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What elements of the GAA would you put into room 101?

It like to start with

Any talk of Ballagh leaving Mayo GAA

[Fine Gael expels four TDs for voting against abortion BillMathews, Timmins, Walsh and Flanagan told to vacate offices in party's section of Leinster House]

Sorry folks I could not find the Fine Gael thread.

Personally I believe Fine Gael are correct to expel those TD's who vote against the abortion bill. What are your opinions on the matter? I see Fianna Fail are also split, but in their case the majority are against their party leader. Has there been any dissent in Labour, SF, etc

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/fine-gael-expels-four-tds-for-voting-against-abortion-bill-1.1450809

Fine Gael expels four TDs for voting against abortion Bill
Mathews, Timmins, Walsh and Flanagan told to vacate offices in party's section of Leinster House


Fine Gael has removed four rebel TDs from the party after they defied Taoiseach Enda Kenny to vote against the abortion legislation.

Steps were also under way last night to remove the four – Peter Mathews, Billy Timmins, Brian Walsh and Terence Flanagan – from the Oireachtas committees on which they sit. They must also vacate their offices in Fine Gael areas of Leinster House.

The TDs' rejection of the legislation marks the biggest challenge to the Taoiseach's authority since he took power in 2011. The position of several other TDs and Senators remains in doubt.

    The Attorney General, Máire Whelan, says provisions called for cannot be included in the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill AG warns over abortion provisions
    The scene outside the Dáil yesterday while the debate on the abortion Bill was being held. Photograph: Cyril Byrne 13 of Fianna Fáil's 19 TDs vote against abortion legislation
    Billy Timmins, one of four Fine Gael TDs who defied their party whip to vote against the second stage of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill Number of dissenting Fine Gael TDs will inevitably increase

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Mr Kenny's spokesman had no comment on the actions of the four TDs, which came as the legislation passed its first Dáil reading by a margin of 138 to 24.

"The Government position has been outlined very clearly. The consequences of voting against the Government are clear," the Taoiseach's spokesman said.

In Fianna Fáil, 13 of the party's 19 TDs voted against the legislation even though their party leader Micheál Martin supported it. Strong resistance to the proposal within the party led Mr Martin to grant a free vote on the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill.


Chief whip's letter
In the hour after the Fine Gael rebels rejected the Bill, Government chief whip Paul Kehoe wrote to them saying they were in breach of the Fine Gael code of conduct and their pledge to vote with the party.

The Bill was then put before the health committee, which can accept amendments to the legislation, ahead of a further vote early next week. However, Mr Kenny has signalled he will not remove the suicide clause or dilute other substantive elements of the Bill.

Five other TDs who have difficulty with the Government proposal, among them Minister of State Lucinda Creighton, voted for the legislation yesterday. The other TDs with doubts are Michelle Mulherin, John O'Mahony, John Paul Phelan and James Bannon.

They are seen to be awaiting the final version of the legislation before deciding whether to definitively reject or accept it.

Mr Kehoe said in letters to the four rebels that their failure to accept the party whip meant that the rule in the Fine Gael constitution that provides for the automatic loss of the whip was being applied forthwith.


Committee replacements
The chief whip also circulated a notice of motion to TDs calling for the discharge of Mr Mathews and Mr Timmins from the finance committee and their replacement by Deputies Regina Doherty and Paschal Donohoe.

Moves to take Mr Walsh and Mr Flanagan off the transport committee are imminent, it is understood.

"I'm disappointed from the point of view that we didn't ever fight any election campaign on the basis that we would do this," said Mr Timmins. "It wasn't in the programme for government."

Any TD who loses the whip must reapply to their local branch it they wish to run again for election and the final decision lies with the Fine Gael national executive.

However, Mr Walsh said he wished to run again for the party. "I'm happy I did the right thing. It's not the most popular thing," he said.

The search function is not working, so I could not find the Syria conflict thread.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22417482


'Israel rockets' hit Damascus military site


Syrian state TV says Israeli rockets have hit a military research centre on the outskirts of the capital Damascus.

Huge explosions have been heard in the Mount Qassioun area of the city. The research centre there was the target of a Israeli strike in January.

On Saturday, Israeli officials speaking on condition of anonymity said Israeli aircraft had attacked a shipment of missiles in Syria.

The missiles were believed to be destined for Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Heavy explosions shook Damascus overnight. Amateur video footage posted online showed a huge ball of fire rising into the night sky above the city.

It claimed to show the explosion near the Jamraya military research facility.

"The new Israeli attack is an attempt to raise the morale of the terrorist groups, which have been reeling from strikes by our noble army," Syrian state TV said, referring to recent offensives by President Bashar al-Assad's forces against rebels.

There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials on the latest explosions.

"We don't respond to this kind of report," an Israeli military spokeswoman told Reuters news agency.

Syrian forces and rebels have been fighting around Damascus for months but with neither side gaining the upper hand.

More than 70,000 people have been killed since the conflict erupted in March 2011.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/donegals-homecoming-furore-206393.html

Donegal's homecoming furore

By Stephen Maguire

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

A huge row has erupted among Donegal GAA fans about where the team's All-Ireland homecoming will take place.

Jim McGuinness' team are favourites to lift the Sam Maguire after terrific displays this season. The team has always followed tradition and celebrated homecomings with a parade at The Diamond in Donegal Town.

But now the people of Letterkenny feel that should change and the homecoming should take place in their town.

Letterkenny Chamber of Commerce has contacted the Donegal GAA County Board to request the county team return to their town after the All-Ireland SFC final against Mayo.

In a strongly-worded letter, the Letterkenny Chamber said they felt it was now time for a Donegal team to celebrate in Letterkenny.

President of Letterkenny Chamber John Watson admitted businesses had been lobbied on the issue.

He said: "We feel the time is right now that Letterkenny could be the place for the team to return to.

"We will welcome the team back with or without the Sam Maguire after the final and it won't cost the County Board a cent.

"For years the team has returned to Donegal Town and we feel it's time that Letterkenny got a turn.

"We are the biggest town in the county and a number of businesses from the area have sponsored the team in recent years. We feel it would be a nice touch if the homecoming could be shared around and we would like to do it after the All-Ireland final."

However the move has divided fans who have accused the Letterkenny Chamber of trying to cash in on the Donegal's team's whirlwind success.

A spokesman for the County Board said it will discuss the matter shortly and give the Letterkenny Chamber an answer to their request.

Interesting Panaroama on Azerbaijan and this years Eurovision

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01j8hf1/Panorama_Eurovisions_Dirty_Secret/

Is there a way to officially leave the Roman Catholic/Christian faith? Is it true that the Catholic church no longer accepts people leaving and counts us in their number?

Are there places I can be burried respectfully after Ireland after I die that is not controlled by a religious body, hopefully in Mayo or at least in Connacht?

I intend donating any organs, tissue etc. when I die, but if my only option is a religious cemetery I would hope whats left is left to be chopped up for medical research etc.

Nice Argentinian tv advert for the London Olympics 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbx-LCW2620

Happy Paddy's to you all. I do mean you all.

Any lads having lived in or living in Liverpool know if there is a non-Republican (as in Ra heads) or non-Socialist parade in Liverpool City Centre. I have only found a political looking one and I am not going to that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Soviet_invasion_of_Iran

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20100113/157534320.html

In the context of the British and Soviet's invasion of Iran in 1941 can Ireland (Rep.) count itself lucky that British Imperalism was put on a leash out of fear of an Irish-American backlash. 1941 and the U.K.'s actions tend to show that the British were as much Imperalist aggressors during WW2 as Germany. Does money raised from the sale of poppies go to the Imperial legions which conqured neutral Iran?

The Gunpowder Plot, was it a real event or a government/other anti-catholic/anti-Spanish motivated hoax or perhaps a method of fooling James I into not trusting Catholics. It is a certainty that the later Popish Plot was a failed hoax, so how likely is it that the Gunpowder Plot was also a hoax?

Was it plausible to get hold of 36 barrels in James the I military state, which had a monopoly on gunpowder?

How were all these barrels trasported in one of the busiest parts of one of one of the busiest cities in the world (even back then)?

The river was not a transport option, as the gunpowder would have got damp.

How likely is it that Catholics would be allowed to rent property in the English Parliament?

They checked the cellers that day, at that time. This was not a normal practice, what an amazing coincidence!

Seems like I might have a new job in Cardiff, doing a variation of the same role. Just wondering do any of you lads know about the cost of living in Cardiff, what rents are like down there, where is the best place to live (would like to live close to the city centre), is it good for going out (have been there and it was good that night). Whats the transport links to Ireland like (especially the West).

So any views good bad or otherwise on Cardiff or any help on my questions.

I reckon Martin, Micky, Gay & Sean I could have a good session with.

Norris would be good craic for a while but I would move on to meet up with my real friends after the pub.

Mary I could tolerate but she would bore me silly.

Dana would wreck my head.

It strikes me the moving on movement in Ireland only accommodates the Sinn Féin agenda. Yet these lads are incapable of moving beyong the Irish Civil War themselves. Unless you bend to their mantra of the "reformed" SF movement you are corrupt or a symptom of a past society, then those of us who stand against them should just crawl off and die as they would love us to. The warwagons of the SF cult scares me. Not because they may surpass other parties in a democratic fashion, but that their ultimate goal is the end of all thought and culture not one with the little green book.

Seems an injury picked up training with the International Rules team, may rule Andy out for the rest of the year.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-14/irish-chase-church-cash-real-estate-toward-2-billion-child-abuse-bill.html

Ireland Faces Down Vatican as Kenny Demands $1 Billion Abuse Compensation
By Dara Doyle and Colm Heatley - Aug 15, 2011 12:01 AM GMT


Ireland is squeezing the Roman Catholic Church to hand over cash and real estate toward a 1.4 billion-euro ($2 billion) child-abuse bill amid the bitterest stand-off yet seen between the Vatican and the government.

In the sharpest language an Irish leader has ever used against the church, Prime Minister Enda Kenny said last month the Vatican's handling of the scandals has been dominated by "elitism and narcissism."

"The relationship between the state and the Vatican has never been worse," David Quinn, a religious commentator who is also director of the Dublin-based Iona Institute, which promotes religion in society, said in an interview. "I struggle to think of a stronger attack by a Western European leader on the church than Enda Kenny's."

Kenny said the church needs to be "truly and deeply penitent for the horrors it perpetrated, hid and denied" after three government reports on clerical abuse and cover-ups rocked one of Europe's most devout societies. With the focus now moving to who compensates the victims in talks starting next month, the church's riches and dominance of Ireland's educational system face their most direct threat in the country's modern history.

"The speech was a seminal moment in that Enda Kenny made clear that the state sees local bishops as the Vatican's foot soldiers, but it's the Vatican that is directing policy and practice," Tom Inglis, a sociology professor at University College Dublin, said in an interview. "He's following public opinion, not molding it, but it takes an adroit politician to know when the timing is right."
Compensation Meetings

Kenny's education minister, Ruairi Quinn, will begin meetings in September with 18 religious orders to call on them to pay half the compensation bill for abuse in children's homes they ran. The 2009 government-commissioned Ryan Report said abuse in those homes was "endemic."

The orders have paid or offered about 300 million euros to date in cash and real estate, and Quinn is proposing that they hand over control of more land, including schools. About 90 percent of elementary schools remain Catholic-run, according to the Education Ministry.

"Quinn knows that control of the education system is key now and control is about both land and patronage," said Inglis. "He's now making the running, not the church."
Constitutional Role

For much of Ireland's history since independence from Britain in 1922, it was the other way around. In 1937, the government consulted the archbishop of Dublin while drafting the constitution, which recognized the special position of the Catholic Church "as the guardian of the faith of the great majority of the people."

Though that clause was later removed, Catholic thinking continued to underpin Irish legislation. Up to 1985, condoms couldn't be bought without a doctor's prescription. Divorce was only legalized after a 1995 popular vote, and abortion still isn't allowed in most circumstances.

As revelations of abuse and the church's concealment of it have emerged, the relationship has soured. Last month, a government-commissioned probe into the handling of abuse allegations in Cloyne in southern Ireland concluded that the Vatican "effectively gave Irish bishops freedom to ignore" state guidelines, prompting Kenny's intervention.
Prosecution Halted

The report examined the handling of allegations against 19 clerics between 1996 and 2009. To date, one priest from the diocese has been convicted of child sex abuse, while a second prosecution was halted on the grounds of ill health, delay and age.

"The rape and torture of children were downplayed or managed, to uphold instead the primacy of the institution, its power, standing and reputation," Kenny said in parliament on July 20.

The Vatican pledged to respond "expediently" to the report in an e-mail sent by a spokesman, Federico Lombardi, the day after Kenny's remarks. Four days later, the Vatican recalled its ambassador to Dublin citing the "reactions" that followed the Cloyne report, in what David Quinn said he interpreted "as a pretty strong protest."

Eighty-five percent of the Irish population are nominally Catholic, according to the Central Statistics Office. Mass attendance was around 78 percent in 1992, falling to about 65 percent in 1997, according to Diarmaid Ferriter, author of "The Transformation of Ireland: 1900-2000." A poll conducted for the Iona Institute in 2009 found that 65 percent go to church at least once a month.
Payments to Victims

The government has made about 14,000 payouts averaging 62,878 euros to victims of abuse in residential homes, according to the agency which handles the awards. A further 157 million euros have been paid been out in legal fees.

In 2002, the government agreed to cap the religious orders' contribution at 128 million euros. Now, with the bill rising and a budget deficit forecast at 10 percent of gross domestic product this year, ministers are pushing for a 50-50 contribution, amounting to about 680 million euros. The shortfall on what's been offered so far is about 350 million euros.

Already, some orders are resisting. The Sisters of Mercy, which controls schools across the country, refused to attend a meeting with Quinn last month. The order, which said it had been "misrepresented and demonized," said it never agreed to the 50-50 split.

"It has been wrongly suggested that the congregation has disadvantaged the state in that it has failed to honor a debt," the Sisters said in a statement on July 22. "The congregation has met and will continue to meet all of its commitments to former residents and to the state."

The order may be fighting against the weight of public opinion.

"I'm disappointed with the Vatican's handling of it," said Anne McCarron, 71, a retired nurse from Inishowen in northwest Ireland. "The Vatican has been too aloof, I share Enda Kenny's anger. The church should pay more money to victims."

To contact the reporters on this story: Dara Doyle in Dublin at ddoyle1@bloomberg.net; Colm Heatley in Belfast at cheatley@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Colin Keatinge at ckeatinge@bloomberg.net

I was listening to the radio there earlier, it seems the soldiers without a destiny have the long knives out and ready to pounce.

Seems a Fianna Fáíl leadership challenge is close at hand.

Will Gay Byrne run?

On the whole Daddy of Chips idea. If you had to make the choice and you could only choose one. Would you pledge your loyalty to Ireland or God. Now let the Christians out there remember if God really does exist, that he will know which one you chose. Remember the confession box only works if you don't pre-plan to use it as a get of gaol/jail free card 

So which will it be, loyalty to Ireland or loyalty to God?

Just wondering what the general attitude to any visit by the Pope of Rome to Ireland, North or the Republic (or both).

A place to discuss all things 26 counties, seen as we uninvited on the 6 county one