tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091756463128804432.post2892606308796732485..comments2024-03-27T02:55:10.109-07:00Comments on Irish Papist: Thoughts on Northern IrelandMaolsheachlannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406722311993627528noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091756463128804432.post-79361178156316976762017-07-11T01:10:08.434-07:002017-07-11T01:10:08.434-07:00It wasn't always a keen supporter of the Europ...It wasn't always a keen supporter of the European project. Its former stance made more sense to me. I can't see the point of the long struggle for independence if we are just going to become another multicultural, globalist corner of the world. We may as well have stayed in the British Empire if all it comes down to is the colour of the flag. I respect your opinion though.Maolsheachlannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09406722311993627528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091756463128804432.post-41795839474551440482017-07-11T01:04:13.958-07:002017-07-11T01:04:13.958-07:00I think those are false categories. It's nati...I think those are false categories. It's nationalist in wanting a united Ireland which is a reasonable desire given the small size and homogeneity of the island, and it is internationalist in being a keen supporter of the EU - as well, of course, uniquely having representatives elected to three different legislatures in two countries.Woflhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10215884001340285492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091756463128804432.post-39447438124477126742017-07-10T12:21:28.436-07:002017-07-10T12:21:28.436-07:00Thanks for your comment, auban. Do you consider SF...Thanks for your comment, auban. Do you consider SF a nationalist or an internationalist party?Maolsheachlannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09406722311993627528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091756463128804432.post-29760519760560682172017-07-10T12:17:20.107-07:002017-07-10T12:17:20.107-07:00As a Protestant from East Belfast I would like to ...As a Protestant from East Belfast I would like to point out that Sinn Féin is one of the least corrupt and most principled political parties in Europe, which is why it has such great appeal. Soon it may jettison its 100-year refusal to sit in the British House of Commons and actually help to resolve the Border problem created by "Brexit". It was "the political wing" of the IRA only in the same sense that the Conservative and Labour parties in the UK are "political wings" of the massive arms industry of the UK.Woflhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10215884001340285492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091756463128804432.post-71547630438449166902017-07-09T04:30:45.002-07:002017-07-09T04:30:45.002-07:00Well, the book is very interesting because it show...Well, the book is very interesting because it shows how EVERYBODY was caught in a dilemma and a lot of double-binds. I doubt Britain would have attacked the Republic, though.<br /><br />O'Fiach's interventions seems to have been very inopportune. What is interesting is that Protestant clerics and newspapers had quite a sophisticated critique of the Catholic attitude. They asked why Catholic leaders could be so inflexible when it came to mixed marriages but so nuanced when it came to the hunger strikers.<br /><br />Your mother's explanation is hilarious. It reminds me of a New Yorker cartoon I really like: a little girl in a museum looking at a reconstructed dinosaur with a worried expression, and her mother saying: "Because they didn't listen to their mommies, that's why".<br /><br />I had a similar experience to yours with the first Gulf War. I thought it was the start of WWIII.Maolsheachlannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09406722311993627528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091756463128804432.post-24963632127982327192017-07-08T23:45:41.286-07:002017-07-08T23:45:41.286-07:00I was about 7 at the time the HBlock protests went...I was about 7 at the time the HBlock protests went on in Dublin. It was, to my innocent mind, the scariest thing imaginable. Even now, I'm not sure that I've seen any protests which were as riotous, as angry or as violent, although I only ever saw broken bottles or windows after the occasion.... When Sands actually died I really thought there'd be an actual war-as in guns and bombs -and I was praying for a happy death that night. I didn't really understand the whole thing, notwithstanding placards with disturbing pictures of prisoners. One comment that escaped my mother's mouth was "that's all to do with the North" Even now, I'm not sure what they expected Haughey to do. Had he taken a harder line the Thatcher government could have well blown Oireachtas to smithereens. Cardinal O'Fiaich seems to have agreed that there was some just cause there. I still remember my happiness on hearing that it was all over. My mother gave me a brief explanation "their mammies told them to eat" We were in Phibsboro at the time, being closer to the city-I remember once the protest going down Phibsboro Road-it would have made more of an impression on me, even if I had of been your age.Séamus (Australia)noreply@blogger.com