McAleese's Twelfth "Garden party"

[Clanrickard]

Am I the only one who thinks our President is wrong to acknowledge the 12th. The 12th is a day where Orange men aim to lord it over Catholics in NI. It is a day that reeks of sectarianism and bigotry. Bringing people together is all well and good but in the welter of feel good touchy feely healing the hurt rhetoric the Orange Order and it's inherent ugliness and hatred is being glossed over. Remember hard earned tax payers' Euro is funding this nonsense. Particularly galling is that it is on National Commemoration Day.

[jackryan]

The quicker this post is abolished the better! Garden party's God talk about aping Royalty! At least a royal family provides scandal and gossip! And God only knows what wood be hosted if crowley Mcguinness or norris got in! Or anybody else for that matter!

[CookieMonster]

I've no issue with it, it is part of our history after all.

[factual]

There is something for her approach . After all she is reaching out to people in the six counties in her own way - she is actually from there and knows how to handle this.

Looking at it another way it perhaps is a good deed interms of the six counties internal dynamic. It makes loyalists feel more included and shows to six county nationalists that we in Dublin do not automatically oppose six county unionist traditions.

Thinking outside the box here, but in this sense there even is a case to be made for us in Dublin making the 12th July a national holiday. This would be good in terms of outreach to Unionists. It would create an all Ireland public holiday while at the same time reaching out to unionists--good politics. As Cookie Monster states, its part of our history, and its at a good time of year for a holiday.

[cactusflower]

Am I the only one who thinks our President is wrong to acknowledge the 12th. The 12th is a day where Orange men aim to lord it over Catholics in NI. It is a day that reeks of sectarianism and bigotry. Bringing people together is all well and good but in the welter of feel good touchy feely healing the hurt rhetoric the Orange Order and it's inherent ugliness and hatred is being glossed over. Remember hard earned tax payers' Euro is funding this nonsense. Particularly galling is that it is on National Commemoration Day.

Its a pleasure to agree with you, just for the once, Clanrickard. She's also loaded the Council of State with a pile of f'ers:

Online Encyclopedia and Dictionary - Mary McAleese

[Derrida]

Am I the only one who thinks our President is wrong to acknowledge the 12th. The 12th is a day where Orange men aim to lord it over Catholics in NI. It is a day that reeks of sectarianism and bigotry. Bringing people together is all well and good but in the welter of feel good touchy feely healing the hurt rhetoric the Orange Order and it's inherent ugliness and hatred is being glossed over. Remember hard earned tax payers' Euro is funding this nonsense. Particularly galling is that it is on National Commemoration Day.

I didn't see it today, but last year I watched some of the 12th celebrations on the BBC and they were taking a happy-festival-chirpy-tourist-attraction angle to it. It was quite funny actually. The 12th should be ignored, I'd say.

[Clanrickard]

Its a pleasure to agree with you, just for the once, Clanrickard.

*faints*

[mr_anderson]

Im sure the garden party will be 'glorious' !

[birthday]

When I was a lad there used to be 'demonstrations' on the twelfth.
Since when did they become 'celebrations'?
I also remember the exodus of catholics to the south around that time to avoid sectarianism, intimidation and worse. Hopefully those days are over.

[birthday]

One garden party short of a constitutional crisis?