Loyalist groups to march in Dublin

Jesus lads, give it a break already.

yes,good comment John R ,dont think anyone takes them seriously only themselves,although to me its like allowing the nazis walk down some street in Tel Aviv waving swastikas.

Best thing would be to ignore it completly. Theres no point in fretting over it.

Remember
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your
right to say it"

In other words, it is because you may dispise these people so much that you must allow them to march unhindered.

Free speech and assembly is mostly about letting the people you dont agree with march or speak freely.

Wow I cant believe I didnt notice this thread before, its quite an interesting one. I come from the North and my folks would be what people would consider "loyalist" simply by virtue of the fact that they are a protestant couple living in a mostly Protestant neighbourhood voting (mainly) UUP. Having lived here for almost 5 years I think Ive overcome all of the silly prejudices I learned growing up (Rangers boys are just as smelly as Celtic supporters tbh).

I dont want to get too political here, but I can see their point.
Look if there was an election in the morning on whether to merge with the republic, the north would vote against. Why? There are more Protestants than catholics, more staunch unionists than staunch nationalists. Now thats a fact.
This isnt my opinion, but Ive heard it expressed a lot especially over the Christmas break at home: The true meaning of the word nationalist, it is sometimes forgotten, applies to Unionists just as much as those who vote SF/SDLP. The majority of the people of the North have the right to be allied to the country they perceive themselves to have originated from. The population difference is marginal of course, but many unionists find it frustrating that Irish passports are issued to Northern citizens and just feel that in general, a lot of leeway is being given to the SF supporters (yes I know not all nationalists are SF) just because the IRA has paused activity... when the UUP has been demonising loyalist crimes all along. Suddenly people feel as if its as if the unionists are the bad boys and the republican crimes have been forgotten.

After SF/IRA announced they were ceasing activity, Bertie Ahern came on BBC Newsnight saying he was in favour of a united Ireland. How do you think Unionists, so used to thinking of this man as a sensible man, understanding and friendly in his dealings with the unionist community of the north, how do you think they felt?

Mary McAleese visited the north not so long ago, and she got a very welcoming reception. if she came now, I think she would still be welcomed, but with a greater degree of apprehension. In short, unionists do feel as if there is now being a push made, both on the London side and the Dublin side, to unite the island of Ireland. This cannot happen, as it is only going to fuel sectarian tensions, and bring the whole process back to 1959. Why bother?

The Orange Order, an organisation whose actions I personally dont like, are coming here to fight back at what they regard as this new movement. Maybe fight back is a poor choice of words, they want to underline the North's indentity and her roots... just like Irishmen and women who march in Sydney and New York each Patricks Day.

Im not defending them, but if Im in town, I'll be watching the march. I hope most people have liberated themselves from the opinion that Ulster is an innocent entity being held at ransom by a herd of foreign men. I often think of Ulster as a child borne of a topsy turvy romance between London and Dublin. Neither can keep the north to themselves, and while it is a part of Britain, Ulster doesn't belong to Ireland. es a big boy now. Surely this was the whole crux of Good Friday.

Sorry if this is a rant, i hope I havent offended anyone, i dont mind getting political on boards but I realise this is a sensitive subject. However I do think the Nazis and their swastikas comment just above this is unfair.