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Call for all Ireland team
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| Culzie | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-17, 11:23 PM | Message # 1 |
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| Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness have said they would like to see one football team represent the island of Ireland.
Mr Kenny said it is unwise to mix sport and politics, but as a football fan he would support having the same system as in rugby or boxing.
"I think they could certainly qualify for World Cups, we'd have a much stronger team. But then, I'm not in control of that," he said.
"When we do so much work... as we do in rugby, as we do in boxing, as our sports people in many spheres reach world-class performances and astride on the European stage, with achievements that are outstanding from my point of view personally, I'd be a big supporter of it."
Sinn Fein's Mr McGuinness, who is widely expected to meet the Queen as she marks her jubilee year, gave his backing to the idea during a meeting of senior north-south political figures in Dublin.
"I agree with the Taoiseach, and it's not a political point. I believe on the world stage, football-wise, we would be much more effective players if we were able to choose from an island of six million people," he said.
"I come from a part of the island where young men take decisions to play for the Republic, but also to play for NI, and it's terribly wrong for anybody to utter any word of criticism they make about their footballing careers. My attitude is if a team is playing in green, I will support them."
First Minister Peter Robinson declined to declare support for a single team: "I think everybody knows the direction I would want to travel, but let's not make political issues about sporting matters, let's just encourage local people who are involved in sport."
At present, football on the island is governed by two bodies - the Football Association of Ireland in the Republic and the Irish Football Association (IFA) in Northern Ireland.
Relations have been stretched in recent years over the number of young players from the north who declare for the Republic. The IFA has said it is upset after supporting and nurturing young talent, only for players to opt into another jurisdiction when they become seniors.
Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport....5jWh5Ew
Ulster Protestants consider themselves to be a separate nation. This nation they call Ulster
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| Culzie | Date: Monday, 2012-06-18, 10:35 PM | Message # 2 |
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| FAI ‘will tackle offensive Republic fans’
Published on Wednesday 13 June 2012 08:22
THE Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has pledged to investigate the sectarian chanting of supporters attending Euro 2012 in Poland.
The move comes after video footage emerged showing a number of fans in the Republic’s colours singing “IRA” and “**** the Queen” on the streets of Krakow ahead of their team’s opening match in the tournament at the weekend.
When contacted by the News Letter, an FAI spokesman insisted the association “does not condone offensive chanting of any description”.
“We are very disappointed by the nature of the chanting highlighted in the YouTube clip,” he said. “Our fans enjoy an excellent reputation the world over and the actions of this small group do not reflect the attitudes or actions of the vast majority of our fans.
“This incident will be investigated and further actions may be taken as necessary.”
In the online clip, up to 30 supporters can be clearly heard singing the additional words during a rendition of the Fields of Athenry.
Senior unionist politicians condemned the Krakow incident.
Welcoming the FAI response, DUP MP Gregory Campbell called on the football authority to punish those involved accordingly.
“If they can establish who the offenders were, and if they are frequent attenders at home international games, I would expect to see them to be issued with a banning order so they cannot attend future matches,” he said.
Mr Campbell said he does not think that sectarianism is “widespread” among Republic supporters – however, he said it appeared that it was “prevalent” among a small number of fans.
He added: “There are a hardcore of supporters who engage in such activity and the FAI needs to take action against them.”
Last night, the YouTube video – entitled “Irish Fans Going Mental” – had attracted almost 40,000 hits.
Many visitors expressed outrage at its content, with one user referring to the negative headlines generated by the News Letter’s original story.
He claimed the episode had exposed the fans involved as “sectarian bigoted rabble”.
He said: “Disgusting behaviour that thanks to your video the whole of Northern Ireland and the ROI knows about.”
Another user described the offenders as “undiluted bigots”.
However, some viewers openly expressed their support for the offensive lyrics used in the clip.
The controversy occurred after a minority of Northern Ireland fans were criticised after a similar video recording in Dublin last year.
Ulster Protestants consider themselves to be a separate nation. This nation they call Ulster
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| RSAUB | Date: Tuesday, 2012-06-19, 10:02 PM | Message # 3 |
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| "Unwise to mix politics and football"  You couldn't make these scumbags up! This statement coming from him just weeks after the Irish football team wearing black armbands to highlight so-called collusion in the Loughinisland attack and to put extra political pressure on the British Government to hold an independent inquiry.
It's always good when the leopards come out and say it how it is, it's a kick in the balls for all the fools who try and tell us that "they want nothing to do with us".
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| Culzie | Date: Wednesday, 2012-06-20, 3:31 PM | Message # 4 |
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| They are always waffling about 'moving on' I have never heared a more overworked phrase in my life. But,hold on, it seems to be only the Prods who are continually berated and told to 'move on' 'forget the past'. When these people drag up the past as they have done with the Loughinisland thing,oh then its OK. Its about time Prods wised up and stopped being appeasers/grovellers all the time. Have they no pride left at all.
Ulster Protestants consider themselves to be a separate nation. This nation they call Ulster
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| RSAUB | Date: Wednesday, 2012-06-20, 7:47 PM | Message # 5 |
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| Very true, our people have turned into an absolute disgrace, mean-while the enemies of Ulster are fighting on to destroy this Country.
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| Culzie | Date: Thursday, 2012-06-21, 7:51 PM | Message # 6 |
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| Just thinkin, what with the European Nations Cup in full swing it ocurred to me that the Czech Republic and Slovackia use to be one country and I wondered is their a similar push coming from one or the other of them to return to a Czechoslovackia team?
Of course they have two completely different names so it may not be the same as the cry coming from republicans for an all Irish team. Names again count.
Ulster Protestants consider themselves to be a separate nation. This nation they call Ulster
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| RSAUB | Date: Saturday, 2012-06-23, 4:52 PM | Message # 7 |
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Colonel general
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| Very true, and it all boils down to this bloody word 'Ireland'.
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| Culzie | Date: Monday, 2012-06-25, 5:53 PM | Message # 8 |
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| Yeah and I suppose England/Britain played their part in this by administering the island as one. The police were a good example of this. The RIC for the whole island and yet on the other island they had various regional police forces.
Ulster Protestants consider themselves to be a separate nation. This nation they call Ulster
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| RSAUB | Date: Saturday, 2012-06-30, 9:44 PM | Message # 9 |
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| Very true, but Ulstermen should have realised especially after the Home Rule crisis, the importance of carving out our own future for our people, and the best thing would have been simple things like changing the names of such organisations like the Irish Football Association to Ulster Football Association etc, but our people just can't grasp this thing called forward planning!
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| Culzie | Date: Monday, 2012-07-02, 4:25 PM | Message # 10 |
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| Sad to say,what you say is right. Just saw a piece in the Portadown Unionist Centenary booklet and it does appear by that piece that at least some people are aware and tuned in. He makes a very telling point when he points out 'are we to have grieved over our dead,nursed our injured for now to accept the identity which they had been trying to force on us'?
It would appear by the actions of some within the loyalist community the answer to that question is...yes.
Ulster Protestants consider themselves to be a separate nation. This nation they call Ulster
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