I am a proud Irishman. Ireland is an amazing place with amazing people. The hospitality you will find in Ireland is like no place on Earth. The Emerald Isle is a country steeped in tradition and rich in culture. Ok, enough of the sales pitch more on what has embarrased me.
Some people will understand what i am about to talk about, some will agree with me and others will think i am talking shite. Orange Parades.
These things anger me to the point of my skin turning green and my clothes ripping from my body. Every year around this time they try to impose their bigoted pea-brained attitudes on people with their pathetic 'marches' through Catholic areas.
It all goes back to King William of Orange and his victory over the Catholic King James at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. So every year the Orange Order feel the need remember this battle while ramming it down Catholic throats. This link to a blog by Richard Wallace describes the Orange Order perfectly
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=124489600&blogId=476414821
Now to what embarrases me so much. These parades have caused extensive trouble in the North of Ireland for many many years. Last night in Belfast trouble erupted and it was quite ugly. I understand the people are angry and have every right to be. What i dont understand is why do some rioters wear Celtic F.C jerseys and wave Irish flags? For fuck sake lads, the world is watching this and thinking that all rioters are Celtic supporting Irishmen. You are not rioting on behalf of Celtic Football Club or on behalf of the Irish Nation. You are embarrasing every Irishman and Irishwoman around the world. It is time to move away from this ugliness and show the world that you are better than the idiots who march through Catholic areas. These fools live in the past (1690 to be exact).
Is it acceptable for the K.K.K to march Harlem? Would Nazis march through Jerusalem. I dont think so.
The extent of the violence was actually quite bad. BBC Newsline released the PSNI Helicopter footage , this looks like something that was weeks in the planning and was mirrored in Derry City , Craigavon and Belfast (Broadway & Crumlin Road intersection). It's not like as if everyone that lives here doesn't know what's gonna happen when the bands march through these areas. There are 2 trains of thought here.
ReplyDelete(1) Let them march : It's one bank holiday weekend a year , and if they want to have a parade in their own areas , then fine. The flip side of this coin is also that I don't anticipate the Ancient Order of the Hibernians marching down to The Village and across Donegall Road on their way to the city centre ...... a potentially catestrophic explosion of violence , and one that has thankfully never been attepted by any fool-hardy chancers looking for a riot.
(2) Have no Public Parades what-so-ever. However , if you VETO all Parades , then things like the Gay Pride march , The Lord Mayors Show (pish ,I know, but some people enjoy it) , St Patricks Day Parade will all suffer due to an event that has become the focal point for cultural differences across the 2 communities.
What is needed here is real Leadership from the Community Leaders , not the Politicians , who have been discredited here in the last 18 months (and since Iris Robinson shagged a teenager !).
What has actually been missing from the equation is MUTUAL RESPECT FOR EACH OTHERS CULTURAL IDENTITY.
FACT : We share an Island that has around 5-6 milion people , with about 1.8 million in Northern Ireland. A small country by the worlds standards. We will never be able to rewrite history , and by continuously referencing our past , we will never be able to move to a compatable existence...... e.g. : Israel / Palestine
To move forward , we need to look at the ties that bind us , not the barriers that divide us apart.
I am certainly in favour for respect and tolerance, but due to the history and segregation in the North of Ireland it is still not appropiate for the Orange Order to march through Catholic areas. As you rightly said, the A.O.H wouldnt march through Donegall Street. I honestly think these marches are more antogonistic that anything else.
ReplyDeleteMore sinister elemments, dissident republicans, have infiltrated this episode and they are the greater of two evils. They are not Irish.
Channel 4 news tonight carried an interesting interview with Sinn Fein's Gerry Kelly , talking about the events of the last few days. He blamed Dissident Republicans for organising and moblising the riots and bringing in "rent-a-mob" to orchestrate the violence.
ReplyDeleteWasn't that long ago that I remember seeing Gerry Kelly in the back of an RUC landrover with handcuffs on after a similar riot about 12 years ago , then legging it up the Ardoyne Road after busting out of the temporary custody he was in.
He said they were going as far a field as West Belfast & Derry City .... the cheek !!
The majority of rioters had a knowledge of that area and where to hide and use the different locations around the Ardoyne Shops as cover for petrol bombing , as you can see on the BBC NI footage.
Gerry needs a long hard look at attitudes in the Ardoyne / Crumlin Road / Shankhill / Ligoniel area and ask himself how HE can get together with his opposite number in the Unionist community to sort out what has actually become recreational rioting for the 10-17 year old teenage population of North Belfast.
I agree about the dissident threat to the whole population of Ireland. We must never forget that these people were responsible for Omagh in August 1998 and the 29 lives that were lost.
They see themselves as modern day Robin Hoods , dealing with the bad guys while fighting the law of the land , or knee capping drug dealers & shooting dead anyone that stands up to them. These people are not Irish , nor do they belong to any civilised race of human beings. They are for one cause and one cause only ....... their own personal gain , either in community stature (as everyone will be afraid of them) or in wealth