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Have to say it all seems to me that gays playing rugby is nothing more than the flirting before an all out orgy

A bit like sheep sheering for culchies? 

Looking forward to the Queen's visit, you Jackeens?

[Northern Ireland's only gay rugby team is promoting a form of sporting apartheid, Sports Minister Edwin Poots has claimed.]

Northern Ireland's only gay rugby team is promoting a form of sporting apartheid, Sports Minister Edwin Poots has claimed.

Mr Poots said he could not understand the motivation behind the founding of the Belfast-based Ulster Titans.

"I just cannot fathom why people see the necessity to develop an apartheid in sport," he said.

However, one of the team's founders, Declan Lavery, said everyone was welcome to join the club.

"When the club was set up it welcomed members regardless of their age, creed, religion, sexual orientation or whatever, and that's how it continues," Mr Lavery said.

"Yes, it was primarily something established as a vehicle for gay people but that doesn't mean somebody who isn't gay can't join, everyone is welcome."

However, Mr Poots said: "It would be unacceptable to produce an all-black rugby team or an all-white team or an all-Chinese team.

"To me it's equally unacceptable to produce an all-homosexual rugby team and I find it remarkable that people who talk so much about inclusivity and about having an equal role in society would then go down the route of exclusion."

Sourced BBCi: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7253965.stm

I can see Poot's point, would it be acceptable to have an all-black or all-white team? So why would a gay team be more acceptable?

That said, I don't really think that this is Poot's real reason.

The DUP weren't too bothered about apartheid when it was happening in South Africa ... sure didn't Eric 'IQ of 6' Smyth famously describe Nelson Mandela as a "black Provo"

Knew it was bound to turn pear-shaped...

Apparently FIFA are to investigate Dennis O'Brien's bankrolling half the £2m a year wages of  Trappatoni and Tardelli.  FIFA don't like third parties contributing to managers' salaries and are seeking urgent clarification from the FAI as well as starting their own probe.

Ian og's career

I was at the game on Saturday night and to be honest i never felt that Tyrone  really looked like winning the game and to be fair i was quite pleased at the way they battled hard to keep in touch in a game that as Orangeman says we should have lost by 10 points!

It was a strange game to analyse, the forward line where very economical when they had decent ball, but complaining about the ball in is unfair when you look down the pitch and nobody is making a meaning run to get into space to receive the pass. Our scores came mainly from breaks up the field by the half backs - usually the outstanding Philip Jordan! Colm Cavannagh has come in for a bit of stick lately, but i thought at least he was consistently trying to show for the ball - ok he made a few mistakes but at least he showed willing - unlike Mulgrew, Mugsy and Gormley! I thought McCullagh had a good game, but i'm concerned at halving our most capable scoring forward popping up to make defencive tackles inside his own 21.

The defence did a decent job - McCarron was struggling to be fair, but our midfield was so over run it was difficult for him when the supply has plenty of time to pick the perfect ball from someone like Donaghy! I thought Justy did well when he came and got into Donaghy's face a bit - which seems to put him off his game as he spent most of the rest of the game with his arms out complaining looking for frees! Maybe this is the way to deal with him!

As i said, Jordan was superb, during the second half it seemed like it was Kerry V Philip Jordan - perhaps CHB is his place, which would mean Gormley can come back into the square (speaking of which, we heard in the pub before the game that he wasnt playing and it was because of flu!) and Carlin can move to the wing where i feel he could be very dangerous!

Big Pascal made 3 great saves, but his kick-outs were shocking although the movement by the midfield didnt help! Overall though, a more encouraging display with a bit more bite, however we are severely short in major areas i.e. midfield and a ball winning and accurate scoring forward!

I couldn't make the match cos I work Saturdays (f****** floodlights) but I watched the highlights on Sunday on TG4 and I have to say the performance with what is a seriously understrength team was very encouraging IMO ... I totally agree with Benny's summary, especially considering he was there

Got a 42" LG LCD and it's great.  All modern flatscreens are HD ready anyway.  I've heard, though, that plasmas above 40" have better definition than LCDs.  Used to be a problem with plasmas over 'burn', but that's apparently been sorted out with the new plasmas

Non-religious wing of DUP have been rumbling for weeks over Ian og ... vastly disliked by likes of Dodds, Robinson and Campbell cos of the nepotism thing ... can only assume there was more shit to come and he knew his days were numbered ... congrats to Davy Gordon in the Telegraph, who was actually libelled by Ian snr when he was described as a "lazy journalist" cos he used Freedom of Information legislation to ask the VERY questions which have led to Ian og's demise ... good riddance to philanderer whose  philandering has been covered up by his oul boy ... how hypocritical is that?

Looks like another United Chelsea final is on the cards.

Or as they just said on sky sports news, the dream final

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Dunno your holiness, if Portsmouth put  out a full team at Old Trafford they have a very good chance of taking United IMO.  United v Chelsea final would be crap to watch as opposed to a Chelsea/United v Barnsley/Bristol Rovers final

I see we've "moved on" then. New century, new opportunity grasped to look forward and anticipate a bright future in glowing contrast to the dark past we've struggled through. It's heart-warming, really, to see our little community here on this board in the vanguard as we stride confidently into the future, contemptuous of the suggestion that the mere appearance of a little old woman could deflect our firm gaze from the shining horizon ahead.

this is more like the smug reply i was expecting.
yes we know your all right jack glad things worked out for you. your remarks about religion show you have not  understanding of Christianity at all . being a catholic is about summitting you will to a higherpower and having the humility to know you are not perfect but a common sinner. not the philosiphy of the smug . sure many of us are bad christians but  thats part of the plan.

his holiness nb
maybe if you stopped using a self proclaimed divinity as your avatar some one might take your view on this seriously.

yes the gaa took the schilling but that doesnt mean we have to welcome the bastard offspring  of a woman who thinks she pope because on of her ancestors want to get his end away with the kitchen maid.
what ever is done can be undone

Totally agree. And who brought this Catholic shit into it? I'm an athiest and proud of it.  Pangurban is correct.  We sold ourselves, but the people doing the selling weren't living in the six counties over the past 87 years, so they know f**k all ... anybody going to the match with princess anne remember that when some scottish player goes over in the corner, that's the corner young hogan died in from a bullet delivered by the so-called forces of law and order at the time ... and i would point out at this juncture that after the murdering parachute regiment, the scottish regiments were the most despised of all british regiments in the six counties

Who was the young kid (13) from downpatrick who was introduced recently at halftime at Celtic Park after signing schoolboy forms?   Apparently United and Arsenal were after him but he's a mad celt

Why would Tony look at the GAA thread, if it doesn't involve Spurs or blowing about all his free tickets he doesn't give a shit

Quite right, Martin, it's a terrible thing to have children exposed to images of people smoking and drinking.

Far better to have them experiencing wholesome images like this:



Or this:



Or this:

What's your problem with the first image?  Unmasked people at a funeral with an obviously distressed family and absolutely no caption details. Saying that, there's no caption details on the other two shocking pictures, but i'll have to assume they're ira attacks as if they were loyalist bombings we would not have had army and police pulling dead fenians from the rubble, colin wallace would have been too busy distributing black propaganda to say they were republican own goals a la mcgurk's bar

So???
Regard it as part of growing up!!  Wait till you see ! The Sun will rise the next day!

Perpetual darkness till the shameful wrong is righted

Snap, although I'd not have included Dalglish on that in fairness. I know he did the double at Liverpool, and won the league with Blackburn, but after that his stints at Newcastle and Celtic were fairly poor. As Dunphy would say, I think he's a good manager, not a great manager.

Probably the greatest player, I ever saw in the flesh but his management record was more down to the squad he inherited (Liverpool) or loads of money (Blackburn) than any great managerial ability.

He built one the best ever Liverpool teams in the late 80s, starting out while he still a player. Had they not been out of Europe they would have easily have won another one or two European Cups back then. In 5 1/2 years he won three leagues and two FA cups. Yes, he lost something after Hillsborough and was responsible for the beginning of Liverpool's slump, but how many managers could've lasted through something like that? And money alone is not the answer, or are you saying that it was inevitable that Blackburn would have won that championship, that any average manager could've done it? He was a top manager for me, no question.

Would fully agree with J70

Dalglish sold Ian Rush and with the same money bought Barnes, Beardsley and Aldridge.

A great bit of business it was too...
Don't think Rush should have came back though,Aldridge was a better player imho and it was a pity he only lasted a couple of seasons at Anfield

Aldridge didn't want to leave Anfield if I remember, the club wanted to sell him.  Think he was the first non-Basque to play for Real Sociedad

Apparently, the horse-faced one will be in the VIP section of the Hogan Stand for Ireland v Scotland in the Six Nations, the first official visit to GAA HQ by a member of the british parasite (sorry) royal family

While she has been to Lansdowne Road on a few occasions in the past, this is the first time such a high ranking member of the buckingham palace inbred germans has visited Croker... with six of our 32 counties still under occupation, this depresses me no end