The emergence of "Zombie" by The Cranberries as an Irish sporting anthem

Maybe DC77 regards themselves as British.

When you consider that a faction of FF cabinet ministers ran guns to the PIRA, it was a bit more ambivalent than that.

Plenty of people semi-supported the IRA especially prior to the killing of Mountbatten. I remember all sorts of people with various shades of sympathy. Lots would have been FFers. ("Sneaking regarders" was a phrase for people who deniably or secretly admired the IRA)

In those days SF were a minor afterthought down south. They didn't campaign widely though I remember they did have posters in the poorest of poor areas of Dublin. Simply adding up old ballot totals doesn't tell the full story of who supported whom.

There was a groundswell of public sympathy for the hunger strikers for instance and dislike of M Thatcher. Do you recall?

But anyway as I keep saying all this stuff is a distraction from here and now SF wowing students, construction workers, service workers and young middle-class types with their (so far unopposed, in the main) economic populism(-lite?) agenda.

Refuse to address SF on their (and the country's) core issue of economics between now and election day and what you could have is a SF government. So good luck with that. Absent anyone who will properly oppose them and articulate the case against socialism they are arguably in something of a can't-lose position. They can just walk across the finish line essentially.

Sad, as Donald Trump would say, very sad. Its so sad.

I'm appalled at how Irish rugby fans have allowed sectarian politics get in the door of the sport like this.

The wilful ignorance, the contempt for the nationalist population in the north and the reinforcing of rugby as a closed shop - the preserve of the haves who are so far removed from the experience of Irish people in the north at a dreadful time in our history - never mind the rest of the population.

I don't think any favours have been done here for rugby. All that's achieved is to alienate people and reinforce rugby stereotypes.

I think it's a real pity. There are many posters here, myself included, who if Ireland take a hiding tonight will be here after the game saying "I don't want Ireland to lose at any sport but thank Christ we don't have to listen to this rubbish anymore".

I can't understand why at a time everyone should be getting behind the rugby team this poison has been injected in to it.

It's not good.

I agree with much of what you say. Taking your first sentence, about the " faction of FF cabinet ministers ran guns to the PIRA", at least nobody can deny there was much more collusion between government and paramilitaries south of the border than there was collusion between government and paramilitaries north of the border.

Zombie is an excellent song, the people who planted IRA bombs in Warrington were not in our name any more than the few renegade FF politicians involved in the arms trial ( for smuggling arms to IRA) were in our name either.

Are Limerick hurling fans into sectarian politics also?

What a load of shíte.

Amy Huberman, Lord Henry Mountcharles, Neale Richmond, Dr. Ciara Kelly, Bono, Donal Lenihan, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, we have beaten them all, we have beaten them all!. Leo Varadkar, can you hear me? Leo Varadkar ... your boys took a hell of a beating! Your boys took a hell of a beating!"

I have a message for you in the middle of your anti Sinn Fein campaign. I have a message for you: We have knocked Ireland out of the rugby World Cup. Leo Varadkar as they say in your language in the bars around Baggot Street: Your boys took a hell of a beating! Your boys took a hell of a beating

We’ll be bringing it to the Aviva next year.

Hoping for peace?

What are rugby fans, and I'm one of them, doing getting involved in this stuff?

Stick to the game and you'll find no one is happy Ireland lost tonight.

Spot the partitionist

I don't support SF either, so not sure at what you're trying to say.

Its slim pickings in the North as it's essentially tribal politics.

Regards "Zombie", i will confess there is some relief Ireland lost tonight at the first (real) hurdle as that song would have become associated with a success. Very very rare (in fact probably never) that I've had mixed emotions over an Ireland team losing. Thinking back to all the previous RWC (from '91 onward) I was gutted everytime we went out, but this time there was almost nothing.

In contrast to such a divisive song, "Put Em Under Presure" was a great unifier (also connected to a sport that represents all classes, but that's another debate)...plus it is an actual song related to what goes on on the field of play.