read, yes? The context of their making the decision to go to war in the summer of 1914 didn't entail much courage given the then strength of the British Empire and the anticipation that war would be over soon, not to mention the relatively good pay. Do you really think they would have been "courageous" if they knew of the deathtoll in, say, the Somme? Not to mention all the guys who were shot for deserting when the reality of this new type of war became clear. The answer to that question of their courage is a definitive 'No' because it's very noticeable that when the deathtoll became so high, the British couldn't recruit in Ireland. You're looking at the past from the vantage point of 1918 and projecting a whole slew of misplaced values on the guys who volunteered in the summer of 1914. Really poor history.

In contrast, the Irishmen who stayed at home in 1914 risked financial impecunity for their families and career advancement if the country remained under British rule when the war was over.

No, you're the one who's done that.

And you're still that someone risking career advancement i braver that someone who joined an army knowing they were going to war.

If someone stayed back for their own principles/politics, that's fine. My granddad, who I'm proud of, did that. But that doesn't mean that they were any more brave than the soldier who headed off.The soldiers who headed off joined an army that was going to war. And that's not even including those who went off to fight because of Redmonds call to arms, who were fighting for irish freedom.

You're effectively making a distinction between people based on your political beliefs and are saying that one group is brave and the other isn't, entirely because of the side they fought on.

'The Haunting Soldier' sculpture vandalised

Comments