Why are Irish people so divided on the issue of Irish Republicanism?

ballsymchugh wrote: »

maybe because of how it's been hijacked by a small minority who've murdered innocent people in it's name..

And to add, we've been informed on down through the years by our OWN. Crazy, crazy, crazy, yes, crazy. Sometimes I think we should all sign into the GF ward and stay there.

We've had many attempts are insurrection in the past, some, as with the Spanish we probably were lucky to have been defeated as the Spanish had their own acquisition plans ... which shows another Irish trait in general, we tend to be a bit stupid and gullible.

Anyway history says that most of our plans would not have succeed and at best we'd have had more partitioning of the country, perhaps a Spanish enclave in the South West, a French and German enclave in the West and North West, more or less the current partition in the North in British control and a few pockets of independent states.

History suggests that our best plan was the 1798 Vinegar Hill rising, where we had tactical and numeric supremacy, with a strong, well armed [with pikes] self contained insurgent groups that did co-ordinate and move with unity ~ perhaps the only example of same.

Nonetheless, men in our own ranks, informed the inferior British force of all our plans and routes, enabling him to engage and destroy small insurgent groups as they marched to unite into the main battle group.

A fantastic effort by the British Red Coat commander defeated us on information freely given to him. Crazy, crazy, crazy.

Militarily the 1916 rising was doomed to failure and joins the pile of failures, again, for a reason that does not satisfy me [personally] the rising's effectiveness and chaos of war opportunities were totally scuttled by the rising's Commander In Chief.

Sadly, the divides are still with us today, during the last Easter Commemorations locally, I spoke to four different groups. Their views ranged from the Northern Ireland peace process to be a way forward in economic and political sharing, others took an opposing view similar to the divide that Collin's Treaty caused.

My own view is that the peace process pandered to a defeated terrorist goup or groups and they should have been engaged militarily as, IMO, their ability to strike back effectively was defeated by lack of arms, money, men. Instead we drag on a peace process for years, whilst our country was sliding back to the stone age and dancing in the mists of mythology.

Two reasons. One is, as people above have posted, that cruel things have been done since the 1960s in the name of the Republic.

The other is the natural swing of opinion - from strong Republican feeling in the early years of the state, to moving away from that in the next generation, and probably swinging back again.

The unpatriotic corruption of recent governments hasn't helped either.

paky wrote: »

Why do you think Irish people are so divided on the issue of Irish Republicanism? I cant understand it. I feel its almost offensive to people to be an Irish Republican or in anyway patriotic. If its OK to be patriotic in the UK and in the US then why is it so difficult in Ireland?

Which planet to you live on?? I am Irish and proud of it. (like other millions of Irish in Ireland and abroad)

I think Ireland needed to become independent when it did as Irish Catholics were actively discriminated in the UK, I mean if ireland were really part of the UK then and Irish man would stand as good a chance of becoming prime minister as a scottishman, however a catholic Irishman would never be elected to that position, therefore we had no choice be to revert to an independent state, as we were never treated as equals in the UK.

That does not mean I have a banaclava and riffle in the closet.

jackbenimble wrote: »

Mass murder in the name of Irish Republicanism? Illegal and predatory claims on a neighbouring countries territory against the will of most who live there? Who knows?

What I can't understand is why people are so divided on the issue of National Socialism in Germany in the thirties and fourties...

Godwin! We have our man!

Well, the way I see it, in my total cynicism, republicanism is useful for keeping FF in power because every election the papers will use the word itself to scare the herd.

MysticalRain wrote: »

The vast majority of Irish people are proud of their country. The only "divide" here is whether or not people believe it's right to murder innocent civilians in the name of our nation.

What about murdering soldiers and policemen in the name of your nation?

I am proud of my country, I love my country and I am a republican. Have a problem with that?


I don't give a damn.