Sticks, Stones and Scumbags
The riots today, a 10 minutes walk from my apartment, were missed in their entirety by this blogger, who was sick in bed all day.
My opinions on a United Ireland are at best tepid. I’m perfectly happy with the way things are at the moment and like most Irish people, a United Ireland wouldn’t make all that much difference to me. Today’s riots just show how out of touch so-called Irish nationalists are with the rest of us. I know Sinn Fein will tell us they had absolutely nothing to do with today’s shameful behaviour, but all those involved in leaving O’Connell St like a war torn ghost town, probably have voted for Sinn Fein. And Sinn Fein will have to answer for that element of their party.
Irish bloggers are all over this one – Dossing Times providing excellent coverage.
Slugger has picked up loads of comments and Dick at BackStreet Drivers was there with his camera. Planet Potato injects some realism. Kevin at Disillusioned Lefty, a Northside boy, remained on the Southside. (Even worse, all their drunken running made me spill some of my coffee on my arm. The bastards.)
Check out – Free Stater (who has some videos up); Gpshewan; Metroblogging; Georgiasm (2,3,4); dpup; redmum.
The Nationalist bloggers all condemn the riots. Balrog (they left their barstools to free Ireland!), ElBlogador (Those who engaged in violence are not Republicans. Nor are they Nationalists. They are scum.) and 2; United Irelander (O'Connell Street, to me, epitomises Dublin and today's scenes insult Dubliners, and indeed Irish people, everywhere.)
Flickr has loads of photos – at these tags (Dublinriots, loveulster) and these users (johnnew; phibsboro; O6scura; dickobrien)
Sicilian Notes attempts to find meaning in it all.
More =
Slugger on RTE reporter Charlie Bird getting a beating for being an “Orange Bastard” (huh?)
Richard Delevan raises the point about the lack of RTE coverage all afternoon – while Newstalk suspended sports coverage, RTE kept going – he asks the question If RTE 1 had gone away from sport for the afternoon, might some people have turned their cars around and stayed home today? Didn't RTE have a responsibility to fulfill its remit here? Wasn't the most serious riot in the capital in a generation newsworthy enough?
Piaras Kelly on the PR implications - The events seem to portray us as a nation that cannot forget its past, whereas in actual fact the average Irishman doesn’t even think twice about the North. Armchair republicans that were determined to cause trouble on the day have shamed the nation.
United Irelander on how 3 of those up in court this evening are not Irish – who are they so?Richard Delevan has a blow by blow account of what he saw of the riots and the "stock clearance".
Also =
Ann, an American in Dublin, provides her eyewitness report and a few pictures.
Via Disillusioned Lefty, a video of some thugs overturning a car on Nassau St and chanting “IRA”.
My opinions on a United Ireland are at best tepid. I’m perfectly happy with the way things are at the moment and like most Irish people, a United Ireland wouldn’t make all that much difference to me. Today’s riots just show how out of touch so-called Irish nationalists are with the rest of us. I know Sinn Fein will tell us they had absolutely nothing to do with today’s shameful behaviour, but all those involved in leaving O’Connell St like a war torn ghost town, probably have voted for Sinn Fein. And Sinn Fein will have to answer for that element of their party.
Irish bloggers are all over this one – Dossing Times providing excellent coverage.
Slugger has picked up loads of comments and Dick at BackStreet Drivers was there with his camera. Planet Potato injects some realism. Kevin at Disillusioned Lefty, a Northside boy, remained on the Southside. (Even worse, all their drunken running made me spill some of my coffee on my arm. The bastards.)
Check out – Free Stater (who has some videos up); Gpshewan; Metroblogging; Georgiasm (2,3,4); dpup; redmum.
The Nationalist bloggers all condemn the riots. Balrog (they left their barstools to free Ireland!), ElBlogador (Those who engaged in violence are not Republicans. Nor are they Nationalists. They are scum.) and 2; United Irelander (O'Connell Street, to me, epitomises Dublin and today's scenes insult Dubliners, and indeed Irish people, everywhere.)
Flickr has loads of photos – at these tags (Dublinriots, loveulster) and these users (johnnew; phibsboro; O6scura; dickobrien)
Sicilian Notes attempts to find meaning in it all.
More =
Slugger on RTE reporter Charlie Bird getting a beating for being an “Orange Bastard” (huh?)
Richard Delevan raises the point about the lack of RTE coverage all afternoon – while Newstalk suspended sports coverage, RTE kept going – he asks the question If RTE 1 had gone away from sport for the afternoon, might some people have turned their cars around and stayed home today? Didn't RTE have a responsibility to fulfill its remit here? Wasn't the most serious riot in the capital in a generation newsworthy enough?
Piaras Kelly on the PR implications - The events seem to portray us as a nation that cannot forget its past, whereas in actual fact the average Irishman doesn’t even think twice about the North. Armchair republicans that were determined to cause trouble on the day have shamed the nation.
United Irelander on how 3 of those up in court this evening are not Irish – who are they so?Richard Delevan has a blow by blow account of what he saw of the riots and the "stock clearance".
Also =
Ann, an American in Dublin, provides her eyewitness report and a few pictures.
Via Disillusioned Lefty, a video of some thugs overturning a car on Nassau St and chanting “IRA”.
Labels: Politics - Ireland
posted by Auds | 18:04
11 Comments:
You mention Sinn Féin involvement. Some of the people watching the car on Nassau St. being toppled - and subsquently set alight - had banners. I'm curious to know where these scumbag drunks got these banners.
Imagine that! SF banners?
What's the world coming to when SF supporters riot?
The 2nd comment on the indymedia story is telling - http://www.indymedia.ie/article/74504 -
todays action was a joint effort: republicans republican socialistsd, anarchists and even labour party members participated.
no orange feet on o'connell street!
I missed the whole thing cos I was at I, Keano. Oh well. I'm sure I'll be able to read about it for the next ages. And maybe there'll be a Commission of Blame. It's all terribly exciting. And kind of depressing. The mother said it reminded her of a riot she escaped in Ballyshannon in the seventies. Bad old times here again?
"Bad old times here again?"
I don't know NM - I sincerely hope not....to be honest it looks unlikely. Today was a victory for the undemocratic criminal element that the Republican movement have attracted for generations.
This generation, however, has no interest in such violence, becuase we really couldn't care less about uniting Ireland.
And also becuase we believe it is wrong.
"This generation, however, has no interest in such violence, becuase we really couldn't care less about uniting Ireland."
I don't think that's fair. You're letting these scumbags put Irish nationalism in a bad light.
Most of those involved probably are of the opinion that unionists should 'f*ck off back to Britain' which is not how genuine constitutional Irish nationalists feel at all. They are totally out of touch with the political situation and I wager most have little to no serious interest in politics.
The reality is the thugs on Saturday are no better than the loyalist thugs who have rioted in the North.
The important thing is that we condemn all of them.
"The important thing is that we condemn all of them."
Agreed.
My point is that I don't think the bad old times are in danger of coming back here, certainly in the Republic, becuase we are all weary of the violence that talk of a united Ireland brings.
I appreciate your position, UI, but you must admit that you are in the minority among those who actively wish for a united Ireland.
Auds
"My point is that I don't think the bad old times are in danger of coming back here, certainly in the Republic, becuase we are all weary of the violence that talk of a united Ireland brings."
I agree with you on that.
"I appreciate your position, UI, but you must admit that you are in the minority among those who actively wish for a united Ireland"
I don't understand your point. Most Irish people still want a United Ireland. There is no poll available, conducted in the Republic, which shows a majority opposed to a United Ireland.
All the main parties claim to want it and our constitution states that it is an aspiration to see a United Ireland.
The actions of a few hundred scumbags won't alter the will of the majority of the millions in this state.
I thought the constitutional claim was given up as part of the peace process?
Ann, the constition was amended so that a United Ireland changed from being an "imperative" to an "aspiration".
Southern governments had always maintained that the old wording amounted to no more than an aspiration, but Unionists always insisted that it felt to them like a threat. The situation was clarified some years before the Good Friday Agreement when unionist political leaders (was it Ken Maginnis?) brought a case to the Supreme Court in Dublin which found that, yes, the Irish government was constitutionally obliged to pursue a united Ireland.
The old wording referred to the "re-integration" of the national territory. The new wording is much friendlier:
"It is the firm will of the Irish Nation, in harmony and friendship, to unite all the people who share the territory of the island of Ireland, in all the diversity of their identities and traditions, recognising that a united Ireland shall be brought about only by peaceful means with the consent of a majority of the people, democratically expressed, in both jurisdictions in the island.
Well done to bloggers on yesterday's coverage. Appalling scenes.
Great bblog post
Post a Comment
<< Home