BF2S Forums End Irish anthem at GAA matches, demands DUP minister

IT is certainly unfortunate that the straightforward issue of language rights, a non-controversial issue in Wales, Scotland, the south of Ireland and throughout Europe, an issue which should be judged in the same light as any other expression of human rights, has become a political football in certain sections of unionism.

According to the latest census, 75,000 people here "speak, read, write and understand Irish" with a further 167,000 people who said they had "some knowledge of Irish".
It is also a growing language. Between 1991 and 2001 Irish speakers increased by 18 per cent. The increasing demand for Irish medium education is an indication of the value attached to the language by many families in the North (3,500 children are attending Irish schools).
All languages deserve respect and all language communities should have access to services. But the Irish language has a very particular relationship with the island of Ireland. It is an indigenous language with an unbroken historical line of being spoken here for over 2,000 years.
It is part of a common culture and language that has been shared with gaelic Scotland for 1,500 years. The names of the majority of our mountains, rivers, towns and streets are rooted in the Irish language. The Irish language issue is notjust a nationalist issue. The Irish language is part of the cultural heritage of all of us.
It is unfortunate that there has been a deliberate attempt to inflate the likely cost of affording language rights to Irish speakers while measures to address the historical exclusion of Irish speakers have been presented as an unnecessary burden on the ordinary taxpayer. Like many of the arguments deployed by anti-Irish campaigners, this is also spurious.
Where extra costs are incurred, the bottom line has to be that Irish speakers are also taxpayers and have been paying towards their own exclusion for decades. All the Irish-speaking community is asking, is to be treated equally in terms of resources with the Welsh language community.
Unionists have nothing to fear from the Irish language, Irish speakers or the Irish language community.

SINN Fein plans to purge a town of symbols of Protestant and British culture have been exposed in the minutes of a damning council document.
Republican councillors in Limavady have drawn up a lengthy "petty sectarian wish list" of items they intend to have removed from inside and outside the local council offices in order to create a "neutral environment

ASSAULT
Alderman George Robinson of the DUP said: "This is nothing more than a full-frontal assault on the unionist people, not only of Limavady but of Northern Ireland."

The minutes of a special council committee – which includes SDLP members but which unionists refused to sit on – reveal that councillors did an "audit" of the council buildings last November.

And one by one they decided which items offended them and had to go.

So thorough was their trawl that the document reveals they had to do an internet search before they could establish if they were offended by a statue at the council doors.

After some lengthy debate, they decided they were. And so they want the monument to local man William Massey Ferguson, who left the town in the late 1800s and became Prime Minister of New Zealand, pulled down.

The committee recommendations are due before a full council meeting next Tuesday, at which unionists expect to be out-voted (nine-to-six) by a nationalist majority.

DISGUST
Last night, DUP Alderman and former Mayor of Limavady George Robinson said he was "shocked and disgusted" by what was in the council minutes.

He said he was deeply concerned at what sort of message this would send out to the mainly unionist people of the town of Limavady.

"Unionists knew what this was about and did not sit on the committee, knowing we would be out-voted on any suggestions.

"But picking out the statue of Massey Ferguson beggars belief. It is a tribute to one of the town's most famous and successful sons," said Mr Robinson

"It has been there 10 or 12 years and is causing offence to no one. They are planning to rip down a monument, a tourist attraction, and a tribute to a local man.

"According to Sinn Fein he was first and foremost an Orangeman and he made anti-Catholic speeches."

But Mr Robinson was just as shocked at how petty and "narrow-minded" the inventory of the targeted items was.

As well as the statue the list includes:

* three pictures in a hallway, at least one of which was a gift from a regiment at Ballykelly Army base following a visit to the council;

* a Royal British Legion certificate;

* artwork presented to council by the 8th Infantry Brigade;

* a Charles and Diana mug;

* a little dragon from the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards;

* a Royal Engineers paper weight;

* and a 22nd Regiment Cheshire plate.

He said: "As an MLA I sit up at Stormont and in fairness to Sinn Fein there have been times where they have looked at things and seen the bigger picture and not taken this attitude.

"This, though, is a major step backwards for community relations in the Limavady area."

DUP MP for the area Gregory Campbell added his disgust.

Last edited by IG-Calibre (2008-01-18 05:43:55)

CameronPoe wrote:

Vilham wrote:

lol. I love how only the irish people seem to care. So yeah i guess u might aswell have ur song, i doubt many people outside of ireland watch it anyway.

lol. You can sing your self-deprecating rhyme about that shrivelled old bag up in Buck palace too. You probably don't even know what GAA is. You should get behind your team - London have a Gaelic football team that take part in the All Ireland championship (as do New York).

jord wrote:

You know, following the (N.)Ireland situation is pretty complicated for anyone outside of Ireland.

Also, you're town might have a squash team or something. Doesn't mean you should follow everything your town does as some sort of duty...

Last edited by CameronPoe (2008-01-18 07:41:42)

Varegg wrote:

I played American Football in Norway some years back and we have about 10 teams last i checked, never heard of Gaelic footy though

Last edited by CameronPoe (2008-01-18 08:09:18)

jord wrote:

You know, following the (N.)Ireland situation is pretty complicated for anyone outside of Ireland.

Also, you're town might have a squash team or something. Doesn't mean you should follow everything your town does as some sort of duty...

Last edited by IG-Calibre (2008-01-18 09:03:15)

jord wrote:

IG-Calibre wrote:

jord wrote:

You know, following the (N.)Ireland situation is pretty complicated for anyone outside of Ireland.

Also, you're town might have a squash team or something. Doesn't mean you should follow everything your town does as some sort of duty...

Let me explain it simply to you, the UK is a constitutional Monarchy that maintains a Protestant status quo. From the forming of the state of Northern Ireland this has been at the expense of the indigenous peoples who embraced Catholicism when Christianity came to the Island via St.Patrick, and who would never accept Protestantism.  The flag of the Republic is green,white,orange this represents the meeting of the Protestant and Catholic traditions living in peace as equals in a democracy. Which is denied to the peoples of the North because of those who wish to maintain the United Kingdom & constitutional Monarchy. In a nut shell it's about those that are willing to bend on knee to a Queen & be subjugated, and, those who will not.

Yeah I have some sort of basic understanding, but obviously I have to take everything you say with a grain of salt. No offence, it's just that the Irish seem to be heavily bias on issues regarding Northern Ireland. Also tend not to accept that some people, believe it or not like being British there. And don't see it as bending over and giving up.

/off topic probably, sorry.

jord wrote:

IG-Calibre wrote:

jord wrote:

Yeah I have some sort of basic understanding, but obviously I have to take everything you say with a grain of salt. No offence, it's just that the Irish seem to be heavily bias on issues regarding Northern Ireland. Also tend not to accept that some people, believe it or not like being British there. And don't see it as bending over and giving up.

/off topic probably, sorry.

er... that's exactly what I said jord..

Pretty much yeah, I suppose so. Apart from I added the bias bit.

Drakef wrote:

CameronPoe wrote:

Fuck Edwin Poots in the ass. Incidentally, what a stupid fucking name.

Here's an idea too: let's let Queen Liz go for a nice walk in north inner city Dublin on her own when she arrives so that she can savour that famous Irish hospitality*.

* Hospitalisation, to be precise.

You threatened our head of state! You monster!

In serious discussion, I would like to know a bit more. Why is this politician wanting the Irish national anthem not to be played? Is it to respect non-Irish people or players? Is the minister Irish?

Last edited by IG-Calibre (2008-01-18 10:05:14)