Northern Ireland 2125?

Folk down south saying identity doesn’t matter and it’s only old people that care about it really don’t understand life up here at all. There’s over 600 loyalist bands, most of them full of young people. Even at a conservative 40 members per band, that’s tens of thousands out every weekend. On top of that you’ve around 300 big bonfires on the 11th night, never mind the hundreds of smaller ones all over the place.

The 12th of July alone brings out a quarter of a million people to parades. Just last weekend in my local small town of Newcastle there were over 50 bands at their wee parade, and that’s the same in towns right across NI all summer. The tiny village next to me, Dundrum, had about 10,000 out yesterday in horrible rain, and that’s repeated across ni.

That’s only one part of PUL identity. I’ve never been in a band and I wasn’t at any of those parades, but my identity still matters a lot to me. So please don’t tell me or anyone else from up here that it doesn’t matter, just because it doesn’t matter to you down south.

I will be meeting up with 3000 Northern Ireland supporters in Cologne in a few days and I can assure you Northern Irishness is very important to every one of them. 

Both the Scottish dancing and the Junior orange are growing fast in communities across Northern Ireland. 

And of course the GAA, Kneecap gigs, Fleadhs etc, show Irish identity the same way, with massive crowds. It cuts both ways. And we haven’t even touched on the huge rangers Celtic scene among young people here

So I am surprised to see you suggest that identity doesn’t matter to young people. To suggest that it would be good if it was all about money I think is really quite sad - is that what the South has came to? I think you’re in a minority certainly in the PUL Community.  

There is no doubt that there are many nationalists up here who want to convince Southerners that it is only old people who are interested in PUL culture - that’s just wishful thinking.  Here’s just a couple examples of young people enjoying the marching scene.  The first one is young people waiting for the bands to return from the field and the second is just a parade in progress, but note the size of the band. This is Pride of the Hill, Rathriland. Rathfriland is another little village beside me in nationalist South Down. It has a population of 2,500 and is 50:50 Protestant:catholic. This band, like many recently, got so big it had to split and form a second POTH Old Boys, this is the younger guys in the original POTH.
any idea that our identity is heading for old people’s home is nonsense

I wasn’t commenting on how it will be opposed or otherwise, I was simply responding to a suggestion that young people in Northern Ireland are not interested in identity. I found that quite a strange comment.

If what you say is true, why do they not demonstrate their good will now, instead of pumping £50,000,000 into a GAA pitch.
I only remember one attempt for our identity to parade in Dublin and the city went into chaos and the parade was blocked. Not a good omen for the future.

was Gerry in the ira? Or has he pulled the wool over your eyes.
your posts are sad

Really!! Martin Maginnis is open about his support for (and involvement in) torture, assassinations, human bombs, and Adams is open about his support for (and involvement in) burning Protestants alive and hotels, assassinating your women etc?

You could’ve fooled me - but maybe you were at gatherings where they were more open about their beliefs?