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Help needed please!

I cannot get through to the Passport office, I have tried every day now for a week, and just get the same message, and my query is not on their FAQ section.

My passport expires next month, so I need a new one pronto, but I want to book a flight to Paris with Ryanair this week for a holiday in July.  Will my passport number be the same as my old passport number?  I really dont want Ryanair to f**k me over again at the airport.  I also dont want to wait until I get my new passport back before booking the flights.

Does anyone know?

Sad to see reports of a big fallout in Monaghan over the weekend.  Apparently the entire Ballybay team walked off during a game against Magheracloone.  The Irish Times incorrectly have reported it this morning as racist abuse.  Senior County footballer Drew Wylie was sent off for Ballybay amid accusations that he was receiving abuse of a sectarian nature.  I don't know what happened but I think we all agree that sectarian abuse and racial abuse are two sides of the same coin.  The Irish Times mix up between sectarian and racist abuse is probably no doubt because some idiot called him a black bastard.

Yet another Easter has come and gone and RTE have found no room in their schedules for Mise Eire.  Can anyone tell me the craic.  I have never seen it.  I don't recall it ever being on telly.  Why not?  Is it no good?  Is it only famous because of the astonishing score by Sean O'Riada.

On Sunday the wife landed home with the Sunday Mirror,  yes, yes I know it's an English paper, but it is the NI edition and it is a paper with a big circulation.  How much coverage did it give to the days big sporting event, All Ireland Champions Donegal v Tyrone.  None, nada, nil, zilch.  It managed a full two pages for NI soccer featuring Coleraine v somebody.  The Sunday Mirror does usually cover the gaa, but on a part time basis, and puts it at the very end of the sports pages along side, snooker, darts, bowls, pigeons. 

I have lots of other examples of this, but I could be typing here all day.

Gaa supporters should vote with their feet, but I also think the Ulster Council need to take a hefty share of the blame for not demanding fair coverage of our games.

I was trying to find on the net details of a shop i saw advertised in An Phoblacht about two years ago.  Maybe it has since gone out of business.  It was basicly a clothes shop with radical/socialist leanings.  Che Guevara t-shirts, Spanish civil war stuff, 1916 stuff.  That kind of thing.  My memory is quite hazy but i thing they had a red star logo.  Just spent the last 20 minutes trying to find it online.  It's is/was in Dublin is all I know.  Any ideas?

What in the nameajaysus can ye get your Da for Christmas?

It's time for Donegal fans to seriously consider how to beat the blanket defence of the stewarts and bouncers in Croke Park.  This is probably best discussed off this board so as not to give away the best ways of getting on the field.  It is 10 years since Armagh brought Croke Park back to the people it is now time for Donegal to do it again.

Can't imagine this being as good in the Up for the Match studio.  RTE should feckin fly out to Lanzarote and film them out there in the Irish Pubs where the craic would be mighty.

It would be class to see Rory and ' Senegal Jimmy Barry Murphy' doing this in the Donegal changing room after the AIF with Sam on the table and all the boys singing the chorus!!

BBCNI last night had a 30 minute show from Jaeckie Fullerton about local sport in the 70s, it was mostly saccar, motorsport and Mary Peters(athlete).  It went along year by year from70 -79.

However Gaelic Games got exactly the same amount of time as tiddly winks and female wrestling(I am actually serious!!)

 I just recently discovered that Portlaoise used to be known as Maryborough, and was named after Queen Mary of England.  Were there many towns which changed name after independence I only know of a few,

Kingstown - Now Dun Laoghaire
Queenstown - Now Cobh
Maryborough -  Now Portlaoise
Queens County - Now Co Laois
Kings County - Now Co Offaly

There are a few in the North as well, but obviously no name change is onthe horizon.

Brookeborough, Co Fermanagh
Craigavon, Co Armagh

I always thought that Armagh was quite an unnatural county with the North and South of the county having little interaction with each other except through football.

However the claim for most unnatural must go to Leitrim.  It is impossible to drive from North Leitrim to South Leitrim without going into Roscommon or Cavan!  Any others?

With Irish Cricket & Hockey being on the news the last few days I was just wondering is Soccer the only major sport where Ireland is partitioned.

My list is open to correction and addition.

All- Ireland

GAA
Rugby
Cricket
Hockey
Horse Racing
Boxing

Republic of Ireland & Northern Ireland

Soccer
Snooker ( There used to be a World Cup, not sure if it still exists)


Not entirely sure about Golf, I think it is based on an All Ireland model, but all the NI lads choose the wee NI fleg beside their names.

For those of you in the North who are content to remain a region of Britain ( and every opinion poll ever took on the matter suggests that there are a huge number), consider what good old BBC Northern Ireland are doing for you on St Patrick's Day.

Our National Day is being celebrated by BBC NI by not showing a single programme that has got anything to do with Ireland, St Patrick, Northern Ireland even, Irish Music, Culture, Heritage, even an Irish Film.  Nada, Nothing, Nil, Zilch.

Here are a selection of some of the things that they are showing on St Patrick's Day,

- Dads Army
-Escape to the Country (Norfolk)
- How God made the English (A Chosen People?)
- Arena: The Dreams of William Golding.
and last but not least

- CROMWELL (Epic retelling of the clash between Oliver Cromwell & Charles I)

I'm not taking the piss about the Cromwell one, they are actually showing this on St Patrick's Day.

I went to a SF Uniting Ireland conference recently, and was quite disapointed because their route to a united Ireland was quite vague, and wishy washy.  I wish that someone at SF HQ would sit down and draw up a list of 10 things that the ordinary man on the street can do.  Ordinary people like me and you can do to bring a united Ireland closer, quicker.

I had to wipe my computer which included my Itunes library.

Now i am trying to get my IPOD set up again, but my new Itunes library only holds the 30 songs that I bought from them and not the 500 songs that I have on my IPOD.

In order to link my new Itunes library to my IPOD, It wants to wipe everything from my IPOD.

Do I bloody need Itunes, can I add stuff to my IPOD and computer using another system similar to Itunes.

Help gratefully recieved because I know feck all about computers, but i do know that Itunes are trying to pull a fly one here.

Who is the only footballer ever to win All-Irelands at minor, U-21 & Senior, Win the NFL, The Railway Cup, and the All-Ireland Club Championship?  In other words a full house!

The Bould Wullie Frazer has an application in to hold a loyalist band parade through the 95%+ Catholic village of Whitecross in Co.Armagh.  It is in commemmoration of the innocent victims of the Kingsmills Massacre which took place in 1976.  They propose to march along the route the victims took from Glenanne, through Whitecross and on to the country roadside spot where the men were shot.  The Kingsmills innocent families have never had any justice for their loved ones and have campaigned for years in a dignified and respectful way.
Few if any residents along the route would object to them marching from Glenanne through Whitecross and onto the lonely roadside spot where their loved ones were killed, indeed I'm sure most local residents would support them all the way,

However, Guess what Wullie has planned?

A parade with at least 11 loyalist bands, 450 participants and up to 100 additional supporters.  Parades commission are to decide next week.

I always wondered where Old Firm fans stood on this issue.  I remember about 7 or 8 years ago, two celtic fans from Glasgow telling me that the SNP was a protestant party, and that all Glasgow catholics voted Labour.  Now this would put them on the side of Queen and country in the referendum.  Also you cannot tell me that British loving working class Rangers supporting Prods are Tory voters.  It doesn't make sense.  Do Celtic and Rangers both support Labour?  Would Rangers fans vote to leave the UK?  Would Celtic fans vote to remain in the UK?  It all seems a bit confusing but very interesting.  Have Scottish Catholics switched to the SNP, therefore explaining the SNP victories in Glasgow and the West of Scotland which have voted Labour forever and a day until now.

Ulster Final of Scor na nOg is on next weekend in Gallbally, Co Tyrone.    I was thinking of getting my children involved in Scor when it starts up again later in the year.  I havent been to Scor in about 20 years, and was wanting to know, if 8 or 9 year old children are too young to enter to Scor.  I was looking on youtube and it seems to be mostly 16/17/18 year olds.

I recently had to have my computer wiped due to viruses, but now when re-installing my ipod, it will only allow me to transfer purchases from I-tunes to my ipod account, which are about 30 of 500 tracks.

It is saying that I add non-itunes tracks to my ipod library without wiping all tunes from my IPOD.  I also don't seem to be able to download all songs from my ipod to my computer which If i was able to do this, would allow me to do without an Itunes/Ipod account.

There is probably a simple way around this, can anyone help?

Film 4 9.00pm Thursday Night.  Great show!