Messages

Who are they and have they managed anywhere else before??

Me too

[unionist majority]

According to BBCNI, Foster only missed out on becoming MP for Fermanagh South Tyrone because the unionist majority vote was split. 

I guess that means that a candidate from the 'minority' nationalist community of FST, whose vote was also 'split', still managed to beat her by 5k votes in a constituency of what 60k voters? That must be a kick in the stones.

Thats wrong.  There is a nationalist majority in Fermanagh/South Tyrone. 
Traditionally there was always one unionist candidate and 2 nationalist(SF and SDLP).
The nationalist vote was split, and the unionist won.
They have always regarded Fermanagh/South Tyrone as their seat even though it had a nationalist majority

But last time the vast majority of nationalists threw vote behind SF even though SDLP ran.
There were 2 unionist candidates as well. DUP and  a united unionist candidate , Jim Nixon. 
But most threw there lot in with DUP. 
Sf won and the unionists were outraged.

[Assassination attempt]

taken from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8452628.stm

BBC news takes a look at the background of the woman who is to take over as temporary First Minister of Northern Ireland, as Peter Robinson tries to clear his name.

Arlene Foster is a fully qualified solicitor from County Fermanagh who joined the Democratic Unionist Party in January 2004, just weeks after resigning from the rival Ulster Unionist Party.

She currently holds three political posts in Northern Ireland.

She is the Minister for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) in the Stormont Assembly - a position she had held since June 2008.

She is also an MLA for the Fermanagh South Tyrone constituency and an elected representative of Fermanagh District Council.

Assassination attempt

The 39-year-old was born Arlene Kelly in July 1970 and, as a child, had first-hand experience of the violence that engulfed Northern Ireland during the Troubles.
Bombed school bus
A bomb exploded under Arlene Foster's school bus in June 1988

The IRA tried to kill her father, a part-time policeman in the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), while she was a young schoolgirl.

She later described the incident to the Sunday Tribune during the 2005 election campaign.

"They shot him in the head as he was closing in the cattle. He came crawling into the house, blood streaming down his face. We couldn't stay in Roslea. I'd to move house and school - it was traumatic," she told the newspaper.

School bus bomb

As a teenager in 1988, she survived a bomb which exploded under her school bus which which was being driven by a part-time UDR soldier.

She told the same reporter that a girl who had been sitting near her was badly injured in the attack.

She was educated at Enniskillen's Collegiate grammar and went on to study law at Queens University, Belfast.

After qualifying, she then worked as a private practice solicitor in Enniskillen and Portadown for 11 years, before devolution was restored to Northern Ireland in 2007.

In February 2008 she was named as the "Parliamentarian/Assembly Member of the Year" at the Women in Public Life Awards which were held in London.

She is also a mother of three young children under the age of nine and has previously said she had "no difficulty" in balancing her family commitments with her political career.

Controversy

Arlene Foster is a qualified solicitor and a mother of three young children

Her decision to defect to the DUP six years ago came just weeks after she was elected to the Assembly as a UUP MLA.

She resigned alongside Jeffrey Donaldson and UUP colleague and Norah Beare amid disagreements with the direction the party was taking.

Her role as enterprise minister is her second ministerial post in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Before the 2008 reshuffle she was the Stormont environment minister, and found herself in the middle of a political storm over the development of a replacement visitors' centre at the site of Northern Ireland's top tourist attraction, the Giants Causeway in County Antrim.

In September 2007, Mrs Foster said she was "minded" to approve a plan for the centre to be built by Seaport Investments Ltd, a company owned by the private developer Seymour Sweeney.

It later emerged that Mr Sweeney had close links to the DUP's Ian Paisley Junior.

Her decision was later reversed and the National Trust is now in the process of building the visitors' centre.

The only reason that Arlene has been installed as First minister is because the DUP want one unionist candidate in Fermanagh/ South Tyrone and by raising her profile, this might be a way of doing it.  By the way I wonder how Arlene will have time for all those District council meeting in Enniskillen.  Was elected to the local council a few months ago because they feared losing the local council seat. 
At the very least, because of the profile of the job, i can see alot more UUP voters in this part of the country throwing their lot in with her as a means of getting the seat of Sinn Fein.  The UUP are a shambles down here.

Michelle has her problems down here.  Alot of problems in the border area of Derrylin, Kinawley, Roslea etc.  Sinn Finn unable to organise a Cumann.  She will undoubtedly have lost a few voters.  Was tight enough the last time.  Will be even tighter again

what about the rumours about Van der Vaart??
Any truth in them??

Schools in the south closed until Thursday.

Is there a league thingy this year??

if you have time me too Seany

oh Peter

Closed early for the day.
Public sector- you got to love it 

Chucking it down here in west belfast. 

Pacheco looks lively

link for the game http://www.veetle.com/viewChannel.php?cid=4b307106e4636
Brutal so far

On paper it seems a weakish enough squad but with the likes of Ronny and Rory Gallagher, Eamonn Maguire, Mark Little, Marty McGrath, Barry Owens, Ciaran McElroy and Ryan McCluskey all sure to return it will be a lot stronger. The likes of Martin O'Brien and Rory Foy are very exciting prospects. It will be interesting to see if Paul Ward will be given enough time to make an impact and hopefully Paul Cosgrove will develop into the ball winner he can be at club level. Quigley is the main disappointment as he could make the difference in games that are touch and go. Hopefully he will get his issues with himself/squad members sorted (mainly with himself though to be fair)

Emmett can you shed any light on the Little issue??  I had heard he will not be back.

agree with what you say about Quigley.  It is a pity though because he could be a top class inter county forward.
Cosgrove for st pat's is a player i would have great hopes for.
Could give us another much needed option around the middle