First things first I've closed the poll on my sidebar which asked the question, "Will the DUP move on and restore NI's institutions?"

The final results were:

Yes - 37% (90 votes)
No - 63% (153 votes)

243 votes in total

It would seem in this instance that the majority have got it wrong, though with politics in NI you can never be sure. Fingers crossed anyway that everything works out.

I'd like to now move on to events here in the south seeing as the General Election is but a few weeks away. This Wednesday I will post an interview with Independent TD for Dublin Central Tony Gregory who discusses the election and other matters so make sure you check that out next week.

Speaking of elections I must say I find the events leading up to them very irritating. The visits from politicians who finally remember you exist, the petty sniping from both sides, the plethora of signs and billboards which spring up everywhere, (I think there's still some up in my area from the last one) and so on and so forth.

But there is one thing I do enjoy from general elections which makes all the BS worthwhile - politicians finally realising where the true power lies. Yes, this is the time where we the voting public get to send politicians a message. It's an opportunity I myself have been eagerly awaiting and I'm looking forward to marking my ballot this summer.

The political parties are already doing their utmost to sway you on to their way of thinking and part and parcel of this involves lashing out at the opposition's policies. The Progressive Democrats have been busy doing just that and have hit out at the prospect of a Fine Gael/Labour coalition by launching a website undermining their policies. Called Rainbow Splits the site calls into question the ability of Fine Gael and Labour to work together citing differences in outlook between the two. I can't say I was that impressed with the site but I suppose it is early days. Their Laurel and Hardy spoof shown above is pretty good though.



Parties sticking the boot in


I am interested to know what your thoughts are on the election at this point in time with regards to who you would like to see end up in government. Where are you leaning towards? I have therefore added a new poll to my sidebar which asks the question:

"Who would you like to see in government after the General Election?"

I have included the most likely possibilities and what I would say are a few unlikely ones too.

So then, who do you hope to see at the cabinet table when it's all said and done?

I figured I would weigh in with my two cents on the big international incident doing the rounds right now. This is of course Iran's capture of British sailors and marines who were allegedly in their waters. The British dispute this and claim they have proof they were in fact in Iraqi waters.

Now I don't know which side is telling the truth really but quite frankly I'm amazed at how eager the British media have been to whip the nation up into a big frenzy over this issue.

Case in point, a few days ago I heard British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett demanding evidence that the sailors were being treated OK. The Iranians said they were being treated fine but the British demanded evidence of this.

So, the Iranians have now released footage of the sailors proving they are indeed doing alright and, suddenly, according to the British media they have been "paraded" before the world and this is deemed "unacceptable".

Not only that but the camera footage of the lone female sailor, Faye Turner, is being analysed about as much as the Zapruder film. Talk about hysteria. Rupert Murdoch's fair and balanced Sky reported that she looked "worried" while the BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner said he thought Turney's words had been scripted:

"She did not sound there like somebody who was saying those words of her free will. Obviously she had been told what to say."

It's not obvious at all. She's not crying or anything. She's not openly distressed. It is ridiculous to claim that she has "obviously" been instructed on what to talk about. The footage also showed the eight Royal Navy sailors and seven Royal Marines eating a meal. They looked a damn sight better than prisoners in certain other parts of the world.




Not exactly Guantanamo Bay, is it?


A letter was also released by Faye Turney and people have suggested it has been worded very strangely which is a possible sign it was written under duress. Dear oh dear. What will they dream up next? Talk about seeing what you want to see.

"Ooh look at how little she's blinking. That could be her way of saying 'I'm in danger, please send help'. We must attack Iran now!"

Give me a break. I then happened upon someone called 'Patty' on A Tangled Web (a new recruit apparently who seems to be to the right of Andy McCann) and she wrote this charming bit of lunacy. I couldn't believe my eyes as I read this...

"I don’t blame Seaman Turney for her pathetic and illogical murmurings. I would do the same if I were in her shoes. She is either scared to death, or maybe suffering from Stockholm Syndrome."

I'm not even British but I will defend the poor woman as I find these remarks way out of order. Clearly Patty is a few sandwiches short of a picnic. Patty, if you would do the same if you were in her shoes, why then do you find her "murmurings" to be "pathetic and illogical". Does that make any sense? By the way, irony alert - Patty labels this post of hers "Kidnappers are Friendly, Thoughtful and Compassionate!" Well they're more friendly than you it would seem!

Patty cleverly (not) wraps up with this question...

"If the kidnappers are so thoughtful and compassionate, why don’t they release all of the captives??"

Have you not followed the story, love? They're not releasing the captives because they claim they were illegally occupying their waters. Patty also blames the BBC for "reporting this PR stunt, without skepticism or judgment". Um, isn't that an example of good journalism? What do you want? Biased views? I don't know about you but I'm not a fan of Mr Vance's latest recruit!

It seems according to the British war hawks there can only be one of two possibilities regarding the video. The first is that the captives are being told how to act and behave, the second is that the captives have succumbed to Stockholm Syndrome. If it's the latter that must be a world record as I don't know how so many people could become victims of Stockholm Syndrome so soon! Permit me to present possibility three - that the Iranians are actually serious about getting to the bottom of all this and that they have actually been treating the British sailors well!

In recent hours it has emerged that the Iranians have offered to let UK officials have access to the sailors. The Iranian Foreign Minister has said the stand-off would be resolved if the UK admitted that the sailors and marines were in Iranian waters.

Not exactly the cold, brutal and uncaring attitude that some people would have you believe.

Obviously this is not an easy issue but it's nothing diplomacy can't fix. It is annoying to hear all these British figures, desperate for a bit of action, trying to increase tensions between the countries. This incident has been blown way out of proportion in my opinion.

The female sailor should be released soon and the other sailors will follow. In a week's time this story will be over and done with.

It's smooth sailing from here on in. Just ignore the storms.

Welcome to this week's Words on Wednesday feature here on United Irelander, a concept unique to the Irish blogosphere, which sees me interview various figures from all walks of political life.

The countdown to the General Election continues in earnest here on UI as Sinn Féin TD for Louth, Arthur Morgan, takes my questions this week. To prevent confusion, I should point out that this interview was conducted prior to the groundbreaking events that occurred over the weekend which is why said events were not discussed.

My thanks to Mr Morgan for agreeing to be interviewed. With that out of the way let's begin...

What initially attracted you to political life?

I grew up in the late 1960s, at a time when Civil Rights marches were taking place across America. Soon, those marches began here in Ireland as well. Since I have always had an interest in Irish history, it was natural that I become involved in Civil and National Rights issues.

You are a Sinn Féin TD for Louth. Talk us through a typical day in your life.

My phone rang this morning at 6.20am – but that’s not typical! I get up between 6.00am and 7.00am, check some papers etc for the day’s business and leave for the Dail around 8.30am – leaving me on the motorway while most people are leaving children to school – arriving at the Dail around 10.15am. Several meetings with groups and Dail Committees, legislation/debate and head for home at 7.00 to 8.00pm, usually taking in one or two calls on my way home. I like to hit bed around midnight – no later, if possible.

If you could change three things about Irish society what would you change and why?

I would love to get back to the great caring attitude of Irish people which I recall from my youth (is this a sign I’m getting old?) In the rush of modern society, we sometimes become more “me, me” and that is sad.

I would love to see more preventative care in our health system. Yes, it would cost up front. But we would save significantly financially within a few years and save our people unnecessary pain and suffering.

Quality of life issues are rarely considered now. This is an important area, worthy of more attention.

What are your thoughts on a United Ireland?

I believe Irish Reunification is closer than ever. Look, for example, at last year’s 1916 commemorations – the Government were falling over themselves to honour our Patriot dead. Even Fine Gael are trying to present themselves as Republicans! I believe more and more people are beginning to recognise the economic and social arguments in favour of Irish Unity and political parties in the south are attempting to portray themselves as republicans and advocates of unity to play up to that section of the electorate. Happy days. Bring it on.

What do you make of the recent election results in the North which have seen Sinn Féin take an impressive 28 seats?

I was delighted with the impressive results and our huge success in those elections. As I said, more and more people recognise the economic and social arguments in favour of Irish Unity. You will see that view reflected in this State soon as well.

What needs to be done to improve the situation in the North?

Conditions for society need to improve through provision of better infrastructure. For example, there is a housing crisis for several decades now and healthcare is almost as bad as in this State. Similarly with education provision. I know these issues can be tackled and resolved by a local Administration, rather than ‘fly-in-fly-out’ Brit Ministers.

The two governments have said if the Assembly cannot be restored that a Plan B will come into play involving 'joint stewardship' of the North. What are your feelings on that?

I believe the best option is for the Assembly to get back up and running. However, if this is to be continually obstructed by the DUP, then the two Governments should get on with implementing as much of the Good Friday Agreement as possible. I also hope the Irish Government will become more pro-active rather than the semi-spectator role played by them recently.

Sinn Féin made the historic decision earlier this year to support the PSNI. How did you feel about that at the time, and do you think Sinn Féin's impressive election results vindicate that decision?

Like most Republicans, I had huge reservations about the PSNI. However, we have achieved massive change to policing, that I believe can deliver a civic police service to ALL in the North. Our Extraordinary Ard Fheis decision was taken for this reason and not for short term electoral gain.

One of the issues you feel very strongly about is the threat posed by the Sellafield nuclear facility. Tell us a bit about your campaign against Sellafield.

When I began campaigning against Sellafield, a local FF Councillor called on me to be silent as I was ‘scaring tourists away’! I was a lone voice at the time. Now, of course, every Government Minister and her sister are opposed to Sellafield. I visited the site, travelled to Europe and handed Tony Blair personal letters (on two occasions) while in Downing Street on Peace Process business. I raise it in the Dail regularly and am far from finished on this campaign.

You are Sinn Féin's party spokesperson on the Environment and Local Government. What are your thoughts on global warming which has become such a major issue in the world?

This is a massive issue which almost all governments are refusing to tackle. For example, our Government have allocated €270 million to emissions trading, thus putting a key cornerstone of national policy on BUYING our way through Kyoto, rather than implementing serious changes, both fiscal and regulatory, to ensure specific targets are met. Without specific, achievable targets for Industry as well as transport and householders, we will struggle with this problem. We owe it to future generations that we pass on this little planet to them in reasonable condition.

Do you expect to see more cross-border co-operation in the near future? How would this help your own constituency of Louth?

Yes. I expect and hope to see more cross-border co-operation in the future. This would and could help the people of Louth and all the border counties in a very practical way in terms of roads infrastructure and speed limits, mobile phone tariffs, health services and access to emergency services and in enterprise and job creation. In fact cross-border co-operation has the potential to enhance the quality of life of so many citizens on both sides of the border in many, many ways.

Looking at the election approaching here in the Republic, do you think it is possible that Sinn Féin could end up in government?

Everything is possible but it is impossible to predict until after the electorate have spoken and the votes are counted. What is certain is that Sinn Féin will not entertain any party that is not prepared to commit to achieving our goals of ending the crisis in the health service, providing social housing for the many thousands on the waiting lists and re-uniting the country.

With regards to your own Louth constituency, how confident are you of hanging on to your seat?

Quietly confident.

From talking to your constituents, what are you finding their biggest concerns to be?

Healthcare and housing are the two big issues in Co Louth. Our hospital has lost its Children’s ward, Maternity Unit, Gynae ward and several other crucial services. Under current HSE/Government plans, it will loose A & E as well as our Intensive Care Unit next year. On housing, there are almost three thousand people on Social Housing Waiting lists and thousands more unable to afford to buy their own home. Without doubt, these are the two big issues.

What do you expect will be the outcome of this summer's general election?

Only two things are certain. They are that there will be an election and that from the election there will be a coalition government formed. I don’t buy into the notion that the election is a two horse race between the current coalition and the proposed Fine Gael/Labour coalition. I think some parties will be forced to re-think their coalition options after the election and I also think that we may well see a change in some of the party’s leaderships.

Where should Ireland be twenty years from now in your opinion?

United, free, prosperous, peaceful and healthy with great public services and infrastructure.

What does the future hold in store for you?

I can’t really plan for the future until the people of Louth speak through the ballot box in eight or ten weeks from now.

Finally I'd like to play a small round of word association. I'm sure you know what it entails. Basically just outline what word comes into your head when you hear the following:

Bertie Ahern - ruthless
Tony Blair - has-been
Ian Paisley - old man
Gerry Adams - shrewd
Mark Durkan - why say one word when you can say twenty
United Ireland - happening soon
Unionism - spent force
Sinn Féin - THE future
Fianna Fáil - mafia
Arthur Morgan - do I know him?

Best of luck to Arthur in his bid to retain his Louth seat.

Next week, Independent TD for Dublin Central, Tony Gregory, takes my questions. Make sure to check out United Irelander's election coverage over the coming weeks and months.

Previous interviews can be read here.

By now you're probably all aware of the decision by the DUP's Jim Allister (pictured left) to resign from the DUP effective immediately.

Allister claimed he could not "in conscience" accept going into government with Sinn Féin, even though that is what the majority of the people in NI really want.

At his press conference Allister stated:

"I have fought a protracted battle within the party over recent months against a premature DUP/Sinn Fein government.

"I now have to accept that this battle is lost."

He is right. The battle is lost. And that is a good thing. People like Jim Allister, Bob McCartney as well as certain bloggers need to realise that this is the only way forward. Jim Allister is not some man of integrity "fighting the good fight".

On the contrary, he is a remnant of a bygone age. He has been left behind by the changing times and he and his ilk now have to face up to extinction due to their inability to adapt to the modern climate.

Much like the foolish dodo waddled out before humans thus exposing itself to the threat of extinction, similarly Jim Allister waddled out for his press conference sending a once promising career into total oblivion.




The very same


Recent developments in the North are the result of one thing, one thing which I have discussed often here on United Irelander - evolution.

Ian Paisley is not a man I have any time for but at least he finally had the foresight and wisdom to understand that it was a simple choice of evolve or perish. He chose the former and as a result he will be able to exercise power, for the time being at least.

Allister meanwhile will go the way of Bob McCartney - a lone voice crying out in an uncaring world. Much like how the last dodo must have felt as evolution left it behind!

Rejectionist unionists have been at this kind of thing for years. They rejected nationalist symbols like the tricolour in the North before eventually having to accept it. They rejected forging ties with the south of the island before eventually having to accept it. They rejected the Anglo-Irish agreement before eventually having to accept it. They rejected the Good Friday Agreement before eventually having to accept it. Now, not only do they accept the south's relationship with the North, but they also accept our money with Ian Paisley recently asking the Taoiseach for more funds!

What does this symbolise? Evolution! Adapt and accept it or get left behind.

This evolution is a process that has been ongoing for decades and it will continue without question. Of course rejectionists will be there to oppose all manner of proposals in the future. And, inevitably, there will come a time when the reunification of Ireland is at hand and, yes, they will reject that too.

But you know what? It will happen. Why? Because most people in the North are not like the Jim Allisters and Bob McCartneys of this world. Most people are not dodos like those men are.

The evolution of politics on this island will continue apace as it cannot be halted, merely delayed. Rejectionist unionists can pout and whine and stir up a fuss but in the end, one way or another, they will join the rest of us in witnessing a new age in Irish politics. They can kick and scream and act like spoilt children all they want, but the majority of people in this island are grown-ups and the tantrums will never succeed. Hell, just look at the North today and you'll see that.

The simple truth is that in the not too distant future, people will learn about rejectionist unionism in the same way they learn about creatures like the dodo - via the history books.

The title says it all. Wednesday's match against Slovakia is a must-win game for Steve Staunton and the Irish team.

Staunton has been at the helm of some of the most atrocious displays in recent Irish football history including a 1-0 home defeat to Chile, a 4-0 home drubbing at the hands of Holland, a 5-2 stuffing away to Cyprus, an embarrassingly lucky 2-1 victory over minnows San Marino and a woefully dour 1-0 victory over Wales this past Saturday.

And the English think they have it bad.

Staunton has today named his side for the game tomorrow and there were no nasty surprises as was the case over the weekend. Kevin Doyle comes in for the suspended Robbie Keane and Aidan McGeady replaces Jonathan Douglas in midfield. Shay Given meanwhile is set to equal Packie Bonner's record of caps won by a goalkeeper when he plays in his 80th game. Right now I reckon he's the only world class player we have.

I correctly predicted three out of four results last Saturday (can't remember which one it was I got wrong) and I'm aiming now to better that by correctly predicting all five of Wednesday's matches involving teams from these islands. Here's how I see things going...

Ireland 2 Slovakia 1

I've a very bad feeling about this game. Seeing as right now we're managed by a buffoon, this has banana skin written all over it. On the plus side, we are home and it looks like he has named a reasonable team this time. I think there will be a few scares but I fancy us to just about edge it, thus prolonging Staunton's stay (oh joy!). What I'm hoping for, besides the result of course, is a good performance as the last couple of games have been bloody awful to watch.

Andorra 0 England 4

England haven't been doing well lately but this should placate their fans for the time being. Andorra are not a good side and I expect England to win very easily.

Italy 2 Scotland 0

I hope Scotland can get a result over there but I don't like their chances being away from home. The world champions traditionally are solid at the back and with Luca Toni up front they will be very dangerous. I see this being 2-0 but I hope I'm wrong.

Wales 3 San Marino 0

The Welsh were pretty dismal in Dublin on Saturday. They will be eager to bounce back from that and San Marino are the ideal team to play. This should be a comfortable win for them.

England Ju...uh I mean Northern Ireland 1 Sweden 3

This is where reality comes crashing down on the 'wee' NI fans. Ireland hammered Sweden 3-0 in Staunton's first game in charge but the Swedes won't suffer a similar fate against Lawrie Sanchez's side. One has to laugh at this talk of the 'world class' David Healy. This is a guy who has been on the bench for much of Leeds United's season in the Championship, a season that currently sees them bottom of the table! Yeah what a world class player he is! The Swedes should comfortably see off NI. I can see them grabbing a consolation though.

Feel free to give your thoughts on how you see the matches going tomorrow or make some predictions on the results if you fancy.

Warning - this post cites moronic views from a unionist that may lead to a dramatic rise in blood pressure, or severe loss of coffee from being spit at your monitor in laughter. Read on...

I have brought up nonsensical ramblings from the Young Unionists before here on United Irelander but the words from Michael Shilliday on the Irish tricolour really take the biscuit.

This past Saturday on the YU site young Micheál wrote a post highlighting a letter he had written to the Irish News where he expressed his opposition to my national flag.

For those unaware of the origins of the Irish tricolour, it was first flown by Irish revolutionary Thomas Francis Meagher and the Young Ireland movement. The green on the flag is meant to symbolise nationalists/Catholics, the orange represents the unionist/Protestant tradition and the white is meant to symbolise peace between the two traditions. The design was largely inspired by the French tricolour.

Sadly, this does not sit well with young Mr Shilliday who has decided to throw a Mickey-fit (huh ho!) in bizarre and extraordinary fashion. First, get a load of his comment on the Irish tricolour from 2004:

"The monoculturally Irish will tell you with glee that their flag is a symbol of the peace between the green and the orange. Thanks to their violent elements and backward thinking, the white can now only ever demonstrate the gap between the green and orange. The monoculturally Irish need a new flag."

Huh? Violent elements and backward thinking? What was this guy smoking? He's calling us 'monocultural'? This from a guy whose party a few years ago ran a campaign with a slogan entitled 'Simply British'? Oh what rubbish he spouts! But his views haven't changed, oh no. They say with age comes wisdom but not in Shilliday's case. Here is what he is saying in 2007:

"that flag was christened by, and has ever since been used as a background to, Irish separatist terrorism."

Christened by terrorism? How were the Irish republicans of the 19th century terrorists when they simply sought to free themselves from British rule by the same means which had brought the country under said rule in the first place? Were the US revolutionaries terrorists too? Were the British employing terrorism when they came to this island and forcibly removed people from their homes and stole their land? Talk about revisionist BS. He continues...

"I am a Unionist who is determined not to allow either the IRA’s various sectarian murder campaigns, nor the attempt at an ideological land grab by the monoculturally Irish, rob me of my Irish identity."

So let me get this straight, this guy is determined not to allow the Provos rob him of HIS Irish identity, but apparently MY Irish identity must be robbed from me! I am a nationalist who is determined not to let the Provisional IRA's campaign tarnish MY culture. What's the difference, Michael?

"I wish to see Ireland united into a truly diverse and inclusive state – the British one. That failing to be the case, I have no desire to be coerced into an insular and ideologically narrow, independent Ireland; my home being within the United Kingdom is more important to me than Ireland being unified."

Hmm, so when we nationalists in the south express our desire to have an independent united Ireland it is an "ideological land grab by the monoculturally Irish" yet when Michael Shilliday expresses his desire to see Ireland united into the British state, that's all fine and dandy apparently! Talk about hypocrisy! And people wonder why the Ulster Unionists are a mess!

"Ireland can never be a united island while there is a determination to eradicate both the British sovereignty and the British heritage of this place."

Who desires that? Who has this "determination" to eradicate Britishness? This guy's off his rocker!

"What is needed is not for separatists to better understand an interpretation of a flag tainted with more than a century of blood, but for an acceptance of the multicultural and inclusive British identity."

What? So I must give up my identity because a minority of people tainted my flag? How come you don't have to give up your flag seeing as the BNP, Loyalists, Oswald Mosley and other unsavoury types tainted it? More hypocritical, nonsensical BS.

"If this is not going to happen, then I repeat my assertion: the monoculturally Irish need a new flag."

There are probably more immigrants per capita in my city right now than in most European cities, certainly there are more than in whatever city Michael comes from in the North. There are more than 100,000 Polish people living in Dublin at this point in time. There are more Chinese speakers in the Republic right now than Irish-speakers. Monocultural my arse. Get back to me when your party is represented by people other than middle-aged Orangemen. I repeat my assertion - you're off your rocker, Shilliday.

Poor Mickey got a hammering in the comments section of his post when people pointed out his stupidity. Even his Ulster Unionist colleague Brian Crowe pointed out his utterly insane idiocy. Here was Michael's woeful reply:

"Brian,you somewhat miss my point. The monoculture in the Irish Republic is free to do what it wishes, however its flag is a lie. It claims to represent a section of Irish people who have no desire to be removed from the British nation. RoI therefore needs a new, more accurate, flag."

Wrong, the flag predates the existence of the Irish state which is why it is seen as a flag that can represent ALL people on the island. Thus, those from the orange tradition are just as entitled to claim it represents them as nationalists like myself are. The flag isn't a lie, you're just too ignorant to understand its significance. You are blinded by anti-Irish hatred and the more you spout your vitriol the more you close your mind.

If the future of Ulster Unionism rests in the hands of people like Michael Shilliday then the party is well and truly doomed. One has to laugh at a guy who lambasts a state with a thriving immigrant population, who have settled in remarkably well, as "monocultural". One has to laugh at a guy who claims only Britishness can promote diversity when he then goes around and berates another culture's flag and moral character. One has to laugh at a guy who defends the union jack, a flag which is in fact synonymous with imperialism and suppression of culture from America to Europe to Africa and beyond.

Can other cultures and identities truly fit in to the future that unionist bigots like Michael Shilliday envision? I think not.

If today you pass by the Irish tricolour flying proudly over your city, reflect on the sacrifices of the brave men and women who gave up their lives for a better future. Reflect on the domination and deprivation they sought to overthrow. Reflect on the admirable symbolism that is contained in that noble flag.

Reflect on all those things, then smile and think of Michael Shilliday. I know I will. Such ignorance as embodied by he shall never ever again become the rule of thumb.

No surrender, Michael! Ireland forever!

Wow, now there's a Kodak moment. Talk about surreal.

In a historic deal brokered by the DUP's Ian Paisley and Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams, the Irish and British governments have agreed to accommodate the new target date of May 8th for the restoration of power-sharing.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and British Prime Minister Tony Blair discussed this morning's developments in a phone call this lunchtime, and agreed to the six-week delay, in view of what is seen as an 'absolute commitment' to restore the institutions.

If you're finding that hard to believe, get a load of this quote:

"We must not allow our justified loathing of the horrors and tragedies of the past to become a barrier to making a better and more stable future for our children.''

Who said that? Ian Paisley that's who! Unbelievable stuff.

I still don't see why the DUP have to wait until May for devolution. Something just doesn't add up here.

And while I expect to hear gushing praise given to all concerned from most quarters today, I remain very sceptical of today's events. Notice how no one has been left with egg on their faces, no one has lost out. EVERYBODY involved has profited in some way.

Prior to the elections it was all about the two governments, the DUP and Sinn Féin. Now, after this announcement, who are the big winners? Why funnily enough it's the two governments, the DUP and Sinn Féin!

Tony Blair can now leave office and pass the 'torch of history' if you will unto Gordon Brown leaving his legacy in our island intact. The Secretary of State Peter Hain, the notorious Brown-noser, can make his historic speeches and claim to be the Secretary of State who got the two sides talking.

Bertie Ahern and the Fianna Fáilers can march confidently toward the summer elections here in the Republic claiming to be the boys who finally sorted out those pesky rejectionist unionists. They can claim they brought about stability to the island.

Ian Paisley and the DUP can claim they got big concessions from Sinn Féin and have done what was required of them by the unionist people (as dodgy as that will sound). No doubt today's events will make for a nice part in the Paisley film that's meant to be on the way.

Gerry Adams and Sinn Féin meanwhile can continue pushing themselves as the party for the future. The guys who want to see an island of equals etc. They will remind us at every opportunity of the huge sacrifices that they have made and how they got rejectionist unionism to embrace their all-island agenda.

And you know what? I reckon quite a few people will buy into all this. It is certainly a great deal achieved by all parties. Greater than many may realise.

Me? I'll not get swept along by the inevitable euphoria. I suspect we're going to hear the word "progress" uttered quite a lot in the coming weeks and months but I would ask you to reflect upon this quote from the great Irishman George Bernard Shaw:

"Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress, therefore, depends on unreasonable people."

Seems more than appropriate don't you think?

We all know there is a movie about the life of Ian Paisley currently in the works but I don't think this was in the script, do you?

It seems the Doc is facing quite a backlash from his party colleagues who apparently aren't as spineless as we previously thought. Unhappy with the prospect of devolution being restored to the North plus Sinn Féin in government, the DUP party executive meeting on Thursday was the scene of furious objections from angry DUP members.

According to The Guardian, Paisley was said to be shocked at the day's events and the strength of the executive reaction. Said one source:

"It went ten times worse than we expected, and he is now looking for a big concession we do not have."

That concession would be a six-week delay on the deadline that the two governments originally set - for this Monday. It seems Paisley and his party are willing to enter government with Sinn Féin in May but not now in March. Why? Beats me. I don't get this at all.



Time to adopt this stance


Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams has accused the DUP of frustrating the will of the electorate and has urged the British government to fulfil its promise of dissolving the Assembly and initiating Plan B, which involves joint stewardship of NI and all-Ireland partnership arrangements.

The scale of the DUP's problem is not to be underestimated. The Guardian reports a worrying 45% of the party are said to be opposed to power sharing at this stage.

Interestingly, sources have spoken of increasing worries that Paisley is losing his grip on the executive as a succession battle starts between Peter Robinson and the more hardline Nigel Dodds. Meanwhile figures such as South Antrim MP Willy McCrea and MEP Jim Allister appear to be opposed to any deal with Republicans. Who would have thought that the cult-like status of the Reverend would be challenged in this fashion?

I guess Paisley severely misjudged the resentment that was swirling amongst the rank-and-file of the DUP. Do these maniacal clowns not realise that the people of NI want devolution restored? Who the hell do they think they are? If they were so opposed to devolution they should have ran on an anti-devolution ticket like the rest of the rejectionist dinosaurs.

Regardless of Paisley's problems I hope the British government remain resolute and pull the trigger on Plan B. This is the only way real progress can be made. It's ridiculous to continue pussyfooting around a party whose lunatics are mounting a takeover of the asylum.

I have a horrible feeling however that the DUP will once again get their way and that another crazy chapter will sadly begin in the north of Ireland. It's quite pathetic, don't you think?

I'm wondering if the Paisley film will actually be a comedy because what Ian and the boys are getting up to now is not compelling drama, rather it's full blown farce. Maybe his new film should be called "Carry On stalling"?

Regardless, it's now time for the Irish and British governments to carry on making politics work in the North and to strengthen the peace.

"Not yet" has become the new "never, never, never." I'm tired of this BS.

A historic day today in sport as the Ireland team participates in the first ever football match at Croke Park when they take on Wales in a Euro 2008 qualifier. Kick-off is at 3.00 pm.

I don't suspect this will be as emotional as the rugby matches were against France and England some weeks back but it should be a cracking atmosphere nonetheless.

This is a must-win game for Ireland, but particularly the manager Steve Staunton. I feel he should have been sacked long ago for the abysmal performances by the team and if we fail to pick up three points today, then that will surely be it for Stan's reign of terror.

OK I have stuck my neck out numerous times and made predictions on how the big games will go so why should today be any different? Here's how I see things going...

Ireland 2 Wales 0

This Welsh team are, to steal a line from the legendary John Giles, "no great shakes, Bill". Croke Park is expected to have a sell-out crowd of 74,000 and if that doesn't motivate the players, then nothing will. John Toshack is a far better manager than Steve Staunton but I feel there is more quality amongst the Irish team and hopefully Super Shay can save the save day if need be. Come on Ireland!

Israel 1 England 1

I heard Martin Keown say of Israel "they are not a top nation". What, and England are? Israel were a very dodgy side for Ireland during the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign and we dropped a lot of points to them. England are a bit of a mess at the minute and the knives are out for boss Steve McClaren, which I think is harsh in his case. Rooney's been in poor form and Andy Johnson hasn't proven himself at international level so I think England could be lacking in ideas up front against a competent, competitive team. 1-1 will be the result in my opinion.

Scotland 1 Georgia 0

The Scots aren't the 16th best team in the world, despite what the rankings say, but they are a better team than Georgia and I would expect them to win seeing as they are at home.

Liechtenstein 0 England Junior aka Northern Ireland 0

The 'wee' fans of NI will certainly love the pre-match anthems today seeing as the Liechtenstein national anthem uses the same tune as God Save the Queen. Of course Northern Ireland has God Save the Queen as its anthem so now the 'inclusive' NI team (snigger) will be able to belt out their praise for the British monarch not once but twice! Oh joy! I would love nothing more than for the great pretenders of NI to suffer a humiliating defeat to the minnows of Liechtenstein but I can't see that happening. Still, in admittedly difficult conditions against a team that have been slowly improving I can see the slight possibility of NI dropping two points so I'm going with a 0-0 draw.

For the record I am quite prepared to eat humble pie if I am way off with these predictions but I am confident it won't have to come to that. As I said at the beginning, today will go down as a historic day in Irish football but one wonders if that will be partly due to this being Steve Staunton's last game in charge...

No more slip-ups lads!

I found tonights edition of Let's Talk on BBC NI very interesting. For those of you who missed the show it might appear online at some point, if the BBC bother to update their site that is.

The panellists were Jim Wells of the DUP, Naomi Long of the Alliance Party, Conor Murphy of Sinn Féin and, surprisingly, Pat Rabbitte of Labour (that's a bit strange, no?)

The main topics discussed were devolution obviously, Gordon Brown's financial package for the North, the pay-off, er I mean project funding given to the UPRG, and also the new movie coming out which will chronicle the life of DUP leader Ian Paisley (ooh when's it out?!)

I decided to rate the four of them on how I thought they did...

Jim Wells of the DUP - Ugh what a boring, uncharismatic, whiney little man. Look up 'lackey' in the dictionary and you'll see this guy's face staring back at you. He stated he wanted to see the North's rate of corporation tax lowered to 12.5%, which is the same rate as that of the Republic, and when it was pointed out to him by host Mark Carruthers that this would essentially mean an all-island rate of tax and that this was an example of all-island co-operation working, he pretty much threw a strop. It was hilariously childish. The last time I saw a grown man get that worked up was when I accused a friend of mine of liking a lady with more facial hair than he had. Sorry Jim, 2/5 for you.

Naomi Long - Well, it's not very difficult for Alliance members on these types of shows to come across like the voice of sanity. Think of the typical discussions as akin to a garden of old weeds that tangle you up and choke the life out of you if you go near them. Better off staying on the fence then aren't you? I thought Ms Long did OK. She didn't bowl me over or anything. 3/5.

Conor Murphy - This guy tends to come across like a cool and competent guy whenever I see him, if a little flat at the same time. Decent enough performance but nothing that would leave a lasting impression. I liked his response to the question on how Gordon Brown would do as British Prime Minister - "I look forward to the day when it becomes irrelevant who the Prime Minister is on the neighbouring island". I look forward to that day too. 3/5.

Pat Rabbitte - I like Pat Rabbitte, especially since he gave me an interview on my site a few months back. Even so, I disagree strongly with him on the UDA funding issue and was disappointed he didn't condemn the matter like everyone else. His view that the money will be closely monitored by the British government seems like wishful thinking at best. Not Pat's best performance I'm afraid. 2/5.

What struck me most about the show was how much the playing field has changed for both Sinn Féin and the DUP. It doesn't seem that long ago that Sinn Féin were the ones feeling the contempt from various sections of the media and public. The Northern Bank raid, the continued influence of the Provisional IRA, the OTR legislation, policing etc. I remember how people would roll their eyes and sigh as they gave their thoughts on why progress wasn't being made. Now the DUP are in that very position. There is a strong sense of exasperation amongst the public. They are the largest party in the North but the support for devolution is stronger than the support for their party.

Overall the programme was pretty run-of-the-mill but I found the audience's attitude towards the DUP very encouraging. As one unionist gentleman remarked, people are sick and tired of the constant fudge.

On a final note, the last question of the evening asked what the new movie based on Ian Paisley should be called. Here's my suggestion...




























It's called "Shriek" and it will star Ian Paisley as an ogre who must rescue Princess Philomena (Fiona sounds too Irish) from the clutches of those nasty Republicans intent on bringing down the monarchy. Donkey will be played by Reg Empey, or, failing that, Steve Staunton.

Have you ever watched that show Dragon's Den where would-be businessmen offer a proposal to a group of investors in the hope of netting significant funding?

Well I think I'm going to try out for the show with my great idea.

You see, I'm going to set up a group affiliated with a bunch of drug-dealing, terrorist murderers and earn money on the condition that I get them to move away from their criminal ways.

Hey, what do you mean that won't work? It's worked for the Ulster Political Research Group!




Money well spent?


Today was a day that £1bn was pledged to the North's parties on the condition that the devolved assembly is restored, £400m of which will come from the Republic. However it seems this paramilitary pay-off was designed to slip quietly under the radar.

Frankie Gallagher of the UPRG laughably said "the community is the paramilitary organisation... they (the UDA) are an integral part of the community". He added:

"The money is not going to the UDA, it is not going to UDA personnel or into their coffers.

"It is going to a legitimate organisation which has existed for some 20 years and which has been at the forefront of peace-building in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland.

"We have to face up to a new reality in Northern Ireland. We have to make peace by talking to our enemies that we don't like talking to - you do not make peace by talking to your friends."

What a load of baloney. It's a shame to see the British government giving in to this kind of blackmail.

"Here you go gents. Give up that nasty business of killing people and we'll give you all a nice pay package. Buy all the drugs and prostitutes that you want!"

Talk about doing a deal with the devil...

Roy Keane is one of my heroes and I'm all for a bit of FAI-bashing, but I can't agree with his claim that there is a conspiracy against Cork-born players.

I agree with everything else he says though.

Welcome to this week's Words on Wednesday feature here on United Irelander, a concept unique to the Irish blogosphere, which sees me interview various figures from all walks of political life.

With the Republic's General Election but a few months away, taking my questions this week is Labour TD for Dublin North East Tommy Broughan.

My thanks to Mr Broughan for kindly agreeing to be interviewed. With that being said, let's begin:

What initially attracted you to political life?

Growing up in a working class/farm worker family I saw at first hand the struggle that families such as my own had to endure due to low incomes, poor housing and health facilities and few educational opportunities. The tide of local emigration to the UK and further afield also made me politically aware and determined to get involved and help to change and improve Irish society.

You are a Labour Party TD for Dublin North East. Talk us through a typical day in your life.

Monday, March the 5th, I began the day by listening to Morning Ireland and Newstalk, although I often also tune in to the BBC. At 9am I was in Coolock for a local walkabout. At 11am I held my weekly information clinic in the Darndale Belcamp Village Centre before heading in to a government briefing session on the new Energy White Paper at the Royal Hibernian Academy at 12.15. After that I read the new Energy White Paper and drafted a response to it on behalf of the Labour Party. In the afternoon I also filmed a piece for RTE's 6 o'clock news on the new Energy document. I was in my Dail office until around 7.30pm dealing with any constituents' calls or local issues, finalising my new leaflet and preparing amendments for the Communications Regulation (Amendment) Bill which is passing through the Dail this week. At 8pm I attended a meeting at Greendale Community School Kilbarrack and after 9pm I went to St. Paul's School Ayrfield for another meeting with the Ard Na Greine Residents Association. I returned to Howth at about 11pm that evening.

This summer there will be a General Election here in the Republic. How confident are you that Labour will end up in Government?

I'm quietly confident that Labour will end up in government after the next general election. I meet daily with constituents and the general perception does seem to be that people are tired of this tired government. People often say to me that 17 years out of the last 20 or 10 years in power is enough. I believe there will be a change and that Labour will be part of it.

If you could change three things about Irish society what would you change and why?

We must abolish the two-tier health system. The current level of waiting lists are simply unacceptable as is the ongoing crisis situation in A&E departments. There is also an appalling level of anti-social behaviour and vandalism in some estates across the country. Too many widows and widowers and other vulnerable people living on their own are living in fear and terror in their own homes. I believe that the Gardai must be properly resourced and have a more community oriented focus to tackle persistent anti-social behaviour. The current housing calamity must also be addressed. Too many people across the country are unable to afford to buy their own home and settle in their own communitites. 80/90,000 homes are being built a year and there are still 3,500 people on local housing lists in Dublin North East. Labour in government will implement our 'Begin to Buy' scheme which will enable more people to begin to buy their own home.

What are your thoughts on a United Ireland?

I strongly believe in a united Ireland. In fact, it is already on its way in the economic area, for example with the Single Electricity Market (SEM) that should come on stream in November and in areas such as the Inland Waterways body. There is significantly more interaction taking place between North and South and the outstanding example of the all island rugby team shows what can be achieved with North/South cooperation.

What do you think should be done to improve the situation in Northern Ireland?

We must continue to work along the lines that were first laid out thirty years ago by John Hume and the SDLP and which have proved to be the most effective way of making progress between the two communities. There has been a lot of success in Northern Ireland since 1994 and I believe there is more to come.

I noticed you have been critical of Minister for Education Mary Hanafin on a number of issues. What are your thoughts on her and the government's performance on Education?

All children should have equality of educational opportunity. However, Minister Hanafin and her predecessor have done little to achieve this critical objective. Primary class sizes in Irish primary schools are the second highest in the EU and too many children are forced to learn in classes of 28 plus. Minister Hanafin is also failing to put the resources in place to eliminate waiting lists for children with autism and special needs. I welcome the new emphasis on 4th level education but we need to ensure that there is a firm foundation at first and second level for all the children in the country.

You are Labour's Spokesperson on Communications. What are your thoughts on the broadband services available in this country?

Broadband rollout under Minister Dempsey has been an absolute disaster. We were supposed to have 500,000 lines supplied by mid-2004 and we are only starting to approach that target now nearly three years later. Last November's Eurostat survey reported that at just 13% Ireland had one of the lowest household broadband connection rates of the EU 25. Only Cyprus (12%), Slovakia (11%) and Greece (4%) performed worse, while the Netherlands achieved 66%.

This is having a serious effect on too many families and local communities across the country. I was recently contacted by residents in Kilmoganny, Co. Kilkenny, for example, who are desperate for broadband services for their area. Over 150 local Kilmoganny residents signed a petition and forwarded it to Eircom to urge the company to upgrade the Kilmoganny Telephone Exchange and provide essential broadband services. Yet Minister Dempsey has as yet failed to bring forward his promised replacement for the rural Group Broadband Scheme, or his proposals to achieve the 100% broadband enablement of the country as has long been the case in Northern Ireland.

You were first elected as a TD for Dublin North East in 1992 and you've managed to hold on to your seat ever since. Do you anticipate a tough battle for your seat this year and are you confident of being re-elected once more?

It will be very tough in Dublin North East this time round, as it always is. This will be my 7th election campaign, and my 5th for the Dail and it has always been a battle. It is a three seater constituency which currently has two Fianna Fail T.D.s and myself representing Labour. There will be a major challenge from Fine Gael and Sinn Fein and I also think that we shouldn't underestimate the Greens.

From talking to your constituents, what are you finding their biggest concerns to be?

Health, policing and anti-social behaviour, housing, planning and facilities in the new city of the North Fringe in Dublin North East and public transport are constantly being raised on the doorsteps with me.

What do you think will constitute success for Labour in this election? How many seats would you expect the party to pick up?

Success in this election would be achieving 28 to 35 seats. I'm looking for a gain of at least 7 seats to 28 Labour T.D.s in Dail Eireann.

How do you think Sinn Féin will do in this year's election?

Going by the polls of the past three or four years, they should get about eight seats.

What would another term of Fianna Fáil and the PDs mean for Ireland?

More of the same. They have been a wasteful, turgid government and have squandered much of the gains of the boom. They lack ambition and vision for Ireland and are years behind on roads, public transport, energy, communications and broadband. I agree with the recent slogan used by the nurses protesting at Minister Harney's policies, "A third term for Fianna Fail/PDs? No way."

What do you hope Ireland to be like twenty years from now?

An island at peace with itself, and with perhaps seven million inhabitants. It should be a high quality knowledge economy with a lot of our energy being produced from indigenous renewable energy sources. I hope for well planned cities and towns and good public transport infrastructure and that all of the newcomers who have arrived into Ireland since the late 1990s will be well integrated. The precious rural environment and our large seas should be well protected and cherished. I hope 2027 will also see a Labour/SDLP government in its second or third term.

What would you say to anyone reading now who isn't sure who to vote for in the next General Election?

It's time to make a change. I believe that a change towards Labour and its allies would establish a new government that person for person will be better and more committed. We have a vision of a fairer Ireland with a stronger sense of society and community support for each other.

What does the future hold in store for you?

In local government I led the Rainbow Civic Alliance (at Dublin City Council) for eight years. Unfortunately, it had little power though there were many achievements where the City Manager followed the agenda of Labour, Fine Gael, the Greens, Workers' Party/Democratic Left. After ten years in opposition I'd like to be in government. If the electors of Dublin North East decide against sending me back (as is their prerogative) I'll happily return to my former work in education and my ongoing interest in local development and small business.

Finally I'd like to play a small round of word association. I'm sure you know what it entails. Basically just outline what word comes into your head when you hear the following:

Bertie Ahern - Turf Accountant
Enda Kenny - Mayo
Pat Rabbitte - Order of Business
Mary Hanafin - Form Teacher
Michael McDowell - Gonzaga
Labour - Family
Fianna Fáil - New Money
Fine Gael - Old Money
Sinn Féin - 1970s
Tommy Broughan - Northside

Best of luck to Tommy in his bid to retain his Dublin North East seat.

Stay tuned to United Irelander for future interviews. Previous interviews can be read here.

You'll be delighted to learn that it was on this day, March 21st, 1970, that Dana won Ireland the Eurovision for the very first time with "All Kinds of Everything". You can check it out below...



Personally I don't like it. I think we have had better ones than that. You can see footage of Dana's win below. I love how excited the Irish presenter is, "Our own Dana has won the Eurovision song contest! Oh isn't this marvellous?"


We went on to win it another 6 times and still remain the country to have won it the most times. Will we win it for an 8th time? Well here's our entry for this year. What do you think?



I'm thinking NO. Clearly we have gone down the "diddly-eye" route this year. I think the outcome is a song that tries way too hard. Also that singer hurts my ears with her constant wailing. We probably would have been better off going with something along the lines of this...




We can't top that.

I was asked by a United Irelander reader last week to explain what I felt were the pros and cons of Irish reunification.

I have discussed this before on the site but since time moves on fast here in Ireland I figured I'd return to the issue once more.

Discussing the positive and negative aspects of Irish Unity is always going to be difficult because it is, at its most basic level, an emotive issue. Some people don't want to hear the argument. This post is not aimed towards those people, but rather those unionists and nationalists who are willing to look at the issue from a logical standpoint.

With that being said, permit me to outline what I feel are the positive and negative aspects of Irish reunification for both sides of the island of Ireland...

Positives for the people of Northern Ireland

Greater economic prosperity

It has now become widely accepted that in order for NI to become both competitive and economically successful, its future must be tied closely with the southern half of the island. Even NI's Secretary State Peter Hain concluded that the economy of the Northern Ireland entity was "not sustainable in the long term" and that it was becoming increasingly difficult to look at the economy of North and South except as "a sort of island of Ireland economy". You may recall that DUP leader Ian Paisley's initial response to this was to call for Hain's resignation - of course that was quietly dropped when leading economists acknowledged that Hain was talking a lot of sense!

In fact we now have the extraordinary situation where the DUP are, along with other parties in the North, calling on the British Chancellor and PM in waiting Gordon Brown to lower the North's rate of corporation tax so as to bring it in line with the rate south of the border.

Of course traditionally this is where the campaign for a United Ireland fell flat on its face - the poor economic condition of the south. The Republic was the economic equivalent of a blind, baby kitten. Nowadays that kitten has matured into a wide-eyed Celtic Tiger that is the envy of many a state in Europe. These days we have the Republic pledging to invest substantially in NI in the event of power-sharing being restored. This scenario would have been thought ridiculous around 15 years ago yet it is now the reality.

Respected economic figures such as David McWilliams and Douglas Hamilton believe that a United Ireland would be economically viable and greater economic co-operation is being regarded as the way forward, for example through the new single electricity market that will cover north and south. If we simply had one state on this island we would be more likely to avail of opportunities in the marketplace.

I think it's worth the people of NI asking themselves if they would prefer to maintain a status quo whereby the British subsidise the region annually to the tune of £1.5bn, or to instead become partners in an entirely new venture where they can contribute and make a real difference in building a new island of Ireland.

An end to the petty bickering and sectarian politics

Question Time, Questions and Answers, Let's Talk, Hearts and Minds, you've all seen the programmes where NI parties have been featured and you all know the drill - "Party A is bad, Party B is good". "No Party B is bad, Party A is good". And round and round they go. INCESSANTLY. I once interviewed Fianna Fáil's Mayor of Letterkenny Damien Blake who made the following point which I agree with wholeheartedly...

"I'll never forget watching (I think) a Let's Talk special before the last election in the North, with reps of the four main parties debating before a large audience. Not once did they discuss education, economics or healthcare. This isn't good for politics, and it's clearly not good for the regions these politicians represent."

It isn't good for politics but it's all these parties know. I submit to you that the parties are not the ones really at fault for this but rather the SYSTEM within which they operate. The north of Ireland is still defined by tribal politics. Orange vs Green. Why? Because the constitutional question has not been resolved yet.

This is not the case in the Republic of Ireland where economics, education, healthcare, crime, finance and so forth are the main issues of the day. By being part of an all island entity and a SYSTEM THAT WORKS the people of the North would see and end to the petty bickering that stalls the Northern entity interminably. Solve the constitutional question and you can get down to politics that works.

Greater level of political power

Following on from my above point, if the issue of partition is resolved then it would mean the people of the North having their parties deal with the 'bread and butter' issues of the day. One can only speculate on how an all-island entity would function but I find it hard to believe that the parties of the North, both unionist and nationalist, would consent to leaving everything to Dublin to sort out. In fact, if they did so, I wager Sinn Féin with their leftist policies and questionable economic beliefs would find themselves in a very unappealing position. It wouldn't surprise me if some sort of loose federal arrangement was worked out, perhaps building on the current Northern Ireland entity along with the three other Ulster counties of Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan. Still, some form of national dialogue would be required for issues that affect the entire island and it's in this area that the northern parties would wield significant power.

In the United Kingdom the North's parties are an irrelevance. Perceived to be a confusing, peculiar, argumentative bunch who are never happy and best left alone. They hold little influence on the UK as a whole, particularly in the British First-Past-The-Post system. However, in a United Ireland, northern influence, an Ulster bloc if you will, would hold a significant degree of power. No longer bit-players but rather at the forefront of national developments, particularly with the Irish Proportional Representation system.

It pains me to an extent to have to say this but I see European expansion and integration as a slow and gradual inevitability. In fifty years time "nationalism" will most likely have become the irrelevance. In such a situation, well managed northern interests would be at the forefront of Irish national plans.

Reason, not treason

People within unionism who talk of Irish reunification as having potentially great benefit for people of the North might be met with words like "traitor" or "Lundy" but this does not add up when looking at the history of this island.

Many within unionism may be unaware of the original Irish volunteers, the group from the 1780s, who appeared more than a century before the inception of the more well-known group of the same name. However the original Irish Volunteers were formed in Belfast, were 40,000 strong and half of them came from Ulster. They were mainly drawn from the Protestant urban and rural middle classes. They were loyal to the Crown and were strongly influenced by American ideas. Why do I bring this up you ask?

Because their aim was to secure legislative freedom for the Dublin parliament, later known as "Grattan's parliament." Strange how things turn out eh?

Let us not forget either that Presbyterians suffered much at the hands of the British, so much so that many were very much involved in the United Irishmen's efforts to make Ireland a separate and free republic.

As time moved on we got to a point where unionists felt they were better off remaining part of the Union, and, unlike their ancestors, felt they were better being as close to the British as possible. They also began to oppose the idea of Home Rule and legislative independence for Ireland. Still, it was not the aim of unionism to partition the island and Edward Carson, the leading figure of unionism, was against the notion. He sought to use it only as a threat to make the Home Rulers back down but it was extremist elements of unionism that ran with the idea. This was more to do with anti-Catholic hostility ("Home Rule is Rome Rule") rather than a commitment to the Union.

In fact, many unionists might be unaware that James Craig actually sought to have Home Rule for Northern Ireland which would have meant leaving the UK as the Irish Free State did! A proposal that infuriated Lloyd George and the other British delegates:

"Craig's suggestion of dominion status for Northern Ireland made the unionists intensely unpopular and the British cabinet resented their sabotage of its plans for a settlement with Irish nationalists." - 'The Partition of Ireland: 1911-1925' by Prof. Michael Laffan.

So I put it to unionists that the idea they must remain part of the United Kingdom in order to stay true to what traditional unionism stands for is, in actual fact, contrary to what traditional unionism has stood for!



Is a border really necessary?



Negatives for the people of Northern Ireland

Change

I was going to write instability as the title of this topic until I realised that implying the current entity is stable would be stretching things quite a bit. One of the negatives of reunification however would involve the changes that would take place as a result. Clearly then it would make sense to try and make it as slow and as easy as possible. A process rather than an event. People would want to know that their bins would be collected at the same time, their paper delivered in the same way, their route to work would remain the same and so on and so forth.

It would all come down to how people adapted to changes such as all-island institutions, all-island symbols, all-island groups and, generally, an all-island attitude of life. What I would say is that, as a citizen of Dublin, I have seen my city change and alter in dramatic fashion in a very short space of time and I think myself and the majority of people in the city have adapted to it pretty well. My guess is that certain areas would adapt better than others. In Tyrone, Fermanagh, South Armagh, Derry, Down I could see changes implemented rather well. I think in parts of Antrim change would prove very difficult for some.

Positives for the people of the south of Ireland

Greater resources

Gaining over a million citizens and the creation of a new state could create great opportunities and further Ireland's chances of proving a force in Europe. An all-island entity could see a greater degree of investment assuming the economic transition is a smooth one. The decision by the Republic to invest in the North if power-sharing is restored, for example through improving all-island infrastructure, proves that there is financial benefit to be had for the south too.

Lifting of a burden

It would be dishonest to suggest that the British government are the only ones to bear the burden of the North's woes. The south has, in a lot of ways, been affected by events in the North and even today we can see the importance of events in the north to the island as a whole by the amount of time devoted to the region. In fact, Bertie Ahern is on record as saying that dealing with the issue of Northern Ireland is the most important for a Taoiseach. If the constitutional question was resolved once and for all then the people of the south, like the people of the north, could look to the future without dwelling on events of the past.

Negatives for the people of the south of Ireland

Change

This works both ways. How would the people of the south have to deal with the inevitable compromises that a new state would bring? Would the people countenance things such as a new anthem, a higher degree of taxation to help the transition, and, perhaps, a new flag to boot? Many of these would prove very emotive issues. It's also worth pointing out that the Republic is primarily about treating citizens as equals so many might prove resentful about having to make so many changes to please a minority. Clearly a lot of dialogue would be necessary.

Instability

It is hard to say how extremist Republican groups would react to some of the potential changes that might be necessary to incorporate unionists in a fair manner. It is also hard to say how extremist Loyalist groups would react to the transition. It would come down to making the changes as transparent and as fair as humanly possible. It would have to be about a common agenda and not individual interests.

So there you have it. That is my take on the pros and cons, the positives and negatives, of Irish reunification. Ultimately it comes down to weighing up both sides and balancing both aspects of the argument to see what you feel is most beneficial for the future.

As I touched on above this can prove very tough when dealing with a largely emotive and complex issue. For some it will prove impossible.

Like those in Scotland who desire separation from the UK and an independent state, we here in Ireland who desire a similar arrangement must make it as reasonable an arrangement as can be.

It is my belief that the reunification of Ireland offers the fairest and best solution for ALL groups that inhabit this small island of ours. It is up to people of all races, colours and creeds to reflect on the opportunities available and make their mind up on what they feel is the best course of action.

That is my take on Irish Unity but what are your thoughts?

The St Patrick's Day parade in Dublin...




Over 600,000 attended but I watched the rugby instead





Though maybe I should have gone after all...


Yours truly went out during the evening and sampled some of the atmosphere...



Is that girl in the middle flipping me off? Irish charm indeed!



St Patrick's Day parade, Co. Cork...




I'm guessing that isn't the Orange Order



St Patrick's Day parade, Newry...



In a great gesture Gerry Adams was allowed to march this year


St Patrick's Day parade, London...



The Archbishop of Canterbury got involved I see



St Patrick's Day parade, New York...



Some guys just get all the luck



In Washington, the Taoiseach gave President Bush some plants he found in his back garden...



"You shouldn't have Bertie - seriously"



Festivities took place in Toronto, Canada...



Choose better coloured shirts next time fellas



In Sydney, Australia...




Aussie Rules Irish dancing - they have to kick each other at the end




As well as Tokyo, Japan...



Give this man a Guinness quick




In Rome the Italians joined in the celebrations...



Luck of the Irish is right...




Being pipped by France for the Six Nations championship put a bit of a dampener on the day...




So near and yet so far



But we had cause to celebrate some more as the Irish cricket team caused a huge upset by knocking out Pakistan...



Pakistan were sent packing



All in all I thought it was a fun St Patrick's Day. Weather wasn't too bad and the celebrations were colourful. Town was really packed with people and my pub crawl took in a lot of places. Coming so close to winning the Six Nations but missing out on points was agonising but hey we'll recover from it, plus we now have a cricket team to cheer on.

Hope you all had an enjoyable St Patrick's Day. As much as I enjoy March 17th though, March 18th is a right old pain - especially in the head and stomach. Ugh.

Guinness, shamrocks, parades, colours, silly hats, wobbly-legged citizens - you gotta love St Patrick's Day.

It seems like this is an unusually sporty St Patrick's Day too.

The rugby Six Nation's championship comes to a climax today with Ireland facing Italy in Rome while the other big contenders France and England are also in action.

If, as expected, Ireland, France and England all win, the championship will be decided on points. So let's hope the Irish team can give the Italians a stuffing and give ourselves a great chance of success! I think it will be a tough game for Ireland but I hope we can get the job done.

I was amused to learn that 17,000 Ireland supporters will descend on the Stadio Flaminio in Rome, capitalising on an error in the Italian Rugby Federation's ticket selling procedures which will basically turn the 25,000 capacity ground into an Irish home game! Ah well it's Paddy's Day so maybe the stadium would have filled out in green regardless!

In other news, the Ireland cricket team, who have been making quite a name for themselves in the Cricket World Cup having tied a game with the Zimbabwe side, today play Pakistan and hope to pull off an upset. Cricket's not big over here and like most Irish people I don't know much about the game but I hope it proves a good day for the Irish lads.

Since today is primarily about celebrating Irish culture, I figured I'd post up some videos below of some of my favourite Irish songs that I found on Youtube...





Cara Dillon does the great Irish song, She Moved Through the Fair, better than anyone else I've ever heard. Here is her great rendition of the song from a live performance in Hamburg, Germany. Well worth a listen.




This is an interesting one. It's Amhran na bhFiann, the Irish national anthem, sung in English. I'd never heard it sung in English before but I found it pretty catchy all the same!



This is a song called The Town I Loved So Well by Phil Coulter. He wrote the song to lament the fact his peaceful home of Derry had become a major military outpost. Here the song is performed by Luke Kelly and The Dubliners. No one does Irish ballads better for my money. Fantastic song and sung with great passion.



This is one of my favourite Irish songs Down by the Salley Gardens which was written largely by the great Irish poet William Butler Yeats. This video comes with many Japanese images. Apparently the song was covered in Japan and has become quite popular there as a result. I've no idea who is singing this version of the song but whoever she is, she sings it superbly. Another one I'd advise you to give a listen to.



This is another great ballad called Four Green Fields. It was written by Tommy Makem and is an allegory for the invasion and partition of the island. This version is sung by Brian Roebuck. I've been listening to this one a lot. Really great song and this is as good a version of it as you will ever hear.




Here is perhaps the most well known of the toe-tapping Irish tunes - The Irish Rover. This is the version done by The Dubliners and The Pogues which is unquestionably the best version in my opinion.



Another Irish tune sung here by Luke Kelly and The Dubliners (can you tell I like them?) called The Wild Rover. This is THE definitive Irish drinking song. "And it's no, nay, never, No, nay, never, no more!"




I thought I'd finish with a real treat. This song is a humorous traditional song, here sung by The Dubliners from 1967, called Seven Drunken Nights. The video to this though, done in puppet animation, is equally as outstanding as the song. Watch this and have a right laugh. I'm glad I stumbled upon this one on Youtube!

The above videos will certainly go down well with a nice pint of Guinness. Enjoy them and enjoy the day too.

You might also fancy having a go at the St Patrick's Day quiz I wrote up last year.

Happy St Patrick's Day everybody and remember to drink responsibly!

I should preface this post by saying that when I decided to do some independent research on the background and career of Mr Justice Carney, (pictured left) I had no idea I would end up finding such downright disturbing information.

What follows is simply information I obtained by checking out various sites through Google searches. Information that any citizen can find. The picture that it paints however is a very unsettling one indeed. If you've read my previous post on the Carney sentence handed out this past Monday, then read on and notice if you see any similarities with these previous cases. The links are provided.

'Man given four years for stabbing after killing their baby' - July, 2001

A man, Derek Hickey, stabbed and killed his 14 week old baby and also stabbed his partner, Sinéad Smullen, after a row at the flat they shared in Sinéad's native Newbridge, Co Kildare. Hickey stabbed the child six times.

"We didn't want her to know it was a frenzied attack. It was like Hannibal Lector what he did to that child," said Seanie Smullen, the child's grandmother.

Hickey received four years for the attack on Sinead.

Mr Justice Paul Carney said the crime warranted at least 10 years but by law he could only impose five. And, even then, he had to take time off to recognise Hickey's guilty plea.

She left the court in tears, crying both with anger and grief. "It's not enough," she said of the four year sentence for the scars she bears after Hickey plunged a kitchen knife into her back and neck. "It's not enough altogether," she added, with the knowledge that the life sentence for Leilah is unlikely to extend beyond 14 years.

'Suspended sentence for killing 18-month-old baby' - May 2002

A former soldier was given a five years suspended prison sentence by a judge at the Central Criminal Court today after a jury found him guilty of the manslaughter of the 18 months old son of his first cousin.

Mr Justice Paul Carney said a relatively small quantity of poitin had "aunique, inexplicable and extraordinary effect" on John Reilly and "he had no control over his body or his actions" and was functioning like an epileptic or diabetic in a bad state of a hypo or hyper.

He said he was satisfied that a prison sentence would serve no purpose and he sentenced Reilly to five years imprisonment suspended on Reilly’s own bond of €1,000, on condition that he keep the peace for five years and that he does not carry a Leatherman (a multi-tool knife used in the killing) or any other similar device.

"The accused is going to have to live with these events for the rest of his life. I believe that he met the case with dignity," he added.

'Call for DPP to examine male rape sentence' - March 2005

The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre has called on the Director of Public Prosecutions to examine a decision by the Central Criminal Court to allow a youth convicted of raping another man to walk free.

17-year-old Gary Davis of Kenilworth Lane, Rathmines, admitted sexually assaulting a 50-year-old man at Dominick Street Flats in November 2001. He was 15 years old at the time.

This afternoon, Mr Justice Paul Carney handed down a three year suspended sentence for the offence.

Mr Justice Carney said he took into consideration Davis' young age, his expression of remorse and his guilty plea.

The chairwoman of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, Breda Allen, said the sentence may discourage other victims from reporting rape.

'Suspended sentence in manslaughter case' - March 2005

A 35-year-old Dublin man has been given a suspended sentence for the manslaughter of a former All-Ireland boxing champion turned drug dealer and addict.

Anthony Burke from Clancarty Road, Donnycarney, was convicted by a jury last month at the Central Criminal Court of the unlawful killing of Joseph Sutcliffe, aged 32, from Fatima Mansions in Rialto.

Mr Sutcliffe died when a single stab wound to the abdomen cut an artery in October 2002.

Burke, who is the registered carer for his father at the family home, had never been to Fatima Mansions before that night. He got involved in a brawl and believed he had only nicked Mr Sutcliffe.

In handing down the suspended sentence, Mr Justice Carney said he did not feel any purpose would be served by jailing Burke.

'Nally refused leave to appeal conviction' - December 5, 2005

The Co Mayo farmer, Padraig Nally, has been refused leave to appeal against his conviction and six-year jail sentence for the manslaughter of Traveller John 'Frog' Ward.

At the Central Criminal Court today Nally's defence had argued that Mr Justice Paul Carney had usurped the constitutional function of the jury by refusing to allow it to consider a not guilty verdict.

Mr Justice Carney had ruled that such a verdict on the evidence would be perverse.

Refusing leave to appeal today, Mr Justice Carney said he did not believe he could look John Ward's widow and her 11 children in the face and say that he was required to certify leave to appeal because he did not provide the jury in the case with the mechanism to bring in a perverse verdict.

'Six year sentence for Cork rapist of American woman' - December 19th, 2005

A Cork man who orally raped an American student and then claimed he was a commanding officer in the IRA has been given a six-year sentence by Mr Justice Paul Carney at the Central Criminal Court.

He told her to wait where she was for 15 minutes but she ran after a few minutes to a nearby house where a woman would not let her in but called the gardaí.

Healy became violent when apprehended and asked about a scratch on his face. He struck the garda, who was forced to take out his baton and hit him with it, but then overcame the garda and grabbed his radio before he ran off in the direction of a cul de sac. He was caught again when the garda enlisted the help of two civilians.

He pleaded guilty to oral rape and aggravated sexual assault of the woman on November 7, 2004, and stealing a Garda radio valued €2,000.

The victim told Mr Justice Carney her life has never been the same since. Simple things such as going to the grocery store, church or a mailbox had become "terrifying tasks" she was unable to complete without the assistance of a friend.

Healy had threatened to murder her and she decided that "rather than leave her body to be violated by a pervert" she would surrender. "He took my chastity," she added.

Mr Justice Carney placed Healy on the sex offenders register and said his crime was "quite frightful". He imposed six-year sentences on the oral rape and aggravated sexual assault charges and three years on the robbery, suspending the last 18 months of the sentences.

'O'Donoghue sentenced to four years in jail' - January, 2006

Wayne O'Donoghue has been sentenced to four years in prison for the manslaughter of Robert Holohan.

O'Donoghue admitted killing his next-door neighbour. He said that it was an accident after a row erupted when Robert threw stones at his car.

Earlier today Robert Holohan's mother, Majella, addressed the court. She claimed that semen was found on Robert's body when it was discovered dumped in a ditch at Inch strand in east Cork.

She asked why would he have been killed for throwing stones; why were images deleted from his mobile phone; and what was Robert doing in Wayne O'Donoghue's bedroom at 7.20am on one occasion when he was supposed to have been on a sleepover with a friend.

Prior to imposing sentence, Mr Justice Paul Carney warned Majella Holohan to prepare herself.

He told her that the sentence he was going to impose would be upsetting; he said that he would endeavour to explain what he was doing but there was no getting away from the fact that it would upset the mother.

He said he was dealing with manslaughter and not a cover-up.

He described the cover up that followed the killing as appalling and added that there could be no excusing what was done and no mitigating it.

He said he was not punishing O'Donoghue expressly in respect of the cover up, although it came into play as part of the impact on the victims and it was in that regard he took it into account.

'Cover up may not affect O’Donoghue’s sentence' - July 2006

O’Donoghue moved the boy’s bicycle some distance from his home and then wrapped his body in plastic and dumped it in a ditch at Inch Strand where it was not found for eight days. He also lied about the circumstances in which he last saw the schoolboy and deliberately tried to put gardaí off the scent by taking part in search parties and challenging officers when they failed to find the boy in the days immediately following his disappearance.

Such behaviour could be classed as obstructing a garda investigation and in court this week counsel for the State, Shane Murphy SC, said the trial judge, Mr Justice Paul Carney, had erred in not taking it into consideration when deciding the length of sentence.

Mr Justice Carney specifically referred to the issue on sentencing day last January when he said: “I am dealing with a manslaughter and not a cover-up.” He said the State could have prosecuted O’Donoghue in relation to the cover-up but did not.

“It could have formed the basis of substantive charges and they were not laid,” he said. His comments prompted Justice Minister Michael McDowell to publicly defend the DPP. “Sometimes there are aspects of cases which the public does not understand and sometimes it is not easy for the DPP to explain them, because there are all sorts of complex technical reasons and legal reasons,” he said at the time.

In the Court of Criminal Appeal this week, Shane Murphy insisted Mr Justice Carney was wrong not to view the cover-up as an aggravating factor. “We submit that was an incorrect approach,” he said.

However, Mr Justice Diarmuid O’Donovan, one of the three judges hearing the appeal, challenged Mr Murphy to explain why the State was making an issue of the cover-up when it was not part of the original case against O’Donoghue. “It was up to the DPP to press other charges and he did not,” he said.

Mr Murphy said Mr Justice Carney had not specified what other charges he was referring to, but Ms Justice Fidelma Macken, who chaired the three-judge panel, interrupted him. “But the DPP could have pressed other charges,” she said.

Mr Justice O’Donovan said O’Donoghue could have been charged under the 1976 Criminal Law Act which makes it a criminal offence punishable by up to five years in jail, to provide false information and waste garda time. There was also legislation which made it an offence to destroy a body or prevent a proper burial. Mr Murphy argued that the 1976 Act did not apply as it referred to cases involving two or more individuals, not a single person. He said the other legislation had not been successfully prosecuted for some time.

O’Donoghue was acquitted of murdering Robert, his next door neighbour, but was convicted of manslaughter after admitting that he grabbed the 11-year-old around the neck and held him in a headlock because he was annoying him. Robert died of strangulation.

If the judges dismiss the cover-up as grounds for a longer sentence, they must still consider the three other arguments put forward by the State, which says Mr Justice Carney was wrong not to take into account the fact that O’Donoghue was almost twice the age of his victim and much bigger and stronger.

The medical evidence suggested the attack on Robert was more serious than “at the horseplay end of the scale” as Mr Justice Carney characterised it.

Mr Murphy also said Mr Justice Carney gave O’Donoghue too much credit for confessing his crime before gardaí arrested him. He said by that time gardaí had found O’Donoghue’s fingerprint on a plastic bag wrapped around Robert’s body and were closing in on him.

'Victim condemns rape sentence' - 13th March, 2007

A rape victim who watched her attacker walk free from court with a suspended sentence today said she will never trust the justice system again. The devastated woman, who said she felt on trial, was even forced to travel back to her home town on the same train as convicted rapist Adam Keane.

Mr Justice Paul Carney handed down a three-year suspended sentence at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin yesterday. The sentence was based on a previous ruling by the Court of Criminal Appeal, he added.

"I really didn't want it go to court in February in the first place. It was the hardest week of my life, to go up in that stand and give every detail of my life explored by the DPP and his barrister and when he was found guilty I was so relieved and I really believed justice would be done.

"But yesterday it wasn't, there was no justice done for me at all and now I'm back to square one where I was when I first got raped. I feel worse now."

Mary said that after the attack she and her children had to leave their home, where they had lived for nine years, and moved back in with her parents because she was afraid. The family have since moved home twice.

And there you have it, folks. Notice a pattern emerging?

It is quite clear to me that Mr Justice Paul Carney is unfit for the position he currently holds. I should point out the information highlighted above is based on evidence I've found this evening. I'm sure there are lots more cases like this. Incidentally, if anyone knows of any feel free to mention them.

I don't know about you but I am deeply distressed by this man's record. I'm annoyed at myself for not picking up on it sooner. You will know the Nally and O'Donoghue cases were closely followed here on this site. I had no idea that the link, the one common strand, was Justice Carney.

Of the most recent controversies at the heart of the judicial system in this country, who has been at the very centre of them? Justice Carney.

Here's one more link for you all, it's from an article in the Sunday Business Post, written in 2003, on Justice Paul Carney. I urge you to read the entire piece but here's a quote that caught my eye...

"One court reporter who has covered Carney's court for many years said: 'He always has one eye on the media, and, if he spots a reporter whom he doesn't recognise, he will often get his tipstaff to ask them who they are.

"'He has a reputation for being grumpy, but I think it's more that he finds it difficult to relate to people socially. Basically, he is a shy person - though he loves publicity and always seems to be trying to stir things up. He enjoys being controversial and likes to provoke the Oireachtas into thinking about the law.'"

Is Carney less interested in court justice and more interested in courting controversy? Well apparently, unlike most of his colleagues, Carney backs the televising of court cases. He told a seminar at Trinity College law school in 2000:

"There is a very strong case to be made that citizens should be entitled to monitor and observe the fair administration of justice in their home through the contemporary technology of television."

Right, of course there is. Then you can become a TV star and have your own show. "Carney court" perhaps?

Like I said earlier all of this makes me very uneasy. The "Carney code" seems to involve giving as lenient a sentence as is humanly possible and then sitting back to allow the public anger to commence. Maybe he gets off on the outrage he causes. Maybe he likes seeing his name in the headlines.

All I know for sure is that he has been at the centre stage of some stunningly bad sentencing decisions in recent times. At the very least the man is inept beyond belief.

I shall be writing to my local TD to express my concerns at this man's record and I urge other troubled Irish citizens to do likewise. Remember the name Justice Carney from now on. I fear we shall be seeing it quite a bit for all the wrong reasons.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.

I share the sense of outrage expressed by the Irish political parties today over the disgraceful suspended sentence given to a man convicted of rape yesterday.

Adam Keane, 20, of Barnageeha, Daragh, was given a three-year suspended sentence at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin on Monday.

Yesterday, his victim, Mary Shannon, waived her right to anonymity to plead with the Director of Public Prosecutions to appeal the three-year suspended sentence handed down to Keane.

Ms Shannon, a mother of three, spoke on RTE's Liveline of her devastation that the man who broke into her home and raped her was given such a lenient sentence.

Not only that but Ms Shannon had to suffer the indignity of having to share a train with her rapist on the way back from the case.

Fine Gael have called for action on the issue saying this case will result in fewer women reporting rape then ever before. Progressive Democrat TD Mae Sexton agrees and has demanded the introduction of sentencing guidelines for sexual offences. She said the Oireachtas and the Government had a responsibility to protect victims of serious sexual assault and that there needed to be mandatory sentencing for rape.

The Minister for the Environment Dick Roche backed the calls for a mandatory prison sentence for rape. He said he believed the court decision had sent out the wrong signal and that rape is "a crime that has to be dealt with."

The Rape Crisis Network weighed in on the matter too expressing its concern for what this sentence sends out to potential sex offenders.




Ms Shannon - let down by the law


I will try to keep my cool as I talk about this issue but I must say I am furious at this joke of a "sentence". Here is the situation as explained on RTE's Six One News yesterday - Adam Keane broke into a mother of three's home in the early hours of the morning, he proceeded to rape her while she slept, he gave a 'not guilty' plea in court on account of having been on drink and drugs, he was found GUILTY by a jury and yet he has been allowed to WALK by the judge - Mr 'Justice' Paul Carney.

Have you ever heard such madness in all your life?

Well, sadly, it seems we hear about cases like this in Ireland every couple of months in every year. The judicial system in this country is fast becoming an absolute farce.

There is NO justice here. None whatsoever. I find this whole thing staggering. This does indeed send out an appalling signal to potential sex offenders - bascially just get off your face on drink and/or drugs and feel free to engage in any sick and twisted deeds you can think of because the spineless judges in this country will let you off the hook.

The guy broke into the woman's home, which is a crime, and then proceeded to commit a far worse crime and while he was found GUILTY by the jury, he gets handed a "suspended sentence"? What the hell? Let's face it, that's not even a sentence. I'm disgusted the woman then had to share a train home with the animal. This is what we're calling justice now?

Justice Carney should be disrobed for his staggering ineptitude and incompetence. I feel very sorry for this poor woman who felt she had to go public just to shed some light on what was an injustice of epic proportions.

Ten of the jury deemed Keane guilty but Carney stepped in and labelled the crime "out of character" and said Keane "came from a respectable home". We hear this line peddled far too often to allow scumbags escape a prison term. Even a three year custodial sentence, which would have been very lenient for someone breaking into a home and raping the occupant, would have been preferable to the "sentence" handed out to Keane by Justice Paul Carney.

I am sick and tired of this bloody country siding with the perpetrators of crime rather than the victims. This sentence makes me sick to my stomach.

What a travesty.

There's a good article in today's edition of The Times where Dean Godson queries what the last few decades of NI's woes were about, considering the DUP's Ian Paisley is about to follow in the very footsteps of other unionist leaders that he helped destroy. Men such as O'Neill, Faulkner and Trimble.

Today 'big Ian' was in talks with the North's Secretary of State Peter Hain and said, somewhat surprisingly, that good progress had been made. He added that the DUP's election results had given him the ability to move forward and he made some candid remarks about the difficulties within his party admitting he had been "severely criticised by various people":

"Some of them are my personal friends but they don't agree with what I've done, (but) the electorate fortunately has agreed."

"It has strengthened my hand - I can afford to go further forward now with things, because I am confident that the people are with me."

A few days ago I speculated that "Maybe the man really does want to move on but he needed to know in his heart that unionists would stick with him if he remained on his current course." I don't know if that's really the case or if Paisley has told himself that's what he's doing, but clearly he has left plenty of people scratching their heads as to what the previous couple of decades were all about.

As Dean Godson in The Times asks...

"Why has Mr Paisley changed? What, indeed, were the past 40 years about if he is about to sit cheek by jowl as co-premier alongside Martin McGuinness of Sinn Fein-IRA? What was so terrible about those “sell-out” leaders of moderate Unionism whom Mr Paisley so ruthlessly destroyed — such as Terence O’Neill, the Ulster Unionist Premier of the late 1960s, who merely sought a few cautious reforms of the old Stormont system? Or Brian Faulkner, the first Unionist leader to attempt a power-sharing compromise with nationalism in 1974? Or what about David Trimble — excoriated for signing up to the 1998 Belfast agreement whose key provisions remain in place?"

This is the whole point. The very principles that these unionist leaders pushed for - and which Paisley so vehemently fought against - are now the very principles which Paisley has completely accepted and which he's on the verge of supporting.

Godson argues that the man is fuelled by his ego and cites his history of splitting from various strands of mainstream unionism...

"The truth is that Mr Paisley has always loved being top dog. And after years of marginalisation, he savours such tokens of respectability as a privy councillorship for himself, a peerage for Mrs Paisley and the Doc’s latest pet project — the prospect of a solitary moment in the Oval Office with President Bush this forthcoming St Patrick’s Day (and, who knows, maybe even the chance of a shared prayer together?)."

Godson touches on where Paisley's "new found emollience" has left the Union...

"There is certainly a defeatist strain within the DUP, personified by the former Conservative MP Andrew Hunter, who ran as a DUP candidate in the 2003 assembly election. After that poll, Mr Hunter told me: “Trimble sold the pass and administered the death blow to the Union. All that remains now is for us to go in and negotiate Protestant homeland within a united Ireland on as advantageous a basis as possible.” Mr Hunter confirms that this remains his view today — and he regards republican talk of unity by the time of the centenary of the Easter Rising of 1916 as not unrealistic. He claims that Mr Paisley can at times see that this is the logic of events — but that the DUP chieftain still does not fully accept it.

"Certainly, the vast bulk of the Unionist electorate do not think that they have voted for such drift: indeed, the very reverse. What will be the ructions within the DUP and within the Free Presbyterian Church when they discover otherwise? The DUP’s Janus-faced ambiguity served it well when Sinn Fein participation in government was entirely theoretical. But what happens when it becomes a reality? And could such arrangements survive beyond the lifetime of the frail Mr Paisley?

"Whatever now happens, to have got even this far constitutes an achievement for Anglo-Irish statecraft. For years, officials have smirkingly counted upon the defeatism, vanity and venality of much of the Unionist political class to push through a project of creeping condominium with the Republic. But who would have thought that Ian Paisley, the ultimate “honest bigot”, would turn out to be their last card?"

Very interesting thoughts indeed. I agree that there is a drift towards Irish reunification and I wonder if deep down Ian Paisley knows it himself?

After all, the man jeered and taunted O'Neill, Faulkner and Trimble. He helped bring about their political demise. He accused them of putting the Union in danger and helping the chances of a United Ireland. But what has changed? Paisley finds himself on the same course. He might try and fight the current more than his predecessors did but he can't fight the direction in which we are all heading.

I personally regard the idea of Irish unity around the centenary of 1916 as unrealistic but I do believe in the very near future that the partition of this island, the greatest evil ever inflicted upon this nation, will be removed once and for all and that we will move into the future as one united land.

It's unlikely that Dr Paisley will be alive to see this day. He'll probably turn in his grave when the day comes.

But he can't turn away from the current course - the drift towards Irish unity.

Here's a clip from Family Guy I found on Youtube where Peter and Brian make a trip to Ireland on account of Peter's real father being an Irishman.

I thought it was pretty funny even though it's packed with every Irish stereotype you can think of. It seems Peter and Brian visited the same Irish village that the Fowler family from Eastenders visited years ago! Check it out...

I've commented quite a bit on the recent Assembly election in NI but it dawned on me that I hadn't really looked at things from the UUP's perspective.

With that being the case I thought to myself, where better to get an Ulster Unionist perspective than from my good friends the Young Unionists!

And while the site has about as much colour as a Klan rally in Alabama, my stars do they have some colourful views!

As I listened to them scrutinise their hammering at the hands of the electorate, why it reminded me of the classic episodes of Dad's Army. "Don't panic Mr Mannering!"

I actually think the writers of the blog should consider penning a sitcom. I couldn't help laughing out loud just from reading the blog's titles. The first one reads 'Where we go from here' (insert your own joke) and the next one reads, 'We can't rely on luck next time'. Hahaha. Maybe voodoo might work, guys? It beats working to provide a decent alternative eh?!

Young Unionists - The blind leading the blind



If you scroll down further you'll find some more hilarious posts including one in which the author goes into some detail explaining why he can never support the GAA because quote:

"It is either sporting or it is political. The above quotation states in explicit terms that the GAA wishes not to engage in sport for its own sake, but to further Irish Nationalism."

Interesting comments eh? Especially in light of the newly elected Ulster Unionist MLA for South Antrim, Mr David Burnside, who recently revealed his plans to take over Glasgow Rangers! You couldn't make this stuff up you really couldn't. Comedy gold I'm telling you.

But for now let's take a look at the first post on the site, 'Where we go from here' (hey stop snickering!) written by one Thea Stitt. Ms Stitt writes (try saying that name three times fast)...

"With the assembly elections giving us fewer seats than expected, we need to waste no time in deciding exactly what we want the future of Ulster Unionism to be. As we look towards the shadow council elections next spring, it is important that we come to a conclusion as to the basis on which we ought to contest them."

Yes! Hear, hear! Someone who finally gets it. We don't need to hear the same tired cliches we always hear from parties who take a drubbing such as "party reform", "united party", "a platform", "coherent message" etc. Instead let's be brutally honest and pinpoint the major problems to help the future of Ulster Unionism. Take it away Thea...

"I was encouraged by Reg, speaking on UTV, when he said that he was determined to see through the reforms of the party that he had promised. It is more important now than ever, that we create a united party, rather than a party of individual associations; this will give us a platform from which to deliver a common and coherent message during the next campaign, and help us to convince the public to put their trust in us again."

Aww. And I had such high hopes that we'd have a brutally honest account of what went wrong. Instead all I get is the A-Z of party cliches. She continues...

"I am encouraged by the fact that, although none of our 3 YU candidates were elected, that they managed to hold their own in compression to the more established candidates – this is certainly an encouraging sign for next time round."

They managed to hold their own? What does that mean exactly? This is another one of the common political spin terms. None of the candidates got elected but not to worry - they held their own. Whatever that means...

"And, I think it is important for our party to put forward more young candidates (and also female candidates), particularly in the coming council elections, as this will help to change the perception the public has of us (and indeed other parties) as constituted exclusively of middle-aged men."

Yeah why change the tired old policies that the public reject when you can change the candidates instead eh? Hahaha. Oh dear. You see it's not about substance remember - it's about presentation. The unionist electorate will take to the UUP's policies if they are fronted by a 21 year-old woman. If only they had figured this out beforehand! It makes perfect sense!

"I will admit that this election result has shocked me, I was expecting us to do far better"

Really? Why? No wait forget that, it all becomes clear with the following comment which I believe sums up the entire flawed mentality perfectly...

"and I am worried about the fact that overall Unionism has lost seats, while nationalism has gained them."

Bingo! Now we hit the nail on the head, folks. Tribal politics rears its ugly head once more.

"If this is replicated in the council elections, then it is quite possible that, whether in the end there are 7 or 15 councils; nationalism will hold a majority of them, including Belfast most worrying of all."

Remember when the Ulster Unionists lambasted the DUP for saying that unionists should vote for them in case Sinn Féin became the largest party? Funny how they seem to have the same sort of siege mentality deep down. What I find funny, as well as sad, about all this is how this woman has witnessed her party take an absolute hammering and yet she is more concerned with focusing on the alleged threat posed by nationalism instead of analysing, realistically, why unionists abandoned the sinking ship that is Ulster Unionism.

"The sad fact of the matter is that unionist voters didn’t turn out; we have to do all we can to find-out why, and to make sure that we can enthuse them enough to go to the polls next time."

So are you actually going to tell us why then? There's no point in enthusing unionist voters to go to the polls when they'll go and vote DUP! Try some self-reflection first of all.

"The decisions on the changes which we make to the party in the coming months must be substantive and not simply cosmetic."

I agree - but you seem to think the very opposite. 'Middle-aged men' as you put it could do very well if they were men with a meaningful agenda. What will the substantive changes encompass? This just reads like more spin.

"We must change, and make sure the public see that change – if we plan to still be around to defend the Union for another 102 years."

Bloody hell you're planning on living a long time aren't you? 102 years? I've heard those Ulster Frys take years off you! But joking aside, I don't see the Union being around in half that time - certainly not in its present form anyway.

Overall I feel very disappointed that the Young Unionists can't come out and give an honest opinion on the disaster that was March 7th. All they are offering is spin and bluster. "We need to make changes" they say without even touching on what this will involve. My gut feeling is that they are utterly clueless on their next step which is why they are coming out with these boring cliches.

I would genuinely like to see the UUP sort themselves out as I feel they are much more reasonable than their DUP rivals but I'm sad to say it looks like the UUP are finished.

My honest take on matters is this - the political machinery of NI runs primarily on a tribal basis that preys upon the fears of "the other side". Secondary to the tribal aspect of this machine is the "bread and butter" issues which involves the various policies and whatnot. The DUP and Sinn Féin have learned how to master and operate this machine better than anybody else. The SDLP have good policies but are unable to operate the tribal aspect of the machine which leaves them weak. The UUP, alas, are not only poor at successfully operating the tribal aspect of the machine, but are also poor when it comes to offering good policies - unlike the SDLP. This is why they are, in my eyes, the party in the most difficulty in NI. Bereft of decent leadership and an adequate vision for the unionist electorate, they are doomed to remain on the sidelines to watch the DUP juggernaut roll on.

This has been evident in recent elections where they have found themselves trying to imitate the hardline approach of the DUP whilst trying to position themselves as a voice of reason - and ultimately doing neither.

Thea and the rest of the Young Unionists need to realise that the reason they were stuffed at the election was because they have no VISION. They have nothing to offer the unionist electorate. In many ways I think the DUP are absolutely vile but one thing they undeniably have is a vision. In my view it is a vision that is warped, but it's a vision nonetheless.

History shows us what happens next. The Ulster Unionists' historic rivals in Ireland were the Home Rulers. The Home Rulers found themselves annihilated by de Valera's Sinn Féin in the 1918 General Election. To the Irish people they had become out of date, past it, and a weaker version of Sinn Féin. For example during the conscription crisis they ended up adopting the policy of their rivals and chose to abstain from Westminister. Their time was up.

The UUP have found themselves in a similar position. Forced to adopt the DUP attitude and stance of dealing with Republicans, in the eyes of the electorate they no longer have a worthwhile vision.

It's funny because Irish republicans brought about the demise of the Home Rulers and it looks like Republicans may have now brought about the demise of the UUP too. Trimble fell on his sword already, Empey may soon follow, but it seems to me that the party overall will be the ultimate casualty.

Without a vision, without confidence, without trust and without a clue. Panic, Ulster Unionists! Panic big time!

Your Dad's Army of politicians look set to go the way of the RIC. The bulk of the blame lies solely with yourselves.

I'd like to express my delight at the Irish rugby team notching up their third Triple Crown in four years, after narrowly defeating Scotland 19-18 at Murrayfield.

It certainly wasn't pretty to watch nor was it easy on the nerves but we got the right result in the end to go along with our victories over the Welsh and English.

Well done to the Scottish team too for putting in a very gutsy performance. My heart sank when they went into the lead and I feared we might bottle it but thankfully we were able to hang on.

Great to see so many Irish fans at Murrayfield as well. They gave fantastic support.

It's truly a pleasure to witness this Irish team perform. They're arguably the greatest set of players we've ever had.



Well done boys - You answered Ireland's call


In the other match from the Six Nations championship Italy pulled off a shock result by beating Wales 23-20. I'm sure that will have made the Italians very happy.

Of course the Six Nations championship is not over yet and Ireland could still win the tournament provided the English do us a favour by beating France on Sunday.

I'll be cheering them on and hopefully they'll give Anglo-Irish relations yet another boost!

Come on England!

Update: Well the English did the job and defeated the French 26-18. That means Ireland's championship hopes remain very much alive. Good job England!

One of their star players was one Shane Geraghty. With a name like that he should be playing for us! Apparently his parents are Irish. Too bad we don't have him as he looked super but I'm confident we can go on and defeat the Italians convincingly next week. Come on you boys in green...

"You really have to feel for the SDLP, the UUP and the other parties. The March 7th election is a farce designed to consolidate the power of Sinn Féin and the DUP."

- United Irelander, January 30th

I felt it would be best to wait until the election results were complete before weighing in with my two cents on the whole thing.

I made my feelings clear on this election back in January and my feelings on it haven't changed. The point of this election was to strengthen the big dogs and stroke their egos. In that sense it has been a resounding success.

It was made quite clear to all and sundry that the restoration of the devolved assembly - which is what the majority of people in NI are after - hinged upon the DUP and Sinn Féin doing a deal.

We were left with an almost incredulous state of affairs which saw the UUP and the SDLP effectively getting frozen out as the two governments danced to the tune of Sinn Féin and, especially, the DUP.

It was akin to the two governments telling the people, "These are the guys who can make it happen, all you have to do is give them the rubber-stamp".

And that the electorate certainly did. There is no point fixating on the way this election was conducted. It's democracy and the people have spoken so the result must be respected. What needs to happen now is the DUP have to do what the rest of the North's parties want them to do - get on with it.

The problem facing the rest of us is that we're relying on Ian Paisley to abandon the rejectionist unionism that he has spearheaded for so long, to instead embrace co-operation.




Now the DUP must deliver



For so long we were told that principles were what was stopping the DUP sharing power with Republicans. That is no longer the case. This isn't about principles any more it's about personalities.

Can Dr No become Dr Yes? Can 'Big Ian' become 'Brave Ian'? The jury's still out for me. I know there are a lot of people within his party who oppose the path the DUP find itself on and who want to steer the party in a different direction.

In my opinion Paisley has to remain on his present course. The unionist electorate could have flocked to rejectionist unionists like Bob McCartney but they didn't. McCartney failed to win a seat. Rejectionist unionism took a beating in this election.

Who knows, maybe that's why Paisley requested the election in the first place. Maybe the man really does want to move on but he needed to know in his heart that unionists would stick with him if he remained on his current course. I don't know. What worries me however is that from listening to Paisley in recent days, he doesn't come across like a man who knows what he actually wants. He doesn't appear like a man with a plan.

If Paisley is found wanting once more then the two governments have to stand firm. They do have a plan - Plan B aka "joint stewardship".

If Paisley bottles it at the last moment then the Assembly should be closed down and the North/South agenda must be initiated by Dublin and London respectively.

I don't think it is acceptable to allow this one personality to destroy the hopes of future generations. Ian Paisley once embodied the worst of unionism - negativity and backwardness. If Paisley, as the representative of the largest unionist party, proves unwilling to shepherd unionism into a better, more evolved position, then the two governments must do it without him.

What are your thoughts on the election?

Well the total 108 seats have now officially been determined.

The DUP and Sinn Féin have come out of this election in really strong positions having taken more than half the first preference votes between them.

Earlier today, prime ministers Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair said in a joint statement that voters in the North had issued a clear message they want devolved government back:

"Restoration of the devolved institutions represents an opportunity of historic proportions."

How things stand:

DUP - 36 seats (+6)

Sinn Féin - 28 seats (+4)

UUP - 18 seats (-9)

SDLP - 16 seats (-2)

Alliance - 7 seats (+1)

PUP - 1 seat (-)

GP - 1 seat (+1)

Oth - 2 seats

108 out of 108 seats decided

Staying with my coverage of the North's election, I was very pleased indeed to see the Alliance Party's Anna Lo, pictured left, get elected to the North's Assembly.

Ms Lo, originally from Hong Kong, is the chief executive of the Chinese Welfare Association and has taken a seat in South Belfast. She becomes the first person from an ethnic minority background to take a seat in the Assembly.

It is a victory for a woman who has suffered racial attacks and who has even been kicked on the street.

I saw her on the BBC's Spotlight programme a few weeks back and found her a breath of fresh air compared to the childish bickering we have come to expect from the other parties. There is another reason however why I take great delight in seeing her get elected which I will touch on below.

The big news in Britain on Thursday was not the fallout of the North's election results, but rather the fallout stemming from racist comments made by a Tory MP which have cost him his job.

Shadow homeland security spokesman Patrick Mercer said he had met "a lot" of "idle and useless" ethnic minority soldiers in the British Army who used racism as a "cover".

The former officer also told The Times that being called a "black bastard" was a normal part of Army life.

Here are excerpts from the dishonourable gentleman commenting on black men in the Army:

"They prospered inside my regiment, but if you'd said to them 'Have you ever been called a nigger,' they would have said 'Yes.'

"But equally, a chap with red hair, for example, would also get a hard time - a far harder time than a black man, in fact.

"But that's the way it is in the Army. If someone is slow on the assault course, you'd get people shouting: 'Come on you fat bastard, come on you ginger bastard, come on you black bastard.'"

"I came across a lot of ethnic minority soldiers who were idle and useless, but who used racism as cover for their misdemeanours.

"I remember one guy from St Ann's (Nottingham) who was constantly absent and who had a lot of girlfriends.

"When he came back one day I asked him why, and he would say: 'I was racially abused.' And we'd say: 'No you weren't, you were off with your girlfriends again.'"

"That's the way it is"? Is this guy for real? This Mercer fellow treats racism the way most people treat drizzle.



A disgrace



I can't say I'm really surprised to hear a Tory minister say this sort of thing. After all, this is a party that embodies the very worst of Britishness. They are stuck firmly in the past. Dinosaurs for the most part.

Before anyone brings up the fact that Tony Blair clone David Cameron has condemned Mercer's remarks - which admittedly he has and fair play to him for that - sadly many close to Mr Mercer have leapt to his defence.

Newark Conservative Association chairwoman Sheelagh Hamilton claimed his comments were taken out of context while Richard Alexander, a cabinet member of the Tory-run Newark and Sherwood District Council, said:

"We all say things in the heat of the moment that do not read too well in print, but I understand where he's coming from."

On second thought calling these people dinosaurs is being generous. 'Fossils' might be a more accurate description.

Meanwhile Leroy Hutchinson, a black former corporal who served with Mr Mercer for 12 years, remarked:

"In the forces... name-calling - whether you be black, white, ginger, red, brown - it is part of the establishment."

WHICH IS A BAD THING. Sadly these guys just cannot grasp that. One shouldn't dismiss racism on the grounds that it's part of the culture.

"Ah well, it's part of the establishment what are you gonna do?"

You denounce it, that's what you do. You don't do as Mr Mercer did and try to justify it. The point of politicians is to try and help improve society.

But to get back to my earlier point, those with a good grasp of Irish history should be aware of the significance of these events, as well as the election of Ms Lo.

For it has traditionally been a Tory policy to use, or should I say exploit, the community divisions that have existed in this island. Here in Ireland, especially the north of Ireland, the Tories took great satisfaction in pitting unionists versus nationalists, Protestants versus Catholics, as a means of consolidating their own power in the UK as a whole. They never really gave a damn about the people of this island but they did not hesitate to capitalise on the tensions that existed here. In the immortal words of Randolph Churchill:

"The Orange card is the card to play."

So then I must admit, without a shred of shame, to taking great satisfaction at seeing that same party now become a victim of its own bigotry - while the people of the North cast off the shackles of sectarianism and demand something better, something more worthwhile.

The Tories delighted in utilising the bigotry that existed in this island to hold the Irish people in the North back, but now it is the Tories themselves who are being held back by their own bigoted beliefs in their own pathetic "Establishment".

The people of the North are now waving goodbye to bigotry, and it seems the Tories are now having to wave goodbye to bigots like Patrick Mercer.

The orange card was once the card to play for the Tories - now they are having to play the red card.

It seems we're not the only ones moving on.

The first results are coming through in the North and while it seems voting patterns will remain steady for the DUP and Sinn Féin, the UUP look to be in some difficulty. The SDLP don't appear to be in as bad a position but they look set to finish behind Sinn Féin once more as expected.

The Alliance Party's Naomi Long has been elected so one wonders if that party's fortunes will pick up following its miserable results in recent years.

Update: As things stand at Friday, 12:30 am:

DUP - 21 seats

Sinn Féin - 20 seats

SDLP - 6 seats

Alliance - 3 seats

UUP - 5 seats

108 seats are available

Thursday thoughts:

I've watched Ian Paisley being interviewed by the BBC's Noel Thompson and the guy went into complete meltdown. He said Sinn Féin had been roundly defeated even though they're on course to do very well. He also said Noel Thompson was a neighbour of his and had always been ungrateful! Just brilliant stuff altogether. Hopefully it will pop up on Youtube soon. Why people vote for this loon is totally beyond me.

Update 2:

Independent candidate Gerry McGeough, interviewed on United Irelander a week ago, has been arrested over "serious terrorist crime".

I am shocked to hear that.

It is understood he is being questioned about the attempted murder of a UDR member in 1981.

At the vote count in Fermanagh-South Tyrone he polled 814 votes giving him 1.8%

Friday morning thoughts:

Well as I write this 52 of the 108 seats have been decided but it's already clear to see that Sinn Féin and the DUP have emerged with extremely strong mandates.

I think it's fair to conclude that the people of the North want the politicians to now get on with power-sharing and for key decisions to once again be made by locally elected ministers.

Come on Dr Paisley. No more excuses.

Well it's election day today in the north of the country. Between 7am and 10pm is the time to make your voices heard.

It's not my place to tell people which way to vote but I would however like to urge anyone reading from the North to at least use their vote as democracy is not just a right, it's a privilege.

With that being said if you are eager to get the institutions up and running in the North might I suggest that you not be DUPed and vote for the wrong party.

It will be interesting to see how things develop...

Update: Voting is now complete and the votes will be counted from 0900 GMT onwards.

I enjoyed last night's edition of Questions and Answers on RTE. Usually I find myself bored with the show what with the constant talk of issues like health, education, crime, finance etc. but since last night's show was an election special for the North, I knew there was no chance issues like that would be discussed.

It was the usual fare really. "Why are you doing this?" versus "Well, why aren't you doing that?"

I thought the UUP's Danny Kennedy (pictured left) did well and he got in some funny shots at the DUP's Arlene Foster which are worth checking out. You can watch the show online here.

I like Danny Kennedy despite the fact he never got back to me with questions I put to him for an interview, even though he said he would. Though to be fair to him there's a hell of a lot of unionists in the same boat. Including believe it or not - Arlene Foster! Ah tis a funny world. Actually come to think of it, the Alliance party's David Ford agreed to get back to me too (which he didn't) and, yes, he was on the panel last night too. In fact, ignoring my views is probably the one thing these guys all have in common! Ah I crack myself up sometimes I really do. But I digress...

What I found most amusing from the show was the following comment from Danny Kennedy. Now this probably isn't word for word what Kennedy said since I'm basing it on memory but those who watched the show know this was the basic gist of it. Responding to a barb by Martin McGuinness towards Mark Durkan that the SDLP are a "partitionist party" Kennedy said...

"I'll help out Mark on this one because both the SDLP and Sinn Féin are partitionist parties as they have both signed up to the institutions. The Union is safe."

I was a bit surprised that his comment wasn't met with mocking laughter because that's the response I gave it. Let's share some simple facts shall we with Mr Kennedy, and for that matter any unionist who is under the misguided illusion that the "Union is safe"...

Fact #1 - Several recent polls have indicated that more and more Scottish people are eager to leave the Union. Furthermore, similar polls conducted in England have shown a significant portion of the English people would be quite happy to see them leave.

Fact #2 - We have gone from a situation where unionists would oppose the idea of a role from the south in the North's affairs, to a point where this role has been completely accepted and the necessity for an all-island dimension acknowledged.

Fact #3 - The economic turnaround in the south of Ireland has been so dramatic that we have gone from a point where unionists would scoff at the south's coffers, to a point where the North is reliant on the Dublin government to help its economic situation. Which, as it happens, it is doing with its "National Development Plan" that will see some €184 billion euro being pumped into NI.

Fact #4 - Ian Paisley and the bulk of the hardline unionists have gone from a point where they would shout "never, never, never" to the idea of sharing power with Republicans, to the point where they are on the brink of doing precisely that.

Fact #5 - The British government have become so exasperated at the intransigence of unionism and the continued waste of British taxpayer's money, that they are eager to bring an Irish dimension into future dealings with the North under a "joint stewardship" proposal.

Do all these things bode well for the Union? I think it's time unionists opened their eyes and viewed the evolution that's occuring all around them.

Those days are long over



In the very near future, if polls are to be believed, we will see a situation where the Union will have decreased dramatically in size. Scotland could very well decide to go it alone leading the people of England to contemplate doing likewise.

Where would that leave the people of NI? What are they to do if they are to be abandoned by the Scots and the English? Obviously the best option would be to come into the fold, to come into the warm bosom of their fellow Irishmen and Irishwomen, who have always had the people of the North's best interests at heart.

To say "the Union is safe" is both silly and stupid in equal measure. If the Union were really safe then there would be no need for unionist parties whatsoever. Unionist parties only sprung up in Ireland when the constitutional question reared its head. It is abundantly clear, even now in 2007, that the constitutional question in Irish politics remains unresolved. It is the unionist parties, ironically enough, who "haven't gone away you know".

There is only one way the constitutional question can be resolved. There is only one way the unionist and nationalist parties will fade away - the reunification of this country. When that day comes we can move forward as one people, one nation, together.

It is for these reasons the Union will remain far from safe. On the contrary the Union will remain on shaky ground.

I suddenly remember why I dislike politicians so much. File this one under M for moronic.

It seems Welsh First Minister Rhodri Morgan is under fire for joking about DUP leader Ian Paisley in front of NI Secretary Peter Hain and British PM Tony Blair.

Mr Morgan remarked that Dr Paisley converted to Catholicism before dying because he thought it better to lose a Catholic than a Protestant.

A harmless little joke for sure, but alas now we must enter bizarro world. Ready? Here goes...

The DUP have reacted to this by saying Dr Paisley would not be commenting about the "poor taste" joke.

Said a DUP spokesman:

"It's not a remark one would expect from a first minister from any part of the United Kingdom. "We are involved in more serious activity and we would trust that the Welsh first minister would be more careful with his language and not been so offensive."

The Conservatives have described the joke as "tasteless" and "hurtful" and called on Mr Morgan to apologise. Seriously.

A spokesman for Peter Hain at the Northern Ireland Office said:

"Peter thought that the joke was inappropriate and in poor taste and he knows that Rhodri Morgan now recognises that."

Has the whole world gone completely insane? Who makes up this shite? Let's take a stroll down memory lane shall we, back to 2003, and remind ourselves what Dr Paisley said about the current Finance Minister of the Republic of Ireland Brian Cowen:

"Someone told me the other day that the reason his lips were so thick was that when his mother was bringing him up he was a very disobedient young boy, so she used to put glue on his lips to keep him there and that has been recorded in his physical make-up.

"Away with him indeed and if he wants to use his lips to better effect, he should do it somewhere else, and go to people of like physical looks."

The comedy stylings of Dr Paisley, folks. And you know what's even more funny? There was not a hint of an apology from anyone in the DUP for those remarks.

Which joke do you think was nastier? Morgan's or Paisley's? It's bloody obvious.



Hypocrisy! Yeah!


I note Ian Paisley Junior has brushed off the reaction to the joke by saying politicians should be "born with an extra chromosome". One wonders then why a DUP spokesman came out and criticised Mr Morgan? DUP members are not missing chromosomes, surely?

Considering how this has gotten so many people's knickers in a twist, I feel the only proper way for United Irelander to deal with this sensitive topic is to publish several jokes about Ian "I can't take a joke even though I am one" Paisley. It's only right! So without further ado:

- Ian Paisley died and went to heaven, when he got there he knocked long and hard on the door. St.Peter came out and asked his name. "YOU DON'T KNOW MY NAME ? I'M THE REV. IAN PAISLEY!" he roared at St. Peter. St. Peter looked at his list and could not find his name. 'Sorry,' said St.Peter you're not on the list. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M NOT ON THE LIST??? DO YOU NOT KNOW WHO I AM???" 'As a matter of fact I do,' said St. Peter, but your name is not on the list. "THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH I'M A VERY IMPORTANT PERSON, MY NAME SHOULD BE ON THE LIST!" St. Peter trys to explain that its not easy to get into heaven, and that you have to be a Catholic and when Paisley hears this he starts to complain, so St. Peter says that had he been good to Catholics then he might have some chance. "WELL," roared Paisley, "I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I HAVE BEEN VERY GOOD TO CATHOLICS, WHY ONLY 2 WEEKS AGO I MET A YOUNG GIRL WHO HAD MADE HER COMMUNION AND I GAVE HER A POUND AND 2 WEEKS BEFORE I MET A YOUNG BOY WHO HAD MADE HIS COMMUNION AND I HAVE HIM A POUND, NOW WHAT DO YOU SAY NOW MR. ST. PETER ???" St. Peter took a few notes on what he said, he told Paisley to wait, that he would have to go and talk to GOD and get some advice. About ten minutes later St. Peter come out and said to Paisley. 'HEARS YOUR TWO POUNDS BACK, NOW FUCK OFF.'

- Ian Paisley gets accidentally cyrogenically frozen for 50 years. When he wakes up, the first question from his big, angry mouth is "What the hell happened?" His doctor comes over and says "Good afternoon Mr. Paisley. You have been cryogenically frozen for 50 years, and I have good news and bad news for you." To which Ian replies "Whats the bad news?" "Well," says the doc, "Ireland invaded England 25 years ago, Gerry Adams is Prime Minister, and Mary McAleese has been crowned Queen." "Mother o'God!" cries Ian. "Whats the GOOD news?" "Rangers beat Celtic last night" says his doc, with a grin. Ian sits back and smiles. "What was the score?" His doc turns to him and says "Three goals and four points to one goal and one point".

- What's the difference between Ian Paisley and a radiator? You can put a sash on a radiator and it won't march all summer.

- Ian Paisley's wife went to the dentist the other week. The dentist asked her 'Well, how's the mouth?' "Still in bed"

If anyone's got any more Paisley jokes feel free to share them.

I was quite surprised at the anger and hostility on Slugger O'Toole directed towards resident DUP shit-stirrer Gregory Campbell over his latest idea.

As UTV report, Mr Campbell believes that red tape is holding back thousands of Irish people born in the southern half of Ireland, now residing in the north of Ireland, from taking up British citizenship. Hmmm...red tape eh?

Only 270 people out of an estimated population of 40,000 applied for British naturalised status, prompting Campbell to remark:

"There are thousands who want this and would be entitled to it.

"They regard themselves as British culturally, but just happen to have been born on the wrong side of the border."

He adds:

"The fact that the Home Office has confirmed only 270 applied for naturalised status last year proves the point. It's all the more reason to change the legislation to become British citizens.

"If nationalists are entitled to Irish status then the same should be the case the other way round.

"This is a parity issue."

Mr Campbell suspects the low number is based on bureaucracy - rather than a lack of interest which is my guess - but what I found most surprising were the comments from Slugger contributors regarding the matter. Comments such as these:

Henry94 -

"Does everyone in Britain have the right to be Irish? Or French?"

People have the right to be whatever they want. If there was a situation where it made sense to allow people in Britain have French citizenship I don't see the problem.

"There is an issue in the north not in the rest of the country."

I disagree, and I'll touch on why below.

Harry (last name might be Hill I don't know...) -

"I’m getting really sick and tired of this shit. We need to throw the british off this island so that we are no longer subject to these colonial buffoons and their self-regarding utterly disingenuous sophistry."

Dear oh dear. Colonial buffoons? Some people need to take their heads out of the past. There are people on this island who regard themselves as British. Far from "throwing them off" (what a dumb thing to say) we who desire a united Irish state should instead seek ways of acknowledging and respecting this identity to make future integration a smooth process.

I was impressed by this comment from Observer who said:

"This is something that has been going on for too long.

"People living in the Republic should be entitled to British citzenship. This should have been recognised back in 1998. Due credit to Campbell for continuing to raise this issue.

"However I see difficulties ahead. The Irish government will refuse to accept this, why? Because they refuse to accept dual nationality themselves and indeed the British identity as being Irish. In short it messes up their definition of ‘Irishness’; which is a regional identity within the British Isles. One can be Irish, yet hold a British passport. Thats the way it should be!"

I take issue with his claim that Irishness is a "regional identity within the British Isles" as it is clearly not, but to get back to the issue - I do believe it makes a lot of sense to allow people in the Republic be able to apply for British passports.

Gregory Campbell is interested in making it easier for people born in the Republic, now living in NI, to obtain British citizenship but it would be a wise move in my opinion for the two governments to go further and make it possible for all people on the island to obtain British passports if that is their wish.

Judging by current statistics, I doubt many in the Republic would avail of this opportunity but it would be an impressive gesture on the part of the south.

There's a more prudent reason for this measure though - when, not if, our island is reunified, we will need to introduce a scheme such as this one to cater for those who feel British to continue to do so.

Why not pave the way for this right now? There's no good reason not to. There is no need for anyone to feel threatened by such a measure. This will help advance the case for a United Ireland.

Gregory Campbell should be commended for raising this matter. I've no doubt whatsoever that Campbell brought this up to cause trouble, but in actual fact a lot of good can come of this.

Let's push for such measures right now - I can't see how the DUP and Gregory Campbell can argue against it.