More sectarianism in the North

I think for a start we need to stop calling this sectarianism - it is anti-Catholic from the Protestant side.

This is the orange order, an organisation made up of British soldiers, bigoted clerics, thugs, fascists and stupid old men.

They hate anything not white Anglo Saxon and Protestant.

In any other country, apart from the UK, they would be illegal and not tolerated.

While the spineless cowards in FFG (and Labour in the 70-90s) and RTÉ/Irish media in general normalised their behaviour.

To call them a culture is propaganda, the British KKK.

It is the ordinary northern unionists and Protestants who need to stand up to them.

Read the statement from the orange lodge, a load of gobbley gook.

That cricket club (for caving in) ought to be boycotted, their sponsor also boycotted and Cricket Ireland need to make a statement and consider sanctions against Comber cricket club.

https://cricketireland.ie/about-us/contact/

If anyone wishes to complain.

I kinda agree.

For the cricket club to cave in cos of a few online comments from people stuck in the past, comes across as very weak.

We need people to stand up and face down this kind of backward thinking. Until we do, it will continue.

Famous quote : The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing

Yeah, their press statement alluded to such.

As reaction to the event grew, we felt the spirit of the camp was at risk of being lost. With regret — and out of respect for all involved — we chose not to proceed.

But let’s be clear: openness is not a threat. Respect is not surrender. And our culture is not so fragile that it can’t be shared.

We are a strong club, in a strong town. That’s why our gates will always remain open — and why we’ll keep showing others what we’re about: sport, community, and quiet confidence in who we are.

The feile invites anyone to its events- Unionists have attended various events over the years and U are trying to compare that outreach with the Orange 12 -

Funny how Your 2 sides argument always leaves the English out has if they had nothing to do with the 6 counties-

This shows us that "educated people" can be bigoted too. People always say it is just the poor areas. North Down would be a well off area. I have never agreed with that notion because you just have to look at the politicians like Jim Allister and Carla Lockhart. I think they are both lawyers and are very bitter people.

Also I have often wondered what unionists would think of the Scottish sport shinty. It has no connection to Irish politics but it is a game of Gaelic origin like hurling. It is broadcast on the BBC Alba channel

those posts didn’t age well.
You will note cricket club has been clear that the cancellation had zero to do with the very reasonable post by the local lodge.
Ask for the comments on the threat that it is a Northern problem for the comments on the it is problem - here is the president of the GAA in action yesterday. How could any unionist have any contact whatsoever with an organisation like this?
If the President of any sporting body was to make a speech like this about UVF killers, his feet wouldn’t touch the ground as the body kicked him out the door - and rightly so.
https://x.com/irishunity/status/1947029079213167101?s=46

Sean Tracey fought the British in the War Of Independence. He was not a killer of random innocents of a specific religion like the UVF.
Like The British who died in that or any war - people have every right to remember/commemorate them or they don't.

This is never gonna be a 'one side has the right to remember and the other side has to be fearful in remembering'.
Pointing to perfectly acceptable remembrance anytime your side is under pressure for being nakedly sectarian will not work.

If any post isn't aging well, it's yours.

Saying that the cancellation had 'zero' to do with the OO post is laughable, and bordering on gaslighting. It's literally been cancelled because of the post (and subsequent follow-up).

The irony is that, if NI is to maintain the status quo, it needs cross-community integration. It will need a generation comfortable with its place in the UK. But turning these children away, you're hardening Nationalist viewpoints, and making it more likely that these children will grow up wanting a United Ireland.

But I guess it wouldn't be true unionism if they weren't blindly shooting themselves in the foot.

All sectarianism needs to be called out when it happens.

The 'GAA' if you know anything about it, do not have a central role in the naming of clubs nor indeed what those clubs decide to do. That is up to the local organisations.

I am unbelievably fine with stopping each side commemorating/celebrating members of their communities who died in the conflict war.
If that is applied even-handedly.

So I'll ask as I always do. Are all sides prepared to stop commemorating those who the other side saw as the 'terrorists'/oppressors/sectarian killers?

Are we prepared to live in a country where public manifestations of remembrance are gone or do we try to find a way to allow respectful commemoration?

The GAA is demonstrably cross community.

You are being deliberately obtuse to what the GAA is. It is an umbrella organisation for individual clubs. Clubs that have autonomy in naming and activities.
Yes, some clubs have named themselves after people they wish to commemorate and if a club was set up in a Unionist community it could name itself as it wished.
It is you who is dictating what and who people can commemorate. Not me or the GAA.

There you go - dictating who can remember who.
The GFA, which Cahill fully embraced and worked for, was an agreement between the sides in the conflict/war. It did not give superiority to any side but mapped out a way that those sides could co-exist.

You or downcow or anybody else, including me and SF etc etc gets to 'dictate' who can and cannot be commemorated, if it is done respectfully and without trying to taunt or triumphalise.

Well it would require a vote at Congress to change the organisation rules.

It is something that we must try to achieve. We are all committed under the GFA to work towards the unity of the people, that must start with cross-community organisations taking the lead and removing sectarian symbols and celebrations.