Brainless PSNI and Parades Commission

[Tonto]

Has Willie Frazer got anything to do with this.  I had heard a while back that the Whitecross parade was the first of three, including an orange parade in Armagh on St Paddy's Day and an orange parade to the GPO on O'Connell St on Easter Sunday.

When I first heard this, I laughed at the stupidity of him thinking that he would be allowed to do it, but now the Armagh parade is approved, and I think the Dublin parade has been approved as well !!!

What are the parades commission afraid of?  Why don't they just tell them to pick any other day of the year?

FFS, is Willie Frazer the nationalists' bogeyman?  It's got nothing to do with him!

[Feckitt]

Has it got anything to do with you?

[Tonto]

Has it got anything to do with you?

lol... no.  See my original post; I think it's a very daft move.

[nifan]

What are the parades commission afraid of?  Why don't they just tell them to pick any other day of the year?

Surely they have enough days by now? How do they not get bored of it.

[fitzroyalty]

This is going to be good.

Plenty of people out celebrating St Paddy's, no doubt drinking all day. Take drunk nationalists and have 40 loyalist bands and their supporters, also drunk and let them march through a mainly nationalist town, on St Paddy's of all days.

Good waste of resources spent policing this shite. Well done to all.

[Tonto]

This is going to be good.

Plenty of people out celebrating St Paddy's, no doubt drinking all day. Take drunk nationalists and have 40 loyalist bands and their supporters, also drunk and let them march through a mainly nationalist town, on St Paddy's of all days.

Good waste of resources spent policing this shite. Well done to all.

Not only that, Ireland are playing England that night in the 6 nations!

Or maybe that'll keep the tims in the pub?

[Evil Genius]

I have no interest in these Band Parades, nor have I ever marched anywhere etc. Indeed I have a great distaste for any such displays which are designed to be exercises in coat-trailing and territory-marking etc, and to wind up others.

EG in criticising those who you have no interest in and trying to come up with an idea of why people parade, you are as bad as those people who went to Windsor in the early 1980s and still call NI fans bigots.

You should re-read my post. I said "any such displays which etc" - that is, I did not automatically assume that this Parade is so designed. Indeed, I even posted a You Tube link to show what this band is like (more a crime against Music, than Community Relations imo).

Just because you have no idea/ interest does not give you the right to suppose the reasons for people parading.  You should read 'Blood and Thunder', a book written by a Catholic man from CO Monaghan who followed Castlederg Young Loyalists for a year.  He made the point that if the only reason for parading is to "wind others up" as you said, then why are the biggest and most successful parades in loyalist areas?

I didn't make any such supposition.

Rather I took the trouble to find/cite the Parades Commission's Determination which, if followed, should ensure that no reasonable spectator need be intolerably wound up.

Perhaps I should put it another way. I don't particularly like these Band Parades. But I will not go out of my way to be offended by them, either, and I would suggest to Nationalists that they might do the same.

In other words, there is no need for this Parade to be troublesome unless someone wants it.

[Feckitt]

The pub will be an even bigger attraction than usual in Armagh this St Paddy's day, because Crossmaglen are playing in the AIF, and then Ireland beat England in Twickenham.  I for one would not bring my children to Armagh this year if a crowd of loyalists are going to arrive in the middle of it.  The St Patricks celebrations end at 6.30, and the parade begins at 7.00.  Do the parades commission think the loyalists are going to arrive at 6.55pm?  They will be there from much earlier in the day.

[Tonto]

I didn't make any such supposition.

Rather I took the trouble to find/cite the Parades Commission's Determination which, if followed, should ensure that no reasonable spectator need be intolerably wound up.

Fair enough, but I still don't believe that is clear from your post as, I think,  it implied the only reason for loyalist parades was to "coat trail" and "wind people up".

If that's not what you meant, I apologise.

[fitzroyalty]

Perhaps I should put it another way. I don't particularly like these Band Parades. But I will not go out of my way to be offended by them, either, and I would suggest to Nationalists that they might do the same.

In other words, there is no need for this Parade to be troublesome unless someone wants it.

There is no need, but then again there was no need for it to be moved from where ever it originally was held to Armagh city.

Also you're noble suggestion might have some substance if you didn't ignore what day of the year it was. Can't imagine too many sober souls (on either side) around the city come kick-off time for the loyalist parade. Silly mistake by PC and PSNI who are probably looking some extra overtime if anything.

[Evil Genius]

The St Patricks celebrations end at 6.30, and the parade begins at 7.00.  Do the parades commission think the loyalists are going to arrive at 6.55pm?  They will be there from much earlier in the day.

According to the Parades Commission:
"The Commission also heard that this parade would start more than two hours after the Council-supported St Patrick's Day parade had finished at 4:30 pm, as publicly advertised by Armagh City and District Council.".

Besides, if the Commission had prescribed a later start to the Band Parade, then the finish might then have coincided with the Pubs closing...

But hey, that's just more proof of how "brainless" they are... 

[Nally Stand]

The St Patricks celebrations end at 6.30, and the parade begins at 7.00.  Do the parades commission think the loyalists are going to arrive at 6.55pm?  They will be there from much earlier in the day.

According to the Parades Commission:
"The Commission also heard that this parade would start more than two hours after the Council-supported St Patrick's Day parade had finished at 4:30 pm, as publicly advertised by Armagh City and District Council.".

Besides, if the Commission had prescribed a later start to the Band Parade, then the finish might then have coincided with the Pubs closing...

But hey, that's just more proof of how "brainless" they are... 

IT'S ON SAINT PATRICK'S DAY.
ARMAGH WILL BE FULL OF  MAINLY NATIONALIST REVELERS......ALL DAY.


"So let's allow 40 loyalist "blood & thunder" bands to parade around" = BRAINLESS

The "traditional route" idea doesn't seem so sacred to them this time around for some reason hmmmm

[brokencrossbar1]

It's all well and good having time limits on the each parade but if the PC think for one minute that the streets of Armagh will be clear by 7.30 to allow the march to merrily move along then they are in cloud cuckoo land.  By the parades will be over but you will have had a whole pile of lads in and out of the pubs all day watching the rugby and our club final and fully loaded with stout.  the rugby will be finished by just around 7pm so that gives a handy 30 minutes for the pubs to clear out onto the street in time for the parade.  It is mental and prevocative.  Imagine the reaction if the AOH requested a similar march through Ballymena on the 12th?  It would be murder.  By all means if they wanted the march they should have discussed it with the local people on the ground and had a small event first.  Jim Speers was on teh news saying its about celebrating St Patrick, well fair enough, but baby steps not jackboots.

[Candyman]

A disaster waiting to happen.

I have no interest in these Band Parades, nor have I ever marched anywhere etc. Indeed I have a great distaste for any such displays which are designed to be exercises in coat-trailing and territory-marking etc, and to wind up others.

Finally, the official St.P's Day Parade is due to finish at 4.30 pm - three hours before this Parade commences. Someone said that there will be music in Market Street which ends at 6.30 pm, but on the basis that the Band Parade will only be leaving the Mall at 7 pm, that will surely allow more than half an hour for people to disperse before the Band Parade arrives?

I've highlighted the part above..... EG are you actually wise in the head?
Have you ever been out by Killylea, where the parade has been held every other year?
Well I have... for about 10years solid, and let me tell you:

The stalls, burger vans, bunting etc will be up from mid-week.... crowds start to gather quite early in the day to get the best spots!! If you think that the streets will be cleared by 7.30pm and that there will be no loyalists there long before the starting time.... u need help!!

What exactly do you think all the band members and their supporters will be doing all day before their event???

[Agent Orange]

Let them at it, last man standing wins.

I'll be in Croke Park.