With the leader of the main Unionist party applauding speeches calling the GFA 'iniquitous' and 'deceit' are the upcoming elections a test for the seminal agreement?
It's hard to know what will happen if the DUP manage to get their vote out and maintain the majority vote.
On that, this guy IMO very pertinently poses the question "If not now when?"
Dr Peter Shirlow, a social demographer and head of Liverpool University’s Institute of Irish Studies, told The Times the findings from NILT were consistent with other polls showing a majority against a united Ireland....
"All these surveys show majority support for remaining in the UK, a significant share of Catholics who support remaining in the UK and no growth in the very small share of Protestants who want Irish unification....
Shirlow said that the NILT poll was conducted at a time that should have been “an optimum moment” for those “seeking Irish unification”.
“Brexit, the protocol and the massive effort made by civic nationalist groups has to led to a small growth in those who support unification yet this was supposed to be the game changer,” he insisted.
Who has weaponised it though?
The turning of the Irish language into a bone of contention is a creation of those who loathe the language based on a misplaced perpetuated myth that it is a threat to Loyalism because it blurs the cultural distinction between North and South — and quite simply just makes Northern Ireland more ‘Irish’. The fact that a senior Orange Order master once notoriously described his opposition to the language as being based on the fact that Hitler used German speaking areas as a premise for the annexation of territory is indicative of the daftness that underpins the suspicion of the Irish language by many Unionists.
It is not those who support the preservation and protection of the Irish language who need to de-weaponise the issue, it is those who loathe the language based on nothing more than irrational anachronistic hatred.
Curry my yogurt for that contribution
Ah, Gregory, our beloved Weaponiser-in-Chief of the Irish language.
I'm complaining that the Irish government (which is different to a political party) could not bring itself to properly address what had happened in NI and what it meant to Irish people.
We can fawn and celebrate an Irish descendant becoming president elect, but we can't welcome a notable watermark for Irish people on this island.
Pathetic and sad.
what it meant to Irish people.
I never knew SF supporters to be so weak-minded that they needed all this emotional support and outpouring of fake handshakes. Speaks hugely of their insecurity I think that they need such carry on.
What next? A gold star on MoN's forehead for a good election? A hamper of cheese and relish?
:)
We all the reasons behind yous "facts"and bizzare rants here,same as yous posting on trans in sports issue,same as how any woman yous disagree wuth is labeled "crazy"....need not scrath skin deep,for the motive behind it,whether you want admit it to yourself is whole other issue of course
I have absolutely have no idea what this post even means or what your point is. Can you elaborate please in clear and concise sentences so I know what you are trying to say?
Its gas....this is almost as retarded as donaldsons big revel of a sf ad for pushing for reunification
You could ask a schoolchild if sf are in favour of reunification....liberials on boards act suprised,when sf back up decades of campaigning by pushing for it......youd honestly wonder to what level these people have been lobotised,that this comes as a suprise😁😁😁
The pain and bitterness is oozing out of that hamper of yours mark.
I was referring to the first sentence of your post.
Which was explained by what followed. Which you didn't address.
If we have a serious out break of animal disease here directly related to what those vets are warning about what do you think the natural and sensible solution would be?
52% of the population (and rising) in favour of the Protocol.
56% in 2016 (and rising with successive polls) in favour of EU membership.
The only pragmatic way to resolve these English-created issues is via reunification and an immediate return to the EU. Only hard Unionists are unaware of this. The pragmatic ones are already prepared and accepting of the change and they are the ones that will sway the vote.
For me he's a moron, one amongst a cabal of such, but a guy who would willingly sacrifice NI while attempting to retain Scotland in the UK fold. The English simply don't give a damn about NI, it's of no economic nor political use to them. George Osborne was honest about it, other tories are warier about saying it in public.
Who weaponised it? The Irish language gaeilgeors and fascists, the ones who are not just happy to converse between themselves but want to foist it on all other citizens, apropos of our Official Languages Act nonsense. Time to decommission language and find points of common ground, not difference.
There isn't a single thing in the ILA that seeks to 'foist' the Irish Language on anyone.
Really:
The legislation sought by Sinn Féin would appoint an Irish language commissioner and designate Gaeltacht areas. It would also provide for the right to use Irish:[3]
Conradh na Gaeilge (an all-island non-political social and cultural organisation which promotes the language in Ireland and worldwide) proposes[11] an Act that would provide for
It isn't replacing English Furse, therefore English speakers are having nothing 'foisted' upon them. How 'foisted upon' do you feel about Irish being used here?
DUP threatening to not nominate a Speaker now, to all intents and purposes removing the last few things the Assembly and ministers can do.
OK so the weaponisers of the Irish language are not the people who loathe it purely because it's Irish by nature, or those who detest it because they think it's a threat to Northern Ireland being seen as British and nothing at all like Ireland, or those who believe the preservation of a threatened piece of Irish cultural heritage is nothing more than a culture genocide to wipe out Britishness in Ulster and force the speaking of Irish -- or those who annually gather round a bonfire to jeer at the torching of the Irish flag and cultural emblems.
Instead, you are of the view that Irish speakers themselves weaponised the language by simply having the temerity to push for the promotion of a threatened language that forms an important part of Irelands history, music, literature as well as providing something relatively benign for people to be enthusiastic about and interested in which is unique to this island.
The self hate and inferiority complexes of some Irish people never cease to fascinate Arthur. Look first for some Irish to blame if the British or Unionists claim insult.
Same as in Wales and Scotland, so what's the issue?
A box set on Netflix may be available in English as the native language, or Spanish, German or French.
That isn't foisting Spanish, German or French onto anyone though.
I don't see any notion of forcing/foisting people to converse or communicate in Irish there.
Though i agree with the Irish language act and its principle like celts/music/dance... why are people making such a fuss of something that is already in place... for me its childish stuff... its just a matter of ticking a few boxes and its going to happen...
I have heard a leading politician in recent days live on tele questioning their own competence with the language...
The real illuminating fact is that the Irish spoken in Northern Ireland is not native to Northern Ireland. All of the Northern Irish dialects had ceased to exist by the mid-1970s when the last native speakers passed away. However, the revival of the language does have cultural aspects to it as the people of the North was slower than the Republic to revive Irishness.
However, it is also true that the weaponisation of cultural nationalism to create exclusionary political nationalism is something that has occurred in Northern Ireland, most obviously by Sinn Fein, but the revival of Ulster-Scots follows a similar pattern, two sides of the same coin, so to speak. This weaponisation of cultural nationalism is not a phenomenon confined to Northern Ireland as politicians across Europe like Putin, Farage and Le Pen have utilised the same tools in their political arenas.
How much self loathing must you have to see the world that way?
Does the line 'last native speaker passed away' not mean anything to you culturally?
That you rejoice in a huge and rich part of our culture dying out is really really sad.
Jesus Christ, would you leave it with your false twisting and turning and fake interpretation of other poster's words.
I never said I rejoiced in the culture dying out - I pointed out the historical facts.
You are happy to use it to have a pop at your boogeymen and women. Why else who you use it against people who love the native language and the extraordinarily rich culture that goes with it.
It's worth looking at the regulations surrounding our Official Languages Act 2003. Nearly 20 years now and started off slowly but gradually all public bodies have been dragged into line either by persuasion or legal measures. https://www.coimisineir.ie/userfiles/files/Official%20Languages%20Act%20Guidebook_eng.pdf
Has an impact on many parts of life quite disproportionate to the number of people who want to live through Irish. And remember the fundamental requirement that the Irish version MUST always be first as well as of equal or stronger prominence.
When you get to the stage that bus timetables on bus stops in city centre Dublin are practically unintelligible unless you are familiar with Irish versions of all suburbs and streets, you've gone too far. Arises in situations where there is not enough space on the bus stop signage for both languages and since Irish is the primary language, that gets preference.
I'm all for it in Gaeltacht regions, but not elsewhere.
As regards the north, I have some sympathy for the unionist population in this regard. It took us 80 years after independence to implement to this level. What's the rush up there, except to weaponise the language.
'What's the rush?'
Another way of saying 'appease Unionists'.
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