Gerrys comments in Galbally

[centauro]

An invented "majority", who are in actual fact an 18% minority in the country. Your argument is a nonsense.

Now now, just because you may not agree doesn't make it nonsense.

Ireland is an island, not a country. Two different peoples live on this Island, each has a right to self determination. The unionists in the free six counties gave away their absolute right to self determination when they agreed to the GFA, you have no right to demand any more.

As an aside, do you think the Basque people should be allowed their own homeland? Do you think Spain should be partitioned to accomodate them?

[centauro]

You seem to be equating ALL Catholics with Nationalists in your sectarian head-count. Who knows what the situation may be in 2 to 3 decades ? We may have integrated schooling North and South where this educational apartheid nonsense is a thing of the past.

Good point. Many of the "safe" public sector jobs in the north are filled by Catholics...many of the "unsafe" private sector jobs are taken by Protestants. A lot of voters will look out for their own private interests rather than any grandiose national issues.

[Cael]

Pete - that is making a mountain out of a mole hill, whilst people may have some sympathy for the attacks and understand why they happened, very very few republicans feel that it is nothing but counter-productive.

So why are the Adamsite spending all their time these days trying to criminalise Irish Republicans? They are trawling about trying to get former IRA Volunteers to sign letters comdemning today's generation and filling their periodicals, such as the Andytout News, with fake letters calling for support for Adams.

[Cael]

What a great vote S,F,gets in the North, the electorate must be respected.

They get a good vote in Stormont elections, there is nothing surprising about that, as people will vote for the best of a bad lot that will actually be going there. A lot of people who know the Adamsites are a gang of opportunists still vote for them, just like people vote FF in the 26.

[Cael]

Good point. As a Sinn Féin member I do have severe reservations about the Stormont experiment. However I don't agree with violence. State or otherwise and therefore even the imperfect peace is better than what has gone on before. To be honest the growing wealth in ROI was much more of a persuader to unionists than anything any party had done up to know.

Sadly the economy in ROI is in bits due to mismanagement and cronyism and therefore this attraction is less valid. However the UK is also having a hard time and if Scotland eventually goes independent. I think 10 years of a tory government should do it. Then the northern unionists will be even more isolated from their "mainland". I do agree with the analogy of South Africa except the apartheid system didn't permit participation like the northern assembly. So while there are similarities there are differences.

Your clutching at straws, a chara. The old Nationalist party at least got a wild bird act through stormont - the DUP wont allow you anything.

[Risteard]

Ireland is an island, not a country.

Ireland is an island-nation, hence it is a country. This is not open to question. Even the Free Staters accept that Ireland is a country, whilst ludicrously also trying to suggest that the 26-Counties is a country. There are two artificial statelets within one natural country.

[Risteard]

As an aside, do you think the Basque people should be allowed their own homeland? Do you think Spain should be partitioned to accomodate them?

And yes, the Basque Country is entitled to freedom. This would not be partitioning Spain (or France - the fact you neglected to mention this shows just how unfamiliar you are with the Basque Country) as the Basque Country is not in Spain or France. Four provinces are under Spanish Occupation, and three provinces are under French Occupation.

There are posters over the Basque Country reading "Tourists remember, you are not in Spain nor in France. You are in the Basque Country."

Saoirse / Independentzia.

[IrishTom]

Now now, just because you may not agree doesn't make it nonsense.

Ireland is an island, not a country. Two different peoples live on this Island, each has a right to self determination. The unionists in the free six counties gave away their absolute right to self determination when they agreed to the GFA, you have no right to demand any more.

As an aside, do you think the Basque people should be allowed their own homeland? Do you think Spain should be partitioned to accomodate them?

you claim there two different peoples on the island of Ireland...The last i checked there was somewere in the region of 175 different nationalities calling Ireland home, so by your logic we should give all these different nationalities there own little independant state.......that is absolute stupidity

[jdaly]

you claim there two different peoples on the island of Ireland...The last i checked there was somewere in the region of 175 different nationalities calling Ireland home, so by your logic we should give all these different nationalities there own little independant state.......that is absolute stupidity

Exactly Tom and as well as that the 'two people' are not racuially different anyhow. Just look at the likes of the Shamkill Butchers, led by a man called Murphy and we are supposed to assume that he was racially different from the rest of the Murphys, non Irish in some way. Then the 'pure' Irish like the shinners have names like Maskey and Anderson while Unionist M.L.As have names like Danny O'Kennedy. We have political divisions, religious divisions and cultural division but this 2 different people theory is nonsense.

[centauro]

And yes, the Basque Country is entitled to freedom. This would not be partitioning Spain (or France - the fact you neglected to mention this shows just how unfamiliar you are with the Basque Country) as the Basque Country is not in Spain or France. Four provinces are under Spanish Occupation, and three provinces are under French Occupation.

There are posters over the Basque Country reading "Tourists remember, you are not in Spain nor in France. You are in the Basque Country."

Saoirse / Independentzia.

I'm perfectly familiar with the Basque country, and I'm glad to see you've done a quick wiki and brushed up yourself.

What you are proposing is indeed the partition of Spain, with the aim of providing a homeland for a minority which has a seperate cultural identity.