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And so it is... Martin McGuinness will meet the Queen and Sinn Fein will have buried the last great 19th century shibboleth of the Republican movement. An acknowledgment of the realities or the burial of republicanism and acceptance of Northern Ireland as everyones we country?

Is it me getting old and grumpy? But I couldn't give a flying f**k about some old ship built in a sectarian cesspit which is now at the bottom of the sea. I am sick to death listening to The BBC and UTV wittering on about it. Only the Irish could celebrate such a glorious failure. Sailed once sank once. As the man in the dinning room on the Titanic said to the waiter I know I asked for ice but this is ridiculous! Boom Boom.

I have to say I was amused by the wit of Sammy Wilson's comedy routine to the DUP conference. It was funny however I am not sure it was appropriate for the Finance Minister to be behaving like Paddy Kielty or to be expressing those remarks publicly. The DUP seem to be in need of counselling for schizophrenia given the contradictions at between the differing big hitters.

I tried to ask for opinions on the SDLP leadership on the other SDLP thread but noone responded. Is this because all the SDLP posters have been converted to SF? Or can they not be arsed taking an interest in the election oof a new leader.

Speaking for myself I as a floating voter would like to see the SDLP steal back some of SF's republican clothes, but I can't see Dolores Kelly reinvigorating them. So there is going to be big pressure on the new leader. Who's it going to be? Even the Irish News isn't carrying much on it.

Have we stopped caring about the SDLP?

According to Newton Emerson in todays Irish News, Gerry Adams has indicated at recent meetings that SF would consider alternatives to a 32 County Sovereign Republic. He apparently suggest a federal state and that talks would be necessary with Unionism as to how Britishness can be accomodated in the new Ireland. Newt suggests that this is an indication of SF's acceptance of a NI identity as distinct from an Irish identity he goes on to say that SF are getting ready to love (a 6 county) Ulster. Maybe the sight of Caral and Mary McArdle standing for the Queen at Windsor and cheering on the real boys in Green is not as daft as I thought.
Maybe Gerry is coming around to the view that Conal McDevitt has expressed that as Nationalists we need to debate the kind of unity we aspire to or maybe as Newt suggests we are all becoming unionists as the recent poll suggests.

This is not a rant against Referees. Far from it. There have been many inconsistent performances this year. I know that Linesmen are now helping out but surely it is time to give them a little more power. I also compare the amount of cards given in football to a general lack in hurling where the refs only really card serious fouls. A complete overhaul of the system is required to give referees every assistance, wether it is a tmo, sinbin or whatever. The two matches I watched yesterday left defeated teams with the feeling that they had been robbed which may not have been the case. But compare the soft reds given to O'Gara and Hughes compared to the yellow for McLoone which left McMahon with concussion. I know these things even themselves out and as an Armagh man we have our own bitter experiences of poor decision making. But in this day and age we need to get respect for our Ref's and surely a TMO is the way to go.

Forgive me if this thread has been started before, but in light of the recent press focus on people hiding behind lap tops and dishing out abuse I thought I'd give my tu'ppence.

I read with dismay some of the personal abuse dished out to a couple of named football refs in Armagh on the Armagh Forum. Some very nasty stuff went unchallenged. This in my opinion is wrong and defeats the purpose of forums such as these which is to generate debate. It is in my opinion legimate to debate who or what went well for your team in a particular match or who should or shouldn't start in the run up. I didn't see anything abusive on this site about John Clarke other than some Down fans saying that in there opinion he was a good club footballer but lacked a little for the county. Is this unfair? I don't think so.

Good to see Cross in the Club Final again on Paddy's Day. Hopefully they can do it again. Unbelievable that Oisin, Francie, John Mac and Paul Hearty are in line for a 5th medal. Armagh will be glad to see 5 or 6 of these boys back in the fold. Good luck to Cross.

Hot from getting Tony Kernan sent of the UC has seen fit to appoint Martin to the Armagh Antrim McKenna Cup tie. Who have we offended!!

Switched over last night from Sky Sports 1 to 2 to check if Morocco had scored. The "National Anthem" was playing--- God Save the Queen. Paddy McCourt and the other taigs looked so embarrassed heads down staring at the ground whilst the NI guys belted her out with gusto. So much for inclusivity from the IFA. No wonder Darren Gibson, Marc Wilson et al would prefer 1 cap for Ireland to 100 from Norn Iron. Really illustrates were we are at inclusivity but only on unionist terms!

Is there no club hurling in Armagh or just nothing worth posting about?