Joe Brolly

[trueblue1234]

This little anecdote may seem to be rambling off-topic but it might serve to emphasise a point I, and others, have been making. The antics of a few can get a whole load of totally innocent people a bad name.
Years ago, the Swinford Pioneers Association organised an excursion to the beach in Bundoran.  This was at the height of summer so there was no spare seats on either of the two buses. A good number of those travelling were honest pioneers with their lapel pins and I'd say just about all were genuine non-drinkers.
You couldn't get a more respectable group of people anywhere. However, a few hard chaws decided to buy tickets and claimed they had no interest in the demon drink. The organisers thought no more of it; they sold all available seats and everyone was in good spirits all the way to Bundoran beach.
It was a very hot day and the usual suspects son grew tired of sitting around eating limp sandwiches and drinking lukewarm coca-cola.
So a few slipped off to the nearest pub and started to lorry into the black stuff.The inevitable happened and soon they were mixing it with a gang from somewhere else who were on the beer too.
A few thumps were exchanged and a few drinks were knocked over and in the end the guards arrived to sort things out.
Of course, the story didn't end there.
Word got back to Mayo that a full-scale brawl had taken place and it took a dozen guards to restore the peace.
The poor Pioneers were blamed for the trouble and bringing shame on the good name of the county. Hard to believe but the Pioneer numbers in the town dropped off and there was never another coach outing in the years that followed.
It's human nature to tar the many with the actions of a minority- much the same as we are discussing here.
I don't imagine the name-callers will derail the peace process  but they have the capacity to gain their fellow nationalists a bad name.

Good story. You should give Rossfan some tips, his stories seem rather pointless and fabricated.

[red hander]

This little anecdote may seem to be rambling off-topic but it might serve to emphasise a point I, and others, have been making. The antics of a few can get a whole load of totally innocent people a bad name.
Years ago, the Swinford Pioneers Association organised an excursion to the beach in Bundoran.  This was at the height of summer so there was no spare seats on either of the two buses. A good number of those travelling were honest pioneers with their lapel pins and I'd say just about all were genuine non-drinkers.
You couldn't get a more respectable group of people anywhere. However, a few hard chaws decided to buy tickets and claimed they had no interest in the demon drink. The organisers thought no more of it; they sold all available seats and everyone was in good spirits all the way to Bundoran beach.
It was a very hot day and the usual suspects son grew tired of sitting around eating limp sandwiches and drinking lukewarm coca-cola.
So a few slipped off to the nearest pub and started to lorry into the black stuff.The inevitable happened and soon they were mixing it with a gang from somewhere else who were on the beer too.
A few thumps were exchanged and a few drinks were knocked over and in the end the guards arrived to sort things out.
Of course, the story didn't end there.
Word got back to Mayo that a full-scale brawl had taken place and it took a dozen guards to restore the peace.
The poor Pioneers were blamed for the trouble and bringing shame on the good name of the county. Hard to believe but the Pioneer numbers in the town dropped off and there was never another coach outing in the years that followed.
It's human nature to tar the many with the actions of a minority- much the same as we are discussing here.
I don't imagine the name-callers will derail the peace process  but they have the capacity to gain their fellow nationalists a bad name.

Good story. You should give Rossfan some tips, his stories seem rather pointless and fabricated.

I'm still trying to get my head round why you would swap a lovely little spot like Swinford to spend the day in Bundoran of all places. Are there no decent beaches in Mayo? 

[Lar Naparka]

This little anecdote may seem to be rambling off-topic but it might serve to emphasise a point I, and others, have been making. The antics of a few can get a whole load of totally innocent people a bad name.
Years ago, the Swinford Pioneers Association organised an excursion to the beach in Bundoran.  This was at the height of summer so there was no spare seats on either of the two buses. A good number of those travelling were honest pioneers with their lapel pins and I'd say just about all were genuine non-drinkers.
You couldn't get a more respectable group of people anywhere. However, a few hard chaws decided to buy tickets and claimed they had no interest in the demon drink. The organisers thought no more of it; they sold all available seats and everyone was in good spirits all the way to Bundoran beach.
It was a very hot day and the usual suspects son grew tired of sitting around eating limp sandwiches and drinking lukewarm coca-cola.
So a few slipped off to the nearest pub and started to lorry into the black stuff.The inevitable happened and soon they were mixing it with a gang from somewhere else who were on the beer too.
A few thumps were exchanged and a few drinks were knocked over and in the end the guards arrived to sort things out.
Of course, the story didn't end there.
Word got back to Mayo that a full-scale brawl had taken place and it took a dozen guards to restore the peace.
The poor Pioneers were blamed for the trouble and bringing shame on the good name of the county. Hard to believe but the Pioneer numbers in the town dropped off and there was never another coach outing in the years that followed.
It's human nature to tar the many with the actions of a minority- much the same as we are discussing here.
I don't imagine the name-callers will derail the peace process  but they have the capacity to gain their fellow nationalists a bad name.

Good story. You should give Rossfan some tips, his stories seem rather pointless and fabricated.

I'm still trying to get my head round why you would swap a lovely little spot like Swinford to spend the day in Bundoran of all places. Are there no decent beaches in Mayo? 

The novelty of going to somewhere none of them knew anything about was the attraction. Four hours of a sing song was okay for the older people but it meant a good session of fondling and groping for the young fellas and young wans with no mother or father about.
Besides,, Bundorn was the in place to be in those days- people from all over the country went there. It was tacky even then but there were no  shooting ranges or dodgem cars in any resort in Mayo.

[Applesisapples]

I dont know anyone in the north who refers to the residents in the south as freestaters. Ive been to hundreds of county games as well and never had any trouble at gaa matches north or south either.

I've never heard it from either side at football matches but have heard a few anecdotes both ways.
I heard The term "freestate" used by farmers back in the day, as a descriptive term based on a lack of knowledge , annoying but not antagonistic. More recently I've heard it used occasionally, and it's always being used antagonistically , it's offensive , and makes no sense to me for  a republican to think that using derogatory terms about the majority of people on this island is going to further their cause .

How is it dergogatory?

It's factual, particularly if you're a republican.

It is derogatory because people in the south find it insulting, your argument is like saying the term ni@@er is not derogatory particularly if you from Alabama. People have told you it is insulting to them yet you persist.

[Angelo]

I dont know anyone in the north who refers to the residents in the south as freestaters. Ive been to hundreds of county games as well and never had any trouble at gaa matches north or south either.

I've never heard it from either side at football matches but have heard a few anecdotes both ways.
I heard The term "freestate" used by farmers back in the day, as a descriptive term based on a lack of knowledge , annoying but not antagonistic. More recently I've heard it used occasionally, and it's always being used antagonistically , it's offensive , and makes no sense to me for  a republican to think that using derogatory terms about the majority of people on this island is going to further their cause .

How is it dergogatory?

It's factual, particularly if you're a republican.

It is derogatory because people in the south find it insulting, your argument is like saying the term ni@@er is not derogatory particularly if you from Alabama. People have told you it is insulting to them yet you persist.

Why do they find it insulting?

Because they have an uneasy relationship with the fact that their state abandoned northern natioanlists and their media and gov officials they elect are happy to rewrite history and treat northern nationalists with contempt?

That's a ridiculous comparison. Northerners nationalists and free staters are from the same ethnicity. The difference is there was a betrayal by the southerners that resulted in 100 years of northern nationalists being subjected to sectarian violence, discrimination and intimidation.

Have the southern state every acknowledged that they should have done something? No. Have they ever apologised for the betrayal and inaction? No. Instead they have fanned the flames, sought to rewrite history, regularly demean and admonish northern nationalists as being architects of the violence that came against them and continue to do so? They pontificate and moralise northern nationalists of a conflict they neither understand or seek to understand.

Northern nationalists deserve a state apology from the Free State for their cowardice over the last 100 years. Northern nationalists deserve a state apology for the contempt they have been treated with by govt officials, state broadcasters and mainstream media. We deserve acknowledgment that we were failed.

You're the one sticking up for the Free State here, when have they ever acknowledged their role in the Troubles. Their role in paving the way for the PIRA they like to denigrate ad nauseum?

It's about time Free Staters faced up to its rotten past and revisionism.

[Applesisapples]

I dont know anyone in the north who refers to the residents in the south as freestaters. Ive been to hundreds of county games as well and never had any trouble at gaa matches north or south either.

I've never heard it from either side at football matches but have heard a few anecdotes both ways.
I heard The term "freestate" used by farmers back in the day, as a descriptive term based on a lack of knowledge , annoying but not antagonistic. More recently I've heard it used occasionally, and it's always being used antagonistically , it's offensive , and makes no sense to me for  a republican to think that using derogatory terms about the majority of people on this island is going to further their cause .

How is it dergogatory?

It's factual, particularly if you're a republican.

It is derogatory because people in the south find it insulting, your argument is like saying the term ni@@er is not derogatory particularly if you from Alabama. People have told you it is insulting to them yet you persist.

Why do they find it insulting?

Because they have an uneasy relationship with the fact that their state abandoned northern natioanlists and their media and gov officials they elect are happy to rewrite history and treat northern nationalists with contempt?

That's a ridiculous comparison. Northerners nationalists and free staters are from the same ethnicity. The difference is there was a betrayal by the southerners that resulted in 100 years of northern nationalists being subjected to sectarian violence, discrimination and intimidation.

Have the southern state every acknowledged that they should have done something? No. Have they ever apologised for the betrayal and inaction? No. Instead they have fanned the flames, sought to rewrite history, regularly demean and admonish northern nationalists as being architects of the violence that came against them and continue to do so? They pontificate and moralise northern nationalists of a conflict they neither understand or seek to understand.

Northern nationalists deserve a state apology from the Free State for their cowardice over the last 100 years. Northern nationalists deserve a state apology for the contempt they have been treated with by govt officials, state broadcasters and mainstream media. We deserve acknowledgment that we were failed.

You're the one sticking up for the Free State here, when have they ever acknowledged their role in the Troubles. Their role in paving the way for the PIRA they like to denigrate ad nauseum?

It's about time Free Staters faced up to its rotten past and revisionism.

It doesn't matter why they find it insulting they do and if you want to convince people of your argument you have to get them to listen. Insulting them means they focus on the insult and not the debate.

[Angelo]

I dont know anyone in the north who refers to the residents in the south as freestaters. Ive been to hundreds of county games as well and never had any trouble at gaa matches north or south either.

I've never heard it from either side at football matches but have heard a few anecdotes both ways.
I heard The term "freestate" used by farmers back in the day, as a descriptive term based on a lack of knowledge , annoying but not antagonistic. More recently I've heard it used occasionally, and it's always being used antagonistically , it's offensive , and makes no sense to me for  a republican to think that using derogatory terms about the majority of people on this island is going to further their cause .

How is it dergogatory?

It's factual, particularly if you're a republican.

It is derogatory because people in the south find it insulting, your argument is like saying the term ni@@er is not derogatory particularly if you from Alabama. People have told you it is insulting to them yet you persist.

Why do they find it insulting?

Because they have an uneasy relationship with the fact that their state abandoned northern natioanlists and their media and gov officials they elect are happy to rewrite history and treat northern nationalists with contempt?

That's a ridiculous comparison. Northerners nationalists and free staters are from the same ethnicity. The difference is there was a betrayal by the southerners that resulted in 100 years of northern nationalists being subjected to sectarian violence, discrimination and intimidation.

Have the southern state every acknowledged that they should have done something? No. Have they ever apologised for the betrayal and inaction? No. Instead they have fanned the flames, sought to rewrite history, regularly demean and admonish northern nationalists as being architects of the violence that came against them and continue to do so? They pontificate and moralise northern nationalists of a conflict they neither understand or seek to understand.

Northern nationalists deserve a state apology from the Free State for their cowardice over the last 100 years. Northern nationalists deserve a state apology for the contempt they have been treated with by govt officials, state broadcasters and mainstream media. We deserve acknowledgment that we were failed.

You're the one sticking up for the Free State here, when have they ever acknowledged their role in the Troubles. Their role in paving the way for the PIRA they like to denigrate ad nauseum?

It's about time Free Staters faced up to its rotten past and revisionism.

It doesn't matter why they find it insulting they do and if you want to convince people of your argument you have to get them to listen. Insulting them means they focus on the insult and not the debate.

It does matter. If they don't like uncomfortable truths then that's their problem.

Free Staters should not be immune from doing some soul searching.

I don't think the past will decide this vote, I think the future will and I think there is a realisation in the younger generation that unionism and FFG have used their power and influence to create an elite in society which impacts this generation.

SF are now the largest party in the u50 voting base on both sides of the border and with every year the demographs shift more and more that way.

[Rossfan]

True blue....the 2 events I described most certainly DID happen.
Just because I can't write as eloquently as (iar mhúinteóir?) Larnaparka.....
Strandhill was our seaside mecca but a visiting aunt or uncle might spoil us altogether by taking us to exotic Rosses Point.
Bundoran was out of bounds as "too many oul rough Northerners" went there.

[trueblue1234]

True blue....the 2 events I described most certainly DID happen.
Just because I can't write as eloquently as (iar mhúinteóir?) Larnaparka.....
Strandhill was our seaside mecca but a visiting aunt or uncle might spoil us altogether by taking us to exotic Rosses Point.
Bundoran was out of bounds as "too many oul rough Northerners" went there.

Course it did. And I'm sure you never heard a offending word spoken from the Southerners. T'was all them'uns.

Pardon me if I find you lacking creditability.

[Lar Naparka]

True blue....the 2 events I described most certainly DID happen.
Just because I can't write as eloquently as (iar mhúinteóir?) Larnaparka.....
Strandhill was our seaside mecca but a visiting aunt or uncle might spoil us altogether by taking us to exotic Rosses Point.
Bundoran was out of bounds as "too many oul rough Northerners" went there.

I'm surprised that anyone would think that your 'scéals' are contrived. I certainly met plenty like our neighbour who were absolutely fed up with the endless negative publicity coming from the north and couldn't, or wouldn't, make an effort to distinguish between Nationalists or Unionists. Damn the whole goddamn loot of them-endless troublemakers...never satisfied with anything etc.
I've been in Edgbaston  in Brum and Cheetham Hill in Manchester so I knoow about the drunken rows that went on in those Irish Centres.
Nothing out of the ordinry with what you mentioned seeing in an Irish centre.

[Rossfan]

You believe what you want Trueblue  or what suits your closed mind.
I just recounted what actually happened.
Over and out.

[Snapchap]

You believe what you want Trueblue  or what suits your closed mind.
I just recounted what actually happened.
Over and out.

Someone disagree with you? Oh dear, you forgot to call him an extremist.

[Rossfan]

Not a difference of opinion.

A buck who wasn't there telling me I didn't see and hear what I saw and heard.

[trueblue1234]

You believe what you want Trueblue  or what suits your closed mind.
I just recounted what actually happened.
Over and out.

From most other posters I'd have taken it as face value. From you, with your history of anti-northern posts and cheap post scoring, I'd take it with a strong pinch of salt.

Lar, I have no doubt there were people who thought that way. There's always lazy people who will jump to a viewpoint that suits their narrative. You have it on here, where you have posters (from both sides I should add) that were attempting to use posts from some anonymous posters who's on the wind up as the reason they'd vote against a UI. When in reality these people are just embarrassed to admit that the real reason is because they think "I'm alright Jack".

[yellowcard]

As a northerner I can't even remember the last time I heard someone use the term 'free stater' in a conversation. I do remember as a child hearing the older generation sometimes using the term but certainly not in recent times. I think it is deliberately being used here to try and wind up other posters but whatever floats your boat I suppose.