Peter Robinson attends te McKenna Cup Final

[Orior]

This was a good thing.

I hope it reduces the number of explained fires at Club houses.

[playwiththewind1st]

Hope Iris was with him, otherwise god knows what she might have been getting up to.

[screenmachine]

Jeffrey and Jim Allister were good craic on the radio this morning as well as another caller who now seems to expect the Orange Order to be allowed to walk down the Garvaghy Road each summer as a way to recognise and reciprocate this positive move by Peter Robinson.

I suggest that if Jim Allister lines out at full forward for his chosen county for a season or two they can march wherever they want.   

Seriously though, I hope that this move isn't used as a political football where the DUP start crowing on about attending a GAA match and now the Orange Order should be allowed to march wherever they want.  In fairness they have a valid enough point regarding clubs and competitions being named after Republicans who have been killed during the Troubles.  You can't expect the Protestant population to fully accept the organisation while this exists in much the same way that members of the Catholic community would feel slightly aggrieved at attending the Billy Wright Memorial Cup or playing a sport against Billy Wright FC.   It would be one less stick for 'them' to beat us with if moves were made to change this in the future...

[Hereiam]

It really did sickin me on the interview on the BBC after the match the way he talked about the GAA moving forward as if to say it is the GAA who are living in the dark ages. Its a sinister move and nothing else.

[theticklemister]

I don't think Billy Wright or Padraig Pearse compare in any way

[Denn Forever]

One man's Terrorist in another man's freedom fighter.

[Canalman]

Imvho an obvious next step for him and the DUP after their "reaching out to Catholics" speech at their Ardfheis. Demographics now dictate that the Castle Catholics are now to be nurtured and wooed to safeguard the Union.

Pressure now on MMcG to reciprocate I would think.

Then again I may have misread it all wrong.

[johnneycool]

Imvho an obvious next step for him and the DUP after their "reaching out to Catholics" speech at their Ardfheis. Demographics now dictate that the Castle Catholics are now to be nurtured and wooed to safeguard the Union.

Pressure now on MMcG to reciprocate I would think.

Then again I may have misread it all wrong.

Wee Marty will be mounting a white steed and leading the festivities on the twelth in Magherfelt.

[Orior]

According to Jeffrey Donaldson and Gregory Campbell, the GAA must recipricate the Peter Robinson gesture by doing the following:

- Rename clubs whose name offends Protestants (e.g. Kevin Lynchs in Derry)
- Rename competitons names after IRA soldiers
- Respect the Queen of England
- Respect Protestant wishes to feel British
- Respect Protestants to honour their dead on Remembrance Sunday
- Respect Protestants wishes to celebrate the killing of Catholics for the past 300 years

A pretty hefty wish list (I'll ignore the nutter who asked for the Orange Order to be allowed to march down the Garvaghy Road).

Does anyone believe that the Orange Order would invite Martin McGuinness to attend a 12th July parade? Of course not. They are, afterall, a bigotted sectarian organisation.

[sheamy]

Hope Iris was with him, otherwise god knows what she might have been getting up to.

She didn't attend as there was no minor game on

[Hereiam]

Orior to do that would susgust that the GAA is on the same footin as the O.O. Its not, its a sporting body simple as that.

[Orior]

The Sinn Fein Culture Minister was there on Saturday night too. She comes across as more interested in Glasgow Celtic than her own parish club (Patrick Pearses in Northern Belfast).

Maybe thats why the kids put on a wee soccer display for her and Peter and Marty at half time.

PS. I going to start using the term Northern Belfast to please the poor downtrodden unionists.

PPS. If I'd been in charge of the grounds on Saturday night I would have had the soccer playing kids frog marched out of the ground.

[EC Unique]

Hope Iris was with him, otherwise god knows what she might have been getting up to.

She didn't attend as there was no minor game on

Somebody should have told her Tyrone are trying to break in some youth in the panel. That would have got her juices flowing

[glens abu]

The Sinn Fein Culture Minister was there on Saturday night too. She comes across as more interested in Glasgow Celtic than her own parish club (Patrick Pearses in Northern Belfast).

Maybe thats why the kids put on a wee soccer display for her and Peter and Marty at half time.

PS. I going to start using the term Northern Belfast to please the poor downtrodden unionists.

PPS. If I'd been in charge of the grounds on Saturday night I would have had the soccer playing kids frog marched out of the ground.

How do you work that out?

[screenmachine]

I don't think Billy Wright or Padraig Pearse compare in any way

I don't think the issue was with clubs named after previous generations of republicans such as Pearse (although it would probably be raised at some point) but more towards clubs named after more recent republicans, such as Kevin Lynches in Dungiven for example.  You can make the connection with the likes of Kevin Lynch and Billy Wright as they were both part of the most recent Republican/Loyalist epsiode and you can therefore make the comparison that if there was a local soccer club, for example, called Billy Wright FC that it wouldn't exactly be the most welcoming club for Catholics.

At the same time I wouldn't fancy heading into Dungiven and trying to persuade a name change from Kevin Lynches to a suitable alternative, I'll leave that to Jim Allister.  They'd welcome him with open arms...