Messages

She was on the radio earlier slamming the SDLP for hanging around with dissidents on the Garvaghy road yet has no problem being seen with UVF superfan Jamie Bryson all day long who condones their historical actions and justifies them as they were 'reactionary' 

If those rumours are true it certainly questions the reporters judgement on well anything from now on ffs  why?  

I know it's a young Ulster team and Glasgow are hard as nails but scratching my head wondering how Ulster couldn't score the winning points playing the last 10 mins with 2 extra men ffs

Trying to post a pie chart and cant

If you go Arnold cartons twitter the chart he has shows everyone all they need to know about parading in the north.

https://irishunionist.substack.com/p/acknowledging-tolerance

I listened to the redlines podcast  this morning. Sam McBride who is normally good seems pretty clueless over this whole Drumcree affair. Firstly he thinks the SDLP have made a massive mistake by joining the protest on the Garvaghy road and reckons they will be squeezed at the next election as there is no difference to SF on their approach to the crisis. I'm sorry this is bollocks. If the SDLP didn't join the protest when SF, aontu and pbp were all there then they would get hammered at the polls. Every single nationalist I know is very angry about the whole affair and to take any laid back approach would have seriously backfired.
Secondly he says a big difference in unionism to nationalism over this is that Jon Burrows is offering something different and separating itself from the DUP, as jon Burrows is talking about mediation and an off ramp and possible one last parade and then done etc. Again this is us utter bollocks. Go back to the start of all this and you will see Jon Burrows wanted the parade to go ahead as much as any other unionist ,quoting traditional route etc etc not once did he say no let's wait and talk to the residents to find a solution. It's only now he is rolling back after the inevitable and oh so predictable shit storm that he with his fellow unionists pushed for

That traitors line up is pretty good, how many years till it ends up being Z listers?

I thought it was a poor enough line up. Considering how good season 1 was I thought a whole load of stars would be desperate to get in. Instead it's kind of like a who's who from taskmaster or the old Dave channel

That 35% UI will include the polls from NILT and Liverpool uni which are as useful as a chocolate teapot

Not a person I have followed much over the years but Gerry Carroll wasn't exactly what you would describe be as 'slick'on the Nolan show.  In truth I thought Nolan and his chronicles ran rings around him. 

Yes it wasn't great. No harm to Gerry or Dessie but neither of them were as you said slick. Gerry is too argumentative and then doesn't get his points across well. Needed someone with a bit more cool to just keep pushing the point that the source of all the trouble is a parade that isn't wanted, isn't traditional has another route and to get on with it. Jon Burrows is some c*nt saying he is all for mediation yet was all for the parade to go ahead right from the get go with not a single thought or care of how it would all inevitably go.

Some craic online regarding Ron McDowell's photograph of the crowd at their get together last night

I haven't been following the mainstream media coverage that closely -
is Jim allister a lot less prominent over the last 2 days than we might have expected?  Or am I just fortunate not to have seen him?

There is undoubtedly a group of new unionists coming through who seem every bit as bad Campbell, Wilson, Dodds
& co.  Lockhart, Buckley & Brett are really deplorable characters. 

The whole of unionism is being led by the nose by Jamie it seems- is there not even one elected rep amongst them that is prepared to challenge him in any shape or form!

Who do you think is whispering in Jamie's ear this whole time. Do you really think Jamie has it in him to be the legal brains to represent the order.

Does anyone think any of the protestors will be actually charged?

No way and if they were then it would be like a badge of honour. Didn't Eastwood have a similar
charge recently and essentially got a slap on the wrist

There has been a lot of commentary about this dispute bringing NI back to the 1990s.  Frankly, that's BS.  This is not bringing us back to the 90s, it's shining a light on where we are in 2026.  It hasn't gone away, you know.  If there's blame for this situtation to be apportioned, it lies at the feet of the Parades Commission and the PSNI.

Everyone washed their hands of it instead of looking for some sort of solution/ resolution. Not saying this was possible but instead of investing time and effort in these communities, everyone just ignored it and hoped it would go away.

There has been a lot of commentary about this dispute bringing NI back to the 1990s.  Frankly, that's BS.  This is not bringing us back to the 90s, it's shining a light on where we are in 2026.  It hasn't gone away, you know.  If there's blame for this situtation to be apportioned, it lies at the feet of the Parades Commission and the PSNI.

Everyone washed their hands of it instead of looking for some sort of solution/ resolution. Not saying this was possible but instead of investing time and effort in these communities, everyone just ignored it and hoped it would go away.

I disagree NAG.


It was sorted. The people of Garvaghy Rd were left in peace and quiet.
This is on Bryson and Lockhart. It's a deflection tactic from Donaldson. Simple as.


I'm seeing a lot of this 'two sides' are equally to blame waffle. Pure waffle. This narrative is coming from a few uneducated people in the south. Just look at the statement from MM. Laughable. Then I listened to Helen Mc Entee today. OMG. There's great people from the south who have supported the residents. A lot have come up and supported the residents.

I'm not trying to two side this, but the fact that it wasn't completely written off has allowed Bryson and his wider motives to get hold of an issue and use it to hold a community to ransom.

It was a settled issue in the minds of normal right thinking people, but you have to remember that's not what you are dealing with when it comes to Lockhart, Bryson et al

"Right thinking people'

Unfortunately it's not just Bryson and Lockhart. It's the the whole of political unionism. You can chuck in the inept parades commission, PSNI, secretary of state and the judicial system and a big section of the media who all seem to think the parade itself isn't the problem FFS. The now manufactured issue is why are all the NAT politicians not getting visits from the police instead of asking why the f**k was the idea of the parade entertained in the first place!

Green party very quiet. Has anyone seen or heard anything from them regarding the whole debacle. Came across a tweet from he journalist Malachi o Doherty questioning why the SDLP got involved. I know the guy comes across on the radio pro status quo but considering his background you would think he would be a bit more in touch with nationalism. Even the most moderate nationalists are very very angry about this whole mess and how it has been brought up again.

Mary Lou on the radio there saying that a few weeks ago the DUP were at big pains saying Michelle O'Neill wasn't representing the office of First Minister when she met other devolved leaders in Cardiff so in that case she wasn't in Portadown yesterday as First Minister either. Fair point.

You are forgetting that unionists change their tune every 5 seconds to suit. Carla basically crying about the poor residents in scarva while hanging out with a masked mob and yet doesn't see any irony with her current position. Burrows saying there is no time to mess with this when Northern Ireland is in such a dire state with so many things need fixing yet only last week wanted debate with MON about how great NI was compared to the republic. All of them pretty much saying how awful it is and shows how protestants will be treated poorly in any future UI but sure f**k who cares how nationalists are treated right now lol, you couldn't make it up