Guest writer Maitiu Connel with a piece reflecting on the meaning of Remembrance Sunday

Those crisp mornings in November when we are leading up to Remembrance Day to honour those who died and served in the world wars and other conflicts.



After visiting relatives in the North Down region, I was able to take a moment to enjoy the wonderful view over looking Belfast lough. Away in the distance in East Antrim is the Knockagh monument, with it's hundreds of names of local fallen soldiers. Recalling the stories handed down to me by my Grandparents whom had witnessed and lived through the blitz on Belfast and also the attacks upon Glasgow at the hands of Nazi bombers, I wondered what would have become of the modern western world if Hitler had have indeed succeeded with his plans.

My Great Grandparents were part of the military and home guard who had the labour intensive and heartbreaking job of rescuing women and children from the rubble. It is ironic that my wife's own great Grandparents had left Germany for America during the 1920's and had actually had family left in Europe who later were made to join the Nazi German military. Either join or be shot for treason. I remember those young lives also. The heartache of such wars is that hundreds of thousands of young men were forced by law to sign up and face war. The horrors witnessed must have been so traumatic.

My Great Uncle fought in France against the Nazis and he felt lucky enough to at least have his best friends also serve in his unit. From childhood that had been great friends. His two friends were not to return: cut down by mortar shells in front of him.

Granny had told me about going through to Glasgow to welcome to Naval ships home and to embrace their relatives returning. The faces of mothers and wives who were not able to share such embracing, were to haunt her to this day. Such is the brutal nature of war.

Later that day we drove to the shops and I purchased my fresh new poppy. Attached to my lapel with pride. I also bought the Irish News and an article jumped out in the centre pages: stating a rather bold message that the poppy only stands for British imperial aggression. Although many mostly wear a poppy in remembrance of young lives gone, not the policies behind such wars,  it is sad that the wearing of such articles has become an offensive weapon to some. It was their blood shed that has allowed these people to have the freedom and democracy to be offended.

Thoughts drifted back to those brave young men from the 36th Ulster Division/Royal Irish Rifles and the Irish Volunteers. Every Irish man both Catholic and Protestant who went to fight in the Great World War, were all volunteers. Living in horrid conditions in trenches. Their most famous battle at the Somme. Thousands of young Irish men gunned down within minutes.

As a teenager we had walked on Remembrance Sunday with the Air Force cadets to remember these brave soldiers. I can still feel the coldair biting at our hands as we marched in formation and saluted the veterans. The immaculate condition and shined boots of the Royal Marines, RAF and Army soldiers and veterans who I had to honour to march with. An inspiration to many.

The sun was shining strongly over the water and her rays were glowing gently on the Union flag as it was lowered. The RAF standard and other military flags lowered as the bugle played the last post. I have always been moved with such emotion as it echoed across the formations. For me personally it is not about politics, religion or any sectarian outlook due to our situation in N.Ireland. It is about remembering innocent lives taken in wars for the elite ruling class, who would never send their own family to fight and die in such conditions. The countless rows of crosses marking thousands of graves lined across the battle fields in France. The countless heartache to so many families. That is what Remembrance Sunday is to me.

At the going down of the sun.
We will remember them.

Remembering the Fallen

Guest writer Maitiu Connel with a piece reflecting on the meaning of Remembrance Sunday

Those crisp mornings in November when we are leading up to Remembrance Day to honour those who died and served in the world wars and other conflicts.



After visiting relatives in the North Down region, I was able to take a moment to enjoy the wonderful view over looking Belfast lough. Away in the distance in East Antrim is the Knockagh monument, with it's hundreds of names of local fallen soldiers. Recalling the stories handed down to me by my Grandparents whom had witnessed and lived through the blitz on Belfast and also the attacks upon Glasgow at the hands of Nazi bombers, I wondered what would have become of the modern western world if Hitler had have indeed succeeded with his plans.

My Great Grandparents were part of the military and home guard who had the labour intensive and heartbreaking job of rescuing women and children from the rubble. It is ironic that my wife's own great Grandparents had left Germany for America during the 1920's and had actually had family left in Europe who later were made to join the Nazi German military. Either join or be shot for treason. I remember those young lives also. The heartache of such wars is that hundreds of thousands of young men were forced by law to sign up and face war. The horrors witnessed must have been so traumatic.

My Great Uncle fought in France against the Nazis and he felt lucky enough to at least have his best friends also serve in his unit. From childhood that had been great friends. His two friends were not to return: cut down by mortar shells in front of him.

Granny had told me about going through to Glasgow to welcome to Naval ships home and to embrace their relatives returning. The faces of mothers and wives who were not able to share such embracing, were to haunt her to this day. Such is the brutal nature of war.

Later that day we drove to the shops and I purchased my fresh new poppy. Attached to my lapel with pride. I also bought the Irish News and an article jumped out in the centre pages: stating a rather bold message that the poppy only stands for British imperial aggression. Although many mostly wear a poppy in remembrance of young lives gone, not the policies behind such wars,  it is sad that the wearing of such articles has become an offensive weapon to some. It was their blood shed that has allowed these people to have the freedom and democracy to be offended.

Thoughts drifted back to those brave young men from the 36th Ulster Division/Royal Irish Rifles and the Irish Volunteers. Every Irish man both Catholic and Protestant who went to fight in the Great World War, were all volunteers. Living in horrid conditions in trenches. Their most famous battle at the Somme. Thousands of young Irish men gunned down within minutes.

As a teenager we had walked on Remembrance Sunday with the Air Force cadets to remember these brave soldiers. I can still feel the coldair biting at our hands as we marched in formation and saluted the veterans. The immaculate condition and shined boots of the Royal Marines, RAF and Army soldiers and veterans who I had to honour to march with. An inspiration to many.

The sun was shining strongly over the water and her rays were glowing gently on the Union flag as it was lowered. The RAF standard and other military flags lowered as the bugle played the last post. I have always been moved with such emotion as it echoed across the formations. For me personally it is not about politics, religion or any sectarian outlook due to our situation in N.Ireland. It is about remembering innocent lives taken in wars for the elite ruling class, who would never send their own family to fight and die in such conditions. The countless rows of crosses marking thousands of graves lined across the battle fields in France. The countless heartache to so many families. That is what Remembrance Sunday is to me.

At the going down of the sun.
We will remember them.

63 comments:

  1. Maitiu-

    Wars are a disgrace but some wars
    have to be fought-
    What the RAF fought and died for in 1940 could have saved the human race-if the Nazi's had of got another few years they would have got the dreaded nuclear power-
    But-

    " Who later were made to join the Nazi german military "-

    Millions were forced to join the
    imperial british military -

    " My great uncle fought in france "

    So did my fathers uncle and after the war he came home and told my grandfather that he had fought in Dunkirk-you idiot says my grandfather-you fought in Dunkirk whilst the rest of the brits ran home-

    " Thousands of young Irish men gunned down within minutes "-

    Such was the donkey leadership of the brits from the crown down-you are also remembering those butchers today-wear it with pride-

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  2. an interesting read maitiu on this particular mornng.

    i can undderstand your point about remembering and wouldn't question a person's right to remember loved ones lost in wars.

    opposition to the whole poppy thing is not only an irish republican position though. many ex-servicemen and women also view it with disgust and a jingoistic month of glorification of wars that consumed millions while the aristocracy and captains of industry profited on the misery of war.

    when the poppy was first introduced it had the words "Haig Fund" on it, in honour of the psychopathic incompetent who ordered terraced thousands of young men to their deaths at the Somme. Outraged survivors of the Somme protested this insult and the words were removed.

    hope you have a nice day maitiu and remember your relatives with fondness.

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  3. Maitiu,

    given some of the abuse you have taken for expressing your views here previously, it took a bit of fortitude to write this piece. Good for you. Obviously, I don't agree with much of what it symbolises but more obvious is the need to insist on your freedom to write what you want.

    Gerard,

    a thoughtful comment on Maitiu's piece. In relation to Haig I found this article interesting:

    This piece

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  4. What planet is this lad on? "It was their blood shed that has allowed these people to have the freedom and democracy to be offended." That is grossly offensive itself, what a statement. There has never been freedom or democracy in this part of the world, if only there was. Instead we've endured military occupation by the same forces you commemorate with your blood-stained Poppy. Stained by the life's-blood of the best of young men such as Brian Mullin, the Harte's, young Seamus Donnelly, Declan Arthurs and those who died by their side in Loughall, Tony Doris, Pete Ryan, Laurence McNally, young Dwayne O'Donnell and the lads murdered with the connivance of the British Army in Malachy Boyle's bar, Dessie Grew and Martin McCaughey, Bod O'Donnell, Sean O'Farrell, Paddy Vincent, Peter Clancy, many, many more young men who were it not for the occupation of their country would probably be gearing themselves up for whatever it is the rest of us will do with our afternoon, be it watching the final round of league fixtures here in Tyrone, setting up for the Arsenal-Utd game or simply ceilliing with parents or family or whatever over Sunday dinner. All of that was taken away from these lads because the British refused us our God-given right to the freedom and democracy you reference and indeed because they physically attacked us for having the audacity to get off our knees and ask for it - Ballymurphy? Bloody Sunday? I for one won't have this Poppy culture rammed down my throat here or anywhere else by someone who considers these boys to all have been terrorists or maybe they too somehow committed suicide? The Poppy and Remembrance Sunday is not confined to remembering the war dead of the First and Second World War's - it remembers "all those who served their country" including those who butchered so many of our people. We should have no part to play in it or even giving it the slightest bit of oxygen because the Poppy is the badge of imperialist murder and salutes the atrocities committed around the world by the British Army from Ireland to India to Malvinas to Palestine to South Africa to Afghanistan to Iraq to Afghanistan again and on and on and on. This outfit will never get even the slightest grain of sympathy to me, they've destroyed half the bloody world and that's what should be remembered

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  5. The poppy is a symbol almost exclusively associated with the British. There are no live veterans of WW1 and those who died should be remembered objectively and realistically as victims of imperialist war mongers on all sides. There was no 'good' side in WW1.
    The poppy isn't worn in Eastern Europe where the most suffering from Nazi aggression occured and where the biggest blows were struck in the fight against Nazism; at the greatest human cost.
    Outside of the two world wars the poppy mostly remembers those engaged in the more squalid attempts to prevent the collapse of the British empire and the more recent neo-imperialist/corporate adventures in the middle east.
    The author and indeed anyone else has every right to wear one. At least in your case it's a matter of choice as opposed to anyone employed to be on British tv for the last few weeks.
    The poppy has always been about manipulating emotion to raise money and manufacture consent. Cicero said "the sinews of war are infinite money" and the poppy represents a wee pull on the heart strings of the naive.

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  6. Gerard.

    I have personal experience of knowing former soldiers who had gone AWOL and became deserters from the US Army and Marines due to their total objection to the middle eastern situation. I was once stationed in a well known Army base in the states and within that base there was what was used for holding deserters from the Army. Some had been AWOL for 7 years but the vast reason for this, was an objection to the war.

    My wife has family who were Marines and served in Iraq. They have been left with PTSD and pretty much just dumped by the US government. They went, fought and get mentally destroyed. Nobody is there to help them. During my time in the military, I was often assigned to suicide watch to watch over those soldiers have a hard time. Yet even at a time of mental distress the officers felt the need to humiliate them. Protocol is to remove their belt, shoe laces, pens, watch and any item that could be used for suicide and parade them past as many others as possible. It is very degrading. One girl tried to cut her wrists to avoid being deployed.

    In basic training, we had life size photos stuck on the doors of middle eastern " terrorists ". Running at us with an AK-47. It was all there to place you in a mind set to go kill. Which is obviously to nature of the military.
    I was never caught in the illusion that we were fighting for some noble cause. My opinion is that we were there to defend and fight for the capitalist needs of the corporate world. I never once met any soldier from an upper class family or the child of a politician. The US Army is packed with blacks and Mexicans from very poor backgrounds.

    The military is for the poor, naive and those led by a false sense of nationalism and pride to go and die for the elites.
    Every life lost in the world wars, on all sides deserves to be remembered.
    For that reason, I really like the white poppy.

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  7. I enjoyed reading that and hope you also enjoy your day. However, The whole Poppy issue for me boils down to the last statement you made. "Is about remembering innocent lives taken in wars for the elite ruling class, who would never send their own family to fight and die in such conditions".

    It also is an excuse to use the dead of the previous two world wars as justification on the wars they fight today and in the future.

    The whole Patriotic fallen dead theme presented by the Bitish Army has really kicked into fifth gear here over the last number of years, especially with the disillusionment of the Afghan, IRAQ and soon to be IRAN.

    This basically is a social conditioning tool to justify British and American foreign policy and support for perpetual military funded wars by two of the leading military exporting in the world.

    It will also attract the poor working class men and women as some kind of misguided priviledge and honour to repeat the opening statement. When in effect, there is nothing misguided about death, injury or imprisionment, never mind the mental anguish after taken part in the war, when the cannon fadda are simply kicked to the kerb, rendered useless, redundant, spent.

    We are supposed to learn from history. Here we have institutionalised support via the media, government, political and financial elite.

    For me, Is about remembering innocent lives taken in wars for the elite ruling class, who would never send their own family to fight and die in such conditions.





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  8. Many people from the community I live in would see the poppy and those who wear it not as an act of remembrance ,but a symbol much like the sash,to rub the taigs noses in it ,the daft thing is there was probably more taigs killed fighting those wars,while the true blues stayed home and made a fortune on overtime payments working in the shipyard and aircraft factories,did it not become so obvious during the second war that the government here had to cancel the "Twalth" in fear of showing just how many loyalists were more loyal to the half crown ,the poppy is a symbol of repression to me and those who donned the butchers uniform have shamed themselves throughout the world why the fuck should I honor those who murdered Connolly, the kids on the Belgrano or the streets of Derry and Belfast, stick you poppy where the sun dont shine .

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  9. Sean Bres.

    You mention the attack at Loughgall were armed IRA terrorists who had hijacked a digger, put a bomb ( created to murder RUC men ) and came roaring down the road with machine guns. Are you really going to use that as an example of how " innocent " these people were?
    The IRA claimed to be in a war so the SAS gave it right back and had every right to do so. That is one thing that has always angered me about the IRA. They can dish it out with their murders but if the SAS / Army or RUC strike back, it is suddenly murder of innocent people. I await the good old SF rolling out of collusion. As several SAS men said. If collusion had really been a major player, the IRA would have been wiped out in a week.
    I also await the usual labels of sectarian and other extremist leanings.

    Nor does it matter if the soldier of WW1 are all dead. Seemed to notice that the IRA parade up and down the Falls to celebrate the Rising. Are they not all dead also?

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  10. @ James.

    I agree with many points you have made. I hope Iran does not kick off but with America forcing their will on the entire world, well, it probably will happen.

    @ Marty

    I have never asked this of any Republicans and I can only assume the answer. What are your thoughts on the Irish Catholics who joined the Irish Volunteers to go fight in the wars? I know there is a lot of contention over this in the ROI.

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  11. The SAS had no right you jumped-up piece of I won't even go there, they should never have been in our country in the first place. Marty's right, stick your Poppy where the sun don't shine

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  12. And not that it matters but nowhere did I use the word "innocent" in my commentary

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  13. There is no doubt a lot of very brave men fought in those wars and suffered greatly.
    My grandfather fought in the First World War at the ripe old age of sixteen and ended up imprisoned on the Argenta for his trouble.
    I'm sure like many soldiers he witnessed the absolute horror and carnage on the frontline.
    He never spoke about it. In many ways his experience was drowned out and decidedly out of step with the Republicanism in the family but I was always incredibly proud of him.

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  14. Maitiu-

    " Loughall were armed IRA terrorists "

    The brits and yourself called them terrorists-

    " The IRA claimed to be in a war "-

    That is correct but the brits said it was not a war it was crime-youse cant have your cake and eat it-

    " The IRA would have been wiped out in a week "

    If the brits had of possessed that power they would have used it-but talk does not match doing-
    look at the brits in their foreign wars at the moment-they are pathetic-and its making the English nervous-even today Wigan FC sent the footballer James McClean home for refusing to wear a poppy-
    would solders who died fighting for freedom during world war two support such a fascist wigan decision-

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  15. Maitiu of those who fought in world war one I think Connlly got it right when he said "we serve neither king nor Kaiser"most volunteers did so as a meal ticket not out of any sense of duty,others would have been duped by that Mc Guinness predecessor Redmond, the second world war" it came to an end,we forgave the Germans and now we are friends.though in the ovens six million they fried ,the Germans now to have God on their side "Dylan said it all for me when it comes to capitalist,s and their wars .

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  16. The whole poppy issue is politicised. For example what happened the white poppy?

    Imagine getting on the BBC with that. Donna Trainer, BBC newsreader should have called their bluff last year, when she was instructed to wear the red poppy last year which is basically associated with the British Military, she didn't feel comfortable with it being from a catholic background.

    She should have asked can I wear the white poppy to commemorate all the victims in the World Wars and promote peace instead. The so called impartial BBC news service would never have allowed it.

    The white poppy has been more or less confined to history. Even if it was resurrected over here, you would get the unionists, loyalists following thatchers assertion that the white poppy was "deeply distasteful" to the red poppy which should be worn.

    Therefore, it is another political football, kicked about, to entrench tribal and religious mindsets from the political, financial and political elite here. Institutionalised sectarianism at its best.

    As Gerard Hodgins rightly said when the poppy was first introduced it had the words "Haig Fund" on it, in honour of the psychopathic incompetent who ordered terraced thousands of young men to their deaths at the Somme.

    I am waiting on veterans day to be introduced here, like it is in the USA. We had the whole "help for heros" military charity prelude running over the last couple of years, ITS NEXT.


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  17. Maitiu,

    A change of pace and much preferred in contrast with most of what Dr. Coulter demands from his articles.

    I take no offence at the poppy even though with each new generation the origins of meaning are retranslated over and over until eventually its true meaning ends up lost like so many lives on all sides during the wars.

    Many will dawn the blood red poppy not because they understand but rather as a symbol of I am on the good side and in Ulster many will wear it as a misguided gesture not to remember the fallen but to show they are loyal to a unionist Ulster.

    It is understandable why nationalists dread the symbol as whilst the good young men of Ireland north and south, went off to fight the good fight emboldened by youth and a willingness to fight the evil Germans.
    The propaganda machine would ensure many would volunteer just as many on the German side would believe they were fighting for the good cause.

    The English with their plate full would not dare waste valuable troops on the rebellious Irish sending the dregs of society to commit wanton murder on the Irish who dared rebel.
    Then we have the soldiers in the north that showed no mercy when slaughtering innocent people so it is impossible for nationalists to honour them.

    Perhaps I am a little more open to the subject out of my fascination on reading about WWI & WW2 not just from the British perspective but from all sides.

    “Early on Christmas morning the guns stop firing. A deathly silence creeps over the pitted and ruined landscape.

    A young soldier peers through a periscope over the top of the trench. Way out in no-man’s land, he sees a small red shape moving on the barbed wire. A brightly coloured robin is trapped. One wing is flapping helplessly.”

    Even amongst the dirt humanity still lived in the war weary minds and the unofficial ceasefire would attest to that.
    Too late for those who shared a cigarette a drop of wine or family photos it must have been some sight a few hundred yards and their embraced for a short time peace amongst the blood stained soil.

    This would not do and the English were ordered back to the trenches or they would be shot as traitors.
    Armies are in the business of war not peace and if anything it is always a few hundred yards or feet that separate our own communities bitterly entrenched.

    The poppy like the Easter lily and other emblems are just commodities to be sold to those who will buy them for whatever cause or belief.

    Fortunately there is a great deal of art that evolved from the trenches priceless thoughts penned waiting certain doom much would have been considered treason as it looks at the truth and horror of war which the propaganda machines never mention.

    If we remember the dead then we should remember what they died for absolutely nothing but the evils of empires.

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  18. Tain Bo,
    The Easter Lily was never accorded the status of the Poppy.
    Could you imagine going around Belfast City Centre wearing a Lily.
    Our city centre we our told, yet our dead and the emblems of rememberance don't enjoy the same status as the Brits.

    On a different note that was a very emotive piece.

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  19. Nuala,

    that would be a hospital visit if not a trip to the graveyard. Wearing the lily in the wrong area would be bad for you health even today.
    We are not equal yet but that’s the picture painted for us.

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  20. I forgot to add the soldier who witnessed the small red bird ensnared on the barbwire supposedly got up out of the relative safety of his trench and walked to the small bird which he freed.
    Not a shot was fired not a shot was fired I am unsure if the story is true but I tend to believe it as in the madness of trench warfare anything that resembled humanity would have been a welcome sight.
    He returned to his post and whether he survived the war is another story.

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  21. Good to see about the football player mentioned. There has been tons of complaining from many people over that. To me, nobody should be intimidated or forced into wearing a poppy. The UK is suppose to be a democratic nation and on those principles he has the right to decide what he wishes to display or not display.
    To force him and send him death threats is nothing short of pure fascism.

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  22. Maitiu,

    To me, nobody should be intimidated or forced into wearing a poppy

    It wasn't that long ago that the BBC forced Donna Traynor to wear a poppy while UTV banned them.

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  23. Maitiu I was going to write a comment giving you the benfit of the doubt until I read your following response to Sean Bres.

    "You mention the attack at Loughgall were armed IRA terrorists who had hijacked a digger, put a bomb ( created to murder RUC men ) and came roaring down the road with machine guns. Are you really going to use that as an example of how " innocent " these people were?
    The IRA claimed to be in a war so the SAS gave it right back and had every right to do so. That is one thing that has always angered me about the IRA. They can dish it out with their murders but if the SAS / Army or RUC strike back, it is suddenly murder of innocent people. I await the good old SF rolling out of collusion. As several SAS men said. If collusion had really been a major player, the IRA would have been wiped out in a week.
    I also await the usual labels of sectarian and other extremist leanings.

    Nor does it matter if the soldier of WW1 are all dead. Seemed to notice that the IRA parade up and down the Falls to celebrate the Rising. Are they not all dead also?"

    First of all whilst the Poppy is a symbol of Remembrance on your mainland it is NOT in Irleand.. It is a symbol of Triumphalism.. One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter when it comes the diosputed territories of the O6C.
    I find your comment regarding 'SAS / Army or RUC strike back, it is suddenly murder of innocent people.' YES it was the murder of innocents on many occassions! The Army were originally sent in to keep the peace, the RUC were supposed to offer impartial policing (COUGH!) and the SAS on many occassions have been accused of perpetrating 'war crimes'! As for your petty comment on the SAS wiping out the IRA in a week it demonstrates how triumpalist you really are, let alone accusing you of being sectarian or extremist...

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  24. If the SAS could have wiped out the RA in a week they'd have done it. As the song written by Gerry Glackin about Loughall says "don't you know there are twenty more men waiting for every one you butchered". The British could not defeat the IRA though God knows they tried. And on more than one occasion the good old IRA proved more than a match for the SAS. Martin McCaughey and his unit wiped them out in a counter-ambush in Cappagh and Hogan and Martin done the same in Dunloy only to be caught and killed on the way out of the field. Lowly, relatively untrained Volunteer soldiers by the strength of their determination, bravery and field-craft outwitted and outgunned so-called Special Forces with all their sophisticated weaponry and communications systems and high-end training. And I say fair damn play to such lads for defending their country against terrorism. The Brits may have successfully corrupted the Adams leadership and led it down the road of the latest sell-out but they did not achieve a military victory over the Irish Republican Army. In places like East Tyrone and South Armagh they were on the run and with a massive bombing campaign starting to hit home in London's financial district it's fair to say the Brits were looking a way out. Luckily for them there was a compliant element already working to this end long before the IRA developed its strategic game-changing capacity to wreak havoc in England itself

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  25. Maitiu Connel said; 'You mention the attack at Loughgall were armed IRA terrorists who had hijacked a digger, put a bomb ( created to murder RUC men ) and came roaring down the road with machine guns. Are you really going to use that as an example of how " innocent " these people were?'

    I'm surprised that no-one has challenged this.
    The volunteers who carried out the action on Loughgall barracks were, as far as they knew attacking an empty fortress, and their intention was not to kill anyone. I know that this does not make them 'innocent'. The Cops and the Army on the other hand knew that the attack on the empty building was imminent, and who the attackers were. Why if the IRA men were 'criminals' according to Thatcher et al, were they not arrested before the event, rather than setting up an ambush with only one intent, to execute the attackers, and deliberately murder a couple of passing motorists at the same time just for fun?

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  26. Maitiu, just to re-iterate that accusations of SAS 'war cimes' are not just mere Republican propoganda, they are FACTS. Maybe what you are inadvertantly saying is that if the SAS had of been allowed completely of the leash by the British establishment then they would have attempted to wipe out Republican resistance, man/woman/child alike?? The British seem to forget that Ireland's history of withstanding brutal imperialist aggression goes back generations.. “You cannot put a rope around the neck of an idea; you cannot put an idea up against the barrack-square wall and riddle it with bullets; you cannot confine it in the strongest prison cell your slaves could ever build.” ~Sean O'Casey ~

    The following article is entitled 'The SAS broke the rules of war'
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7852138.stm

    Tarlac Connolly, cousin of Peter Ryan, (one of three IRA volunteers MURDERED by the SAS in an ambush in the village of Coagh in 1991) is quoted in the above article:

    "We want to hold the person responsible accountable. We don't think it was crazy SAS men or a few rotten apples. We think a decision was taken at a high level to finish them off. We want to take that person [who made that decision] to The Hague for war crimes."

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  27. Seen the SF.LORD Mayor on the news standing proudly at the city hall service.the UDR fleg fluttering in the wind.Is this what it was all for.

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  28. Billy brooks the answer to your question a cara is yip ..the socialist quisling $inn £eind rep for the Balmoral district was not alone indeed the party was well represented, Martybroy O Millionaire said it was a tough decision ,he is another fucking liar ,he had always intended to be there ,its in his nature to be a headline grabber, this show today should ram it home without equivocation or prevarication that those who infest that party are nothing more than castle catholics and gombeen men/women and as such their character reference should read scumbags and carpetbaggers .

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  29. A disgraceful take on this from Máirtín Ó'Muilleoir today in Belfast, in which he sang the same song for why WW1 was fought as the imperialists of the day in 1914. A shameful act. It’s a wonder he did not say the Germans were eating babies in Belgium, give him time.

    http://youtu.be/ito20SgBshU

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  30. There was a soldier in the Royal Marine's convicted the other day for murder for killing an insurgent combatant in Afghanistan after he ceased to pose a threat. This is not dissimilar to many SAS killings here, such as the murder of the unarmed Peter Cleary in South Armagh in the 1970s. I read Raymond Murray'd account of this killing where he reproduces witness testimony from Peter's fiancee, who he was on his way to visit. She claimed that British soldiers raided the house in anticipation of his regular ceili with her and told her they were going to kill her man. When they shot Peter Cleary dead at the bottom of that country lane the vermin soldiers in the house told his petrified fiancee words to the effect of "you may forget about the wedding now love". It was pre-planned murder of an unarmed man which negates any claim the British have to a moral superiority over the actions of the IRA. This is the vermin O'Muilleoir and Sinn Fein honoured today at the cenotaph

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  31. The only things missing on quisling $inn £eind socialist rep for Balmoral district Martybroy O Millionaire today were his poppy and bowler hat.

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  32. By not attending yesterday was just a smoke screen for attending today's event, taking two days to celebrate colnial barbarism woudl be a bit much even by PSF's standards! Tehre is always next year...

    Last year he supported the Royal British Legion – which is one of his official charities – in its bid to illuminate Belfast City Hall red to promote the Remembrance Day poppy appeal.

    Maybe he has ear marked taking over from Mervyn Elder as president of the Royal British Legion as his next career move???

    ReplyDelete
  33. To the tune of the tune of Ooh Wakka doo;
    we might look soppieee
    like a Brit puppieee,
    will we wear the poppy ?
    hey Ooh Wakka Doo
    We will some day

    ReplyDelete
  34. The massacre at Loughgall was just that a massacre the Brits had no intention of arresting any of the volunteers.
    They knew in advance of the attack and this provided them with the perfect opportunity to eliminate a very effective ASU.
    It was meant to deal a severe blow to PIRA and give the security forces and the Brits a good headline along with the morale booster they got from it.

    Much the same as any of the shot to kill or take no prisoners policy was meant to break the will of volunteers to fight.
    It is okay when the lawmakers become the lawbreakers they only have to answer to themselves.
    As far as they were concerned it was better to shoot volunteers down in cold blood rather than send them to prison where they would still be active.

    British terrorism in Ireland is acceptable it’s called peace keeping and if you don’t believe me just ask the lord mayor of Belfast.


    Organized Rage,

    He did not say it but if the Brits told him they were he would believe it along with the party faithful. They will go to any lengths to keep their jobs safe in the Union.

    ReplyDelete
  35. poppies!

    Nothing but a big money racket every year.
    Bringing in the sheep, Minimum £1.
    How many of these things are sold?, Millions to say the least, yet the sheep stand like zombies.
    Its not even worth debating.
    I don't need one of those things to remember that my grandfather fought in ww1 and came home like a zombie , not knowing what to do with himself (according to my mother , his daughter) threw on the scrap heap and forgotten about.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Why would anyone be surprised at Mairtin? By his own recent admission
    He came from a family which was anti- Republican and pro Peace people.
    The same man would sing from any sheet and would and would have been marching in full Nazi dress if it would have advanced his political or financial prospects.

    ReplyDelete
  37. I've heard it all now. The Adamsites have become Redmondites...

    Ó'Muilleoir today

    "Remember also the fact that many of those who died, many of the Irishmen who died had joined the British army to fight for the freedom of Belgium, the freedom of small nations. Many for Home Rule and the independence of Ireland as well.
    And we need to make sure that they're written into the story and we pay respect to those Irishmen as well..."

    ReplyDelete
  38. I would agree that Martin Miller being there today was disgrace. A total disgrace to the memory of the dead RUC / UDR and Military members murdered by Martins fellow friends in SF/IRA. He has no right to stand there with his false pretense of giving two hoots about the Unionist people.
    On a Republican side, he is nothing but a sell out but also the fact that Republicans are so up in arms over it. Shows me that Republicans are not genuine at all about bringing in the Unionist community.

    Republicans talk of wishing to debate and help Unionists see their beliefs and what they stand for. That is why I post here and I enjoy many topics with the more moderate poster here. However, there is always an element that is more "hardcore" and shoots me down for any opinion expressed that is not of the Republican sound bites that they wish to hear.
    For us to move forward, our communities need to understand one another and show respect. Many things are still to raw.
    Anthony is doing great work via this site and I very much thank him for that.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Maitiu

    The British armed forces flag flew over Belfast city hall for 6 days this year. This in a city where official British reports showed the UDA got 80% of its information from the British military.

    Is there no end to your wish to humilate your neighbors and their suffering?

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  40. Maitiu,
    What you had today was a nationalist leader attending the service not a republican.

    SF represent nationalist's in the north. They are no longer an Irish Republican party. They may call themselves an Irish republican party but ask around and you'll see they aren't considered republican. The main reason why nationalist's vote for SF is simply there isn't any alternative other than vote unionist and thats simply not going to happen in nationalist/republican areas (giving votes to the PUL-ers).

    Are there republicans within SF? Yes. But in real terms they [SF] are a nationalist party with Irish republican 'frills' similar to FF in the 26 counties.

    The people who you think are trying to shoot you down aren't. They are simply explaining very bluntly why at times you are wrong in how you equate the troubles. You try to paint the RUC/UDR/BA as fine up standing members of the community. And thats no where close to the truth.

    MoD 'knew Belfast man Christopher Quinn was innocent'

    The Pat Finucane Centre has said documents it has obtained show that the MoD knew that a man shot dead by the Army in November 1971 was innocent, but his family was never told.

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  41. Maitiu,

    How patronising of you! There in lies the problem, absolute submission of nationalsists/Republicans is demanded by big house unionism. Ian Paisley may have demanded Martin McGuinness & his PSF colleagues wear sack cloth & ashes as part fo their Stormont house training..

    Not in my name!

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  42. Put what ever differences to one side and ask yourself 'How was that missed'? Are they all short sighted in Manchester?

    Union Flag gaffe causes council flap in Manchester

    A misprinted Union Flag which was flown in Manchester on Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day has been removed.

    Manchester City Council has apologised for the blunder which saw the flag flying over the city's Central Library, close to its Cenotaph.

    It had been ordered in time for the service in St Peter's Square on Sunday.

    A council statement said: "This was clearly a mistake and we apologise. The misprinted flag will be replaced."

    ReplyDelete
  43. Maitiu:

    You keep coming down on the side of the RUC/UDR/BA/SAS.

    lets get some facts towards your way.

    They the , Royal Ulster C,unts were bigoted murderers who colluded with the most disgraced protestant regiment in the BA, udr, photographed holding a drumcree flag, pity more of that scum weren't exterminated. as for the ba, they have covered more murders in norn iron than the yanks did during viatnam, they are stalling with inquiries hoping everyone will die off, that's never going to happen,
    My sons had sons , as brave as were there fathers, and my four green fields ran red with there blood said she.

    Now for the special assassanination squad. license to kill on the orders of Maggie Hatched Thatcher, not only in norn iron, the world famous Gibraltar the most viewed assassanation by that sas scum on unarmed people, again on the orders of maggie hatchet thatcher and advised by MI5/MI6.

    You first came on here, being the mister nice guy, you have turned into a uvf freak, but maybe that was your plan, are you sure you weren't dropped on your head at some time in your very early life. To be quite honest, you are disgusting to be calling any IRA volunteers, your scum to say the least, and , with people like you, our people will never be united. But i will continue to read your stuff, or are you on coulters blog, for ex loyalist prisoners only.

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  44. Frankie:

    Half of the wee fleg protesters run around and haven't got a clue what fleg they have wrapped around them because they are that drunk wee wullie frazer might take the blame, he might say his stun gun went off and hampered his judgement. Minimum sentence for having one of those is 5 YEARS, its classed as a GUN. so lets see what wee wullie gets, that will prove a point I think about the orange judges, I remember Joe Mc Crudden from Northwick Dr, a docker, an onion fell from a crate, so he stuck it in his sandwich at break time, He got 3 years. Thats a true fact, he escaped from the crum.

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  45. Itsjustmackers a cara watch The Revolution will be Televised , its is superb on bbc3 I think on Sunday nights , they were at an English Defense League protest and they were asking the wankers donned in union jacks or butchers aprons as we like to call them what EDL stood for the dickheads didnt know ffs.. these are the same wankers that infest the orange order and their sister organisation the uvf/uda lower ranks, fools and cannon fodder ..

    ReplyDelete
  46. Marty,

    I watched it last night. No wonder Tommy Robinson (of Irish descent wouldn't yeh know!) left and joined the Islamists!

    The best last night was them going into Google's head office with the new company name spelt out as O'Google and making the call advicor use it on a call! lmao

    ReplyDelete
  47. The EDL are just racist ignorant idiots. No time for all that nonsense.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Maitiu,

    Political discussion is rarely linear with good reason if all was agreeable there would be no need for debate.
    I assume when you penned the article you would have expected some flak as I said earlier it was refreshing and interesting for me but then flags and symbols are low on my interest list.

    It shows good character on behalf of yourself and Anthony for hosting your view on Armistice Day which is a day that holds significant meaning to you.
    Certainly things can get heated here but for the most part it is nothing out of the ordinary that and living through the long dirty war tends to make for thick skin.

    If I was a loyalist/unionist or worse a Sinn Fein supporter I would post here as I consider the Quill a sort of no man’s land if you will.
    Here in computer world we tend to forget we come from two very hostile communities so it’s natural to offend and feel offended.

    You had mentioned you respect David Irvine a man in his early days who agreed with the idiom any taig will do.
    Would you consider his actions to be that of a freedom fighter or a terrorist?
    Would you consider all loyalist paramilitaries terrorists or freedom fighters.
    There is no distinction between loyalist violence and republican violence.
    Both had the same intentions to strike fear into our respective communities.

    I never did quite understand the loyalist position of for god and Ulster for queen and country. When many would serve terms as guests of her majesty branded by law as criminals whilst republicans refused to be labeled as criminals and engaged in a honourable protest in defiance of the British.

    There is no argument as they proved they were not criminals. I doubt sincerely criminals would mass together and engage in a no wash protest a dirty protest and hunger strikes.
    Those actions took solid integrity in their belief a principle ten men would die for.

    British propaganda declared them criminals Irish republican resolve would prove different.

    The Royal Ulster Constabulary the Ulster Defense Regiment probably sounds reasonable to loyalists but in the republican community the names by design clearly display intimidation and fear there was nothing impartial about both proxy paramilitary groups.

    The loyalists have a right to feel betrayed considering the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Royal Irish Regiment don’t have that threatening sound.
    It must be a bitter pill to swallow for those hard-line loyalist members of the RIR that they march with the word Irish in their title.

    It’s a cold hard fact traditional loyal-ism and traditional republicanism are being slowly transformed not by the people but by those we elect to represent us and by those ultimately in charge of changing the face of Northern Ireland the British government.
    In the era of instant news the British can’t afford the poor publicity of another conflict in Northern Ireland.
    I would assume making peace with the IRA was a necessity as it freed up valuable resources to keep tabs on a more potentially lethal foe home grown Islamic extremist and the threat of jihad on the mainland.

    Much like the Irish used as fodder at the Somme the English could care less about our traditions all we are to them is a bunch of Paddies engulfed in a religious war.
    It is just the poor and working class squabbling over flags and marches and traditions.
    They might take notice if we dared ask for a better environment jobs healthcare and education.
    We are content to sit in our trenches and refuse to believe we have more in common but instead we continuously prove to the English just how dumb they believe we Irish are.

    Times have changed I never thought I would see the peelers standing up to the loyalists and if that is a sign of change it wouldn’t be a stretch of imagination if the troops returned they probably won’t take any guff from the fuming loyalists?

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  49. Tain Bo
    You know you I think you are one of the most sincere and throughly decent contributors on this blog, however I am going to disagree with you that there was no distinction between Republican and Loyalist violence.
    There was never ever an orchestrated Republican campaign designed to strike fear into the Protestant community.
    Statistics bear that out as do people who would have had their fingers well and truly on the pulse.

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  50. Nuala.No campaign as such but all the ones i knew who joined in 69 joined to fight the snouts and ruc.The brits didnt come into it then they were getting cups of tea give to them.

    ReplyDelete
  51. @ TainBo

    I had to think for a bit before making this reply. In regards to the UVF/UFF do I see them as freedom fighters? Honestly, no. I personally have from a young age felt puzzled by Loyalists calling themselves " Freedom Fighters". I do accept and admit that the British Army and RUC did destroy Catholic homes, did murder innocent Catholics and some were involved in horrific acts. Plastic bullets aimed on purpose at kids, several of whom died. I understand 100% why young men and women joined the IRA. If I had been born 3 miles up the road, I could well have been a member myself.
    I have been accused by some here as sectarian. That is very far from the truth. I have family who live in the Falls Road. I was not raised sectarian at all but I was raised with Unionist views and I do feel strongly about some things in relation to the acts carried out by the IRA.
    How do I view loyalist paramilitaries? I have seen some who were true defenders of our community and I have known some who were nothing but scum criminals walking around for the name and money. I read about the UVF striking at Republican targets, I think fair play to them. I do not however believe shooting some innocent young Catholic dead to be any victory. I would consider SF/IRA as legitimate targets for the UVF/UFF.

    On the other hand, I have seen my community ruined by these people in the UDA. One rule for them and another rule for others. I have had friends who were knee capped for minor issues. I have had friends beaten so bad because somebody wanted their house or had annoyed the wrong person. One story involved us being warned by the boys for the minor offence of drinking in the street one night, yet the top boy use to give his son money to go buy drink and do the exact same thing. Nothing said. We were 13 years old. I see no reason for these groups to exist in this day and age now, beyond money and control of the community. They simply offer nothing to their community and hold true peace back.

    As a teenager we moved to a middle class area and it was then that I seen how abnormal working class loyalist areas really were ( and working class Republican areas too). It was a huge stark contrast to what I had known. I was able to have any friends over without fear of their religion being known. We would walk around the streets and there was no graffiti or murals. There was no fear. Most of our neighbours had been RUC officers and were some of the nicest people.
    Most young ones leaving with zero education and areas are left to rot and decay with poverty. I would dread to live in a hardcore loyalist estate. One interesting fact. Out of around 40 of us growing up, only 3 of us have gone on to University. The rest mostly sit down a local bar acting like they are hard men and utilise the crisis loans service on a regular basis. Any time I had gone back to the area I was raised, I use to get comments about my accent and how I thought I was so much better than them. Truth is, nothing was stopping them from being more motivated or trying to improve their life. I have always found these are the people who tend to be the most sectarian and racist in their world view.

    I see loyalism in the middle of a major breakdown right now. They are lost and have nowhere to turn to. The British government in my opinion are trying to normalise NI and that requires the eradication of extremism on the loyalist side. I believe people like Jamie Bryson are a laughing stock and wonder what their motives are. They were not heard of in loyalism before the flag issue. Turning up to court wearing a girls wig and tape over his mouth with a Scottish nut case who was a racist BNP member and Willy Frazer who now wishes to push beds up the road. They alone cause loads of damage to Unionism.

    I realise my opinions have seemed rather pro loyalist / extreme to some here but I wish to let it be known. I am rather liberal and socialist in my outlook. I am not a “ flegger”. I do not attend the 12th July or bonfires. I am a Unionist yes, but not an extremist.

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  52. Tain Bo.
    As I agree with much of what you have said, I beg to differ on the point you have made about the 'peelers standing up to the loyalists'.

    The loyalists brought parts of Belfast to a stand still as the PSNI stood idly by and rarely stepped in to stop any of these protests from errupting e.g. as outside City Hall.

    Furthermore, had there been a clamp down (as many suspect there would have been if the protestors were of Republican ilk) the issue would never have materialised into a flown blown fleg saga.

    The word facilitation comes to mind..

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  53. Billy
    You are right! Many people joined to defend their homes and districts.
    Many people were angered and frustrated by Loyalist violence aided and abetted by the B Specials and RUC.
    Few were Republicans and I don't know if at any point some did or did not fall under the Movements code.
    As Mackeres said before, many cut their teeth in the prisons and that is where many were taught the Republican ideology.
    The people who overseen the war the people in the most senior positions almost all were IRA and had been IRA pre 69 and would have been anti- sectarian .
    That does not mean they were not dragged into the sectarian affray at different times and different levels but it was as a result of a demand from their community as opposed to an actual strategy.

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  54. Nuala,

    your input is always welcomed at my door I always value your opinion it is rare we would disagree. I am glad you pulled me up on it as perhaps it is not as clear as I intended.
    When the British propaganda machine affixed the label terrorists it was for the benefit of the world it stuck like super glue on republicanism.
    That ensured world opinion would not get too involved and essentially give the British free reign to engage in any murderous action they wanted to any western governments would turn a blind eye as of course they were fighting terrorists.

    It was the era of the terrorists from the PLO to ETA from the Red Army Faction to the Red Brigades, FARC the list goes on and stretches the globe.
    There would be no chance of any government acknowledging these mainly leftist groups as Guerilla Armies or even unconventional armies.

    The term terrorist is just basically for sanitised media as governments would announce we killed this many terrorists today and captured that many.

    Naturally the loyalists being a proxy arm of the British war machine view republicans as terrorists.
    In simple terms I was asking if the pot was calling the kettle black.

    Clearly there was a difference in tactics I didn’t mean for my point to imply the PRM were engaged in a religious war.
    What I meant is that the loyalists have no trouble calling republicans terrorists if we follow that path then the same would apply to the loyalist Para-militaries.
    As what they were doing was basically the same thing and there can’t be a distinction as the methods of physical force are the same.

    Of course there is a clear distinction between republican violence and loyalist violence. The PRM/INLA was engaged in a political war with the British security forces et al and the loyalists engaged in the any taig will do ethos.

    Today the word terrorist is usually reserved for Islamic extremists.
    Hopefully that’s a little clearer if not feel free to point out anything you find flawed and I will make the effort to clear it up.

    History would tell us fear is an essential weapon in any armies’ arsenal.
    When the Mongol Hordes headed west many a great city surrendered long before they arrived as their reputation for sheer brutality proceeded them.

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  55. Fenian,

    you make a fair point though the peelers took a bad beating for hemming the loyalists in although it might not appear as significant it dealt a severe blow to the loyalist extremists.
    They are now coming to terms with the loss of a faithful ally the RUC/UDR who would accommodate the will of the PUL.

    The PSNI are under scrutiny unlike the RUC they are being displayed as impartial.
    I don’t agree with the loyalists bringing the town to a standstill.
    I am sure many in the PSNI would like to see the flag raised again but they know this is the new face of policing and probably will get tore into the loyalists if things get out of control.
    As a man who knows what a baton across the head feels like and we all know how brutal the RUC were at attacking republicans I still wouldn’t wish it upon the loyalists even though their antics are ridiculous.

    With the threat of PIRA/INLA gone the peelers have little to no use for loyalist extremists.
    And the loyalists have no faith in the PSNI as they have blocked them which is insulting as they are supposed to be out hunting dissidents.

    I think you have the key word erupting I doubt many a peeler wants to get into it with the loyalists but it’s their role to keep the peace and in this day and age everything is televised.
    The problem with it erupting is the fact that it will spread to nationalist areas.

    I have no faith in the PSNI as like the rest of us we are still living in the past or clinging on to the bits that suit us and perhaps not prepared to fully accept the changes peace could be close but for the ordinary folk there is still too much distrust amongst ourselves.

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  56. Maitiu,

    I will attempt a reply tomorrow what you believe or what you say doesn’t promote any anger in me.
    Like I said consider it no man’s land and if you wish to banter don’t hold back we may not agree on much but your opinion is valid in my book.

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  57. O'Millionaire's remembering Britain's war dead, for that is what he was doing, completes Sinn Fein's long and winding journey into the land of Irish constitutionalism. For the man himself, it was probably the realization of a life's ambition.

    What O'Millionaire did was to recognize the British presence in the north by pandering to unionist sensibilities vis-a-vis their position within the United Kingdom. Some would see it as extending the hand of friendship to the PUL, but for republicans it was an act of bowing the head to the master. If ever this was going to happen, he was the man to cross the Rubicon.

    A politician whose worth is counted in pound, shillings and
    pence, he has never allowed principles to stand in his way. Like any businessman he looks for the maximum return on his investment. His view of society being made up of a mass of consumers transcends tribal politics and, some might say, for the better. In this sense, his politics are cosmopolitan rather than belonging to a particular tradition.

    It might just be that I have a jaundiced opinion of the man. However, he always struck me as a middle class reformer rather than a good old fashioned republican radical. Suffice to say, when he doffed the cap to our imperial masters, he was not representing
    me.

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  58. Tain Bo
    You have always provided a very tempered opinion a voice of reason might be a better discription.
    I just find that particular theory of tit for tat so very unfair on all those people murdered in the most brutal and horrific circumstances .
    That does not mean that I don't respect other people's views on the subject or that I would entirely disagree with you.

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  59. We need to remember that the flag protesters are not fully reflective of general Unionism. They are the bottom of the extremist barrel and easy to lead. They still bang on about the Alliance party. Despite the fact that Alliance were the vote that saved the flag.
    It is an extreme form of tunnel vision I find with these people. Blinded by hatred and led by people wishing to further their career or in the case of the PUP, actually get one.
    The PUP voted for designated days then once they saw the no chance with the protests, they jumped on and have taken advantage ever since.
    Though the broad Unionist family will never vote for them. The PUP and UPRG have never gained much support.
    I am against the wasting of police time and tax money on this Twadell issue. The attitude and acts carried out by the protesters at Twadell ensures that they will never get up that road. It is another Drumcree. The crowds have dropped and fewer people even bother to turn up to any protest staged in town.
    If we truly want a normal British life here, we need to progress as a country and remove all flags, murals and so called peace walls. Get rid of these contentious parades. Get rid of the paramilitaries. Life here is nothing like life in England, Wales or Scotland. Nothing at all.
    Dissident Republicans are a huge threat that need taken out. Seems MI5 are on top of that.
    All reads very nice from paper but in the real world of NI, I doubt much will ever change.

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  60. Maitui,

    I have a sneaking suspicion that you ahve been reading to many of MH's comments on here! lol

    Firstly, loyalist fleg protestors (extremists as U conveniently call them to exonerate yourself) have always been the minions of Big House unionism and the British State. State Collusion was no illusion!

    If a British life is what you crave Flybe, Eayjet or Ryanair will take you there, as often as you want!

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  61. Nuala,

    like most things in our wee neck of the woods it is the intricate tapestry of conditioning that provided excuse but never reason for so many needless murders.
    I think I was attempting to make sense of loyalists who proclaim they are gods chosen defenders of Ulster who define republicans as terrorists yet don’t seem bothered by the fact that many of them would serve time in her majesties jails as criminals.
    That fact alone would suggest they had no real political targets and this particular criminal enterprise thrived on killing many innocent Catholics and many of their own for one excuse or another.
    It is beyond my comprehension to serve time for god and Ulster there is nothing political about religious based murders it is sectarianism in its purest form.
    That I would define as naked terrorism which was the ethos of the likes of Lenny Murphy.
    I think he was destined to be a serial killer with or without the war.

    The only viable political attribute I could attach to loyalist death squads would be by proxy through enlistment by the security forces who could rely on their conditioning and pure hatred of all things Irish and all things Catholic.

    It wouldn’t have taken much persuasion to enlist those hell bent on destroying their imaginary papist conspiratorial enemy.
    Much like the dreaded Black and Tans were enlisted to do the dirty work the modern day loyalists willingly filled that role.

    Republicanism is not free of that sin as there is many an innocent protestant that met their end from republican sectarianism and republicans can’t define this as political action it also was purely sectarian.
    There are many issues republicans need to examine and not politely turn a blind eye to the way Sinn Fein prefer is we look at their future and forget about our past.

    With their tentative apologies and repeated denials will we ever get the absolute truth on the hunger strike and will we ever find out the true reason of why some people were disappeared.
    A particularly gruesome practice even if these people were considered informers why was there a need to torture the families punishing them as well.

    At least the rest of the victims of the troubles received which any human deserves a respectful burial the secret graves just make the issue all the more macabre.
    Will we ever find out why these people were treated so differently than the usual standard for an informer who would be shot and dumped at a roadside?

    For the better part Nuala I truly believe the PRM/INLA fought the good fight.
    There are definitely some issues that the leadership need to be held accountable for such as the psychopath that came up with the idea of disappearing people as only a psychopath would think of something like that.

    The republican movement is far from squeaky clean and those who follow Adams are the same people who are afraid to examine certain critical failures of the movement.

    On the issue of informers on one of those social media sites the Adams faithful are ripping the Back out of the late Vol. Brendan Hughes branding him a tout.
    Sinn Fein don’t know what to be up to they want the IRA code of secrecy held up and then in public they are asking people to pass on information to the PSNI.
    Hypocrisy and dirty dealings reign supreme!

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  62. Maitiu,

    regardless of how some may translate your comments one will never know by looking at the title of a book if its contents are worth reading.
    I particularly despise extremists in any form and even if you were an extremist I would still engage in banter with you.
    I don’t find your opinions offensive I understand your position is that of a unionist who prefers to keep Ulster British.
    If you were dancing around with terminology trying not to offend then you would be doing yourself no favour or your beliefs so I appreciate your honesty.

    It takes a bit of fortitude to express your thoughts here and of course there will be certain trigger words that some may not welcome but we are talking about the brutality of war from opposing sides much better the sting of words than the slash of the saber.

    I don’t arrive here particularly to post more so to learn and formulate thoughts and opinions as the articles deconstruct republicanism and the war in general.
    Any new poster is always a welcomed sight within reason as you do get the odd lunatic now and then.

    There is not much difference between us in fact if we put tradition aside for a moment there would be no difference just ordinary people struggling through life.
    I would ask you is it the trappings of flags and emblems that make you British or is it something more powerful belief? I know the Tri colour and harp don’t make me Irish it is just my belief that I am does.

    Therein is a problem the Para-militaries still function and still engage in their usual rackets even though they agreed to peace as uneasy as it is their existence is a barrier to any actual peace.
    For now the loyalist militants can only menace their own community as there is no foe for them to claim they are defenders of their community.
    The traditional face of PUL is being changed and there is no stopping it all the protests are is just a threat that under the right conditions could become a reality and we will be back at it full time.

    Republicanism I am not even sure what that is anymore I have a particular distain for Sinn Fein sneaking in the back door of politics leaving the trail of death and destruction in their wake.

    I do know this much I have a better chance of catching a leprechaun than seeing a united Ireland.
    At day’s end my friend we the working class people got the short end as predictable as day or night.
    Monies would be better spent building a better environment for all something I am sure even extremists would have to agree with.

    We have proven we can destroy the country now we have to wait and see if we can rebuild it at some point we have to leave our trenches.
    I will still be Irish and you will still be British nothing will change that communities perhaps one day shall come together and integration will be as normal as a drop a rain.
    Upon saying that I have absolutely no faith in our politicians as they will keep us divided ensuring they get the green or orange vote.

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