Back to The Troubles?

[Starman]

Of my 16 great-great grandparents, 14 came over from Ireland between 1840 and 1865.
Of those 14, 12 came from the provinces of Connaught (the NW corner of the Republic), and Ulster, ie Northern Ireland. Of course, they all got out of there well before 1916.
As far as I know, there was never any great sympathy for the IRA among my grandparents, but they definitely agreed that their own parents had wished the British would get the hell out.

 

[TrooperBari]

Busting up the Good Friday accords was a not entirely unforeseen aftereffect of Brexit.

 

[Huggy]

That's historically been a serious problem there: constant funding from Irish-Americans who have somehow fetishized the violence and insist on funding it. They love the bombings as long as they're happening on another continent.

It was the same thing here in Toronto from ex-pats or Irish Canadians who felt the same way. Irish pubs across the city collected money to send to the old country. My old man, a Scotsman with little use for the Irish - and I am sure it was mutual - knew a guy who worked at one of the breweries here and it was full of ex pats or those who wish they were and they collected loads of money to send over there.

 

[britwrit]

Busting up the Good Friday accords was a not entirely unforeseen aftereffect of Brexit.

And not entirely unconnected with the right wing screech machine's pom pom shaking for secession in the USA.

The Good Friday Agreement is a good noble document. But the EU provided the safety valve, as well as help in pouring billions into Northern Ireland.

It's a weird situation. Many of the younger British people I know don't even realize that Northern Ireland is legally part of the United Kingdom... the same as England, Scotland and Wales.

 

[britwrit]

Saying one thing and then doing another - as well lying and gaslighting - is SOP for Johnson.

At least Trump bothers to come up with really outrageous lies.

 

[wicked]

PCLL’s post is bang on.

My dad grew up in Belfast and came over in the ‘60s — as a lot of people did, including his two sisters and a brother. If you were Catholic, good luck getting a stable job at the shipyards or the docks or anywhere.

I’ve been over a few times and it amazes me how segregated the communities remain. There are your Prod bars and your Cafflick bars, and you better not inadvertently end up in the wrong one. You can have a Catholic estate on one side of the road and a Protestant estate on the other. The shopping center is about the only place people mix.

I’d say the main problem in the near term is some of the paramilitary types on both sides sunk their teeth into the drug trade and other rackets. These guys still hold the power. Imagine if guys like Whitey Bulger (IRA backer FWIW) and Gotti had a sizable force on their side. The police won’t take them on because they know the powder keg explodes the moment that happens.

 

[Elliotte Friedman]

Speaking of, there's a new police procedural recently dropped on Prime called Bloodlands about a murder investigation in Belfast and damn is it good; there's a twist about halfway through that's the most gut-punching I've seen on TV in ages.

I watched this last night and today. Excellent. I actually thought the second-episode twist was as big as the end.

Thanks for the recommendation

 

[Inky_Wretch]

I’d say the main problem in the near term is some of the paramilitary types on both sides sunk their teeth into the drug trade and other rackets. These guys still hold the power. Imagine if guys like Whitey Bulger (IRA backer FWIW) and Gotti had a sizable force on their side. The police won’t take them on because they know the powder keg explodes the moment that happens.

I've wondered if these recent skirmishes are a combination of that and a release of boredom caused by quarantine.

 

[dixiehack]

Super big brain energy in South Bend. They’ve since removed it, which I’m not entirely sure is the right move either.

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/...wear-green-or-irish-symbolism/a203644081.html

 

[wicked]

I hope the legal and criminal response to our insurrection

Wow, this comment aged poorly through no fault of Mr. Aumann. What a dumpster fire our country is.

And the folks at Notre Dame, who should know better, are dopes. I assume that was prepared by someone in their sports marketing operation who had no context on the background of the troubles.

 

[TigerVols]

Speaking of, is anyone watching Say Nothing on Hulu? It’s a fantastic look at young Gerry Adams and the two sisters who fought the war at his command. (Or did they?)

 

[Huggy]

Speaking of, is anyone watching Say Nothing on Hulu? It’s a fantastic look at young Gerry Adams and the two sisters who fought the war at his command. (Or did they?)

No, but I plan to check it out. I cannot recommend the book highly enough.

 

[justgladtobehere]

Speaking of, is anyone watching Say Nothing on Hulu? It’s a fantastic look at young Gerry Adams and the two sisters who fought the war at his command. (Or did they?)

That is the most fascinating book I've read in a long time. Her story, the story of the hunger strike, calling out Gerry Adams, and that weird break-in at the British police headquarters. And the mother killed by the Provisional IRA. Brutal.