Get ready to wave them flegs - Lily Windsor's coming

[deiseach]

Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II,
Buckingham Palace,
London SW1A 1AA, United Kingdom

10th May 2011

Your Majesty,

As your majesty will be visiting our community shortly, and being aware of your family's expressed interest in promoting good community relations, may we ask a small favour of you?

In particular when visiting our community you will be calling at Croke Park, headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Historically the GAA has been a strongly Irish Nationalist sporting association set up some years after the 'great famine' in Ireland with the goal of energising local communities and helping in the fight against landlordism at a time when evictions were commonplace.

Indeed as an association, and up until recently, the GAA would have been unlikely to have extended to a member of the British Royal family a warm welcome on visiting their headquarters in Croke Park. However in these changing times in the relationship between our peoples we now believe that your majesty is regarded with deep affection by many in GAA Headquarters, unlike their attitude to our local community, and it is in this regard that we hope your majesty may be able to be of some great assistance.

Despite our community enduring great inconvenience and hardship during the many major events hosted in Croke Park, that has helped Croke Park to report income of over €58 million in successive years, Croke Park officials have now sent an eviction notice to our Community & Handball Centre members, copy enclosed. This Centre is a vital asset to our local community that has invested almost €4 million in its development and maintenance over the last 40 years. There is huge opposition to this attempted eviction by Croke Park, and Croke Park's proposed alternative development has been opposed by all 17 local politicians and 10 residents committees representatives at a recent national planning authority oral hearing. I include a copy of our Newsletter that shows how vital an asset this Centre is to our community.

Your Majesty we would be very grateful if you could let the Croke Park GAA officials, that you may happen to meet, know that you are aware of our plight and that it would be only right that we be treated with the same respect and decency that such as Arsenal's stadium officials treat their local community.

While Croke Park officials have instructed other GAA communities not to comment on your visit this does not affect us and we trust your majesty will not mind our asking for your assistance in this matter.

Yours sincerely,

Eamon O'Brien.
Chairman, Croke Park Streets Committees.

This is from The Onion, right?

[Rossfan]

For f**k's sake. If he really sent that letter to Buck House he needs a kick in the arse. If it's a pisstake then it's a good one.

Does the flute still think Mrs Windsor is absolute monarch of Ireland ??

[Evil Genius]

For f**k's sake. If he really sent that letter to Buck House he needs a kick in the arse. If it's a pisstake then it's a good one.

I think it's safe to say that Her Majesty will not be raising the matter during her visit.

And I assume that the writer of the letter knows that.

In which case, for the price of a stamp, it's an excellent way of getting publicity for their campaign (imo).

And as the grandson of a champion handball player who might conceivably even have played in the original alley, I wish them well.

[Banana Man]

will jackie mcdonald and the mexican mcfarland and co be laying wreaths with her?

[Shamrock Shore]

Clean underwear (check)
Nice little union jack on stick (check)
Words of UK Nat Ant re-learned (check). But who nowadays "sends her victorious" Is this a good seat on Ryanair?

Blackrock in Site Cinty Dublin awaits an unscheduled visit.

Shamrock Shore will not let GAAbaord down.

[GalwayBayBoy]

Author and journalist Ruth Dudley Edwards said she was disappointed that Kevin Myers and Eoghan Harris had not been invited to the event.

A source close to Mr Myers said yesterday: "He is not so much disappointed as angry.

In your face Myers. I can imagine him crying into his William and Kate memorial Handkerchief.

[deiseach]

A source close to Mr Myers said yesterday: "He is not so much disappointed as angry...

That's a slow burner, that one

[Applesisapples]

and your consistent references to the non-existent "Free State" are meant to convey what, precisely? It has been said so often now that many here find the term offensive that its continued use could reasonably be construed as intended to offend.

Hardy, there is no symmetry between these things. Names are used for places, Freestate shorter to write than than 26 counties. I used the term Nordie in my post, somewhat tongue in cheek. But mayogodhelpus has a distasteful exclusionist agenda that he is Irish and 6 county contributors are not. It is entirely unacceptable to imply that others are less than you in this way.

Armaghniac, you may be right that mghu has an exclusionist agenda (I don't have the time to read all his posts) so fire away and debate that with him. My point was an independent one - simply responding to the complaint about the use of insulting terms by pointing out that offensiveness works both ways and  many here find the "Free State" term offensive.

I should point out that I don't really give a toss. People are too precious these days about what offends them and I believe in the majority of cases the appropriate response to "I'm offended by that" is "so what?". I was just making a debating point with Applesisapples.

I try to avoid using the term Free State because some people find it offensive. I was only taking issue with MGHU because of his consistently offensive and demeaning posts which clearly indicate that he feels we Northerners are not really Irish. I was asking a Dublin friend on Saturday how he felt about the term Free State and he told me that he often uses it him self. I have posted elswhere that generally I don't find Nordy offensive depending on the tone and context MGHU excels in using it in an offensive manner.

[Shamrock Shore]

God Bless you M'am 

[ziggysego]

I've a tear trickling down my face.

[laoislad]

It be the perfect time to rob a bank right now.

[muppet]

I've a tear trickling down my face.

She'll be in Coppers later Zig.

[Tony Baloney]

Is the first time these boys have dressed up since the last visit?

[Evil Genius]

It be the perfect time to rob a bank right now.

I'd say you're a few years too late:


"Sorry about that, lads, but you're welcome to come in and take a look around, maybe take a few photos for your Facebook page..."

[thejuice]

The comments page on RTE.ie is embarrassing.

"Finally we will be seen as a civilised respectable nation"    

It alternates between venomous Republicanism to pathetic grovelling with very little room for rational thought, especially noted since my comment seems to have been censored.