Saturday, June 10, 2006
Wearing England in Dublin…
Conor Feehan took his national pride in hand, donned an England shirt and walked the streets of Dublin and chanced his arm. But in cosmopolitan Dublin, it seems few people noticed.
Mick Fealty @ 11:58 AM
I’m not really surprised.
Now had he done this on 25 March in and around O’Connell Street ....
Of course, Rangers Top: The Sequel, now that would be interesting.
Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 12:08 PMFantastic article; it really does show that, beneath the dreadful images of anti-unionist rioting in March, there truly is a very healthy tolerance in today’s Dublin.
A Rangers top sequel would indeed be interesting; I remember enjoying a great Burns Night dinner with the Dublin Rangers Supporters Club a couple of years ago - they were mostly genial Scots with jobs in dublin’s red-hot IT economy rather than your stereotype beered up ulster loyalist!
One other anecdote of tolerance - the year when the Ulster rugby team won the European Cup at Lansdowne Road. I remember the main shops in Grafton Street, and most of the pubs on the way out to the stadium, were flying the red-and-white Ulster flag - with the Crown on and all!
It was quite a sight to behold and I lost track of the number of delighted Ulster fans who mentioned how welcome they felt.
It has also become far more acceptable and widespread to wear the poppy in southern streets in November now, and there seems to be a growing appreciation of the nuances of Ireland’s past.
Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 12:17 PMWhen is the funeral?
Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 12:21 PMGreat to hear that David.
Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 12:21 PMOld Joke:
Paisley dies and goes to heaven.
St.Peter greets him and asks what he has done to deserve entry to Heaven.
Paisley replies that he has upheld the true protestant faith and says that, in fact, he walked down O’Connell St in dublin carrying a placard saying “F**k the Pope”.
Oh said St.Peter, when did you do that?
Paisley replies “about 2 or 3 minutes ago”.Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 12:31 PMOf course few noticed, and those that did probably didn’t give a hoots. Sure what was he expecting?!
Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 02:00 PMThe key phrase I think…
“Then again, with O’Connell Street being as multicultural as it is now, I suppose I just looked like another tourist”
Whatever antipathy the “Love Ulster” debacle uncovered (and undoubtedly it did) it was not to Englishness, or Britishness as most English and British would understand it.
It was quite clearly and specifically to Ulster Loyalism and Orangism. To claim otherwise I’d submit is just misleading.
Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 02:05 PMBeach Tree - so nationalists have grown to dislike Ireland-grown Britishness more than the idea of Britishness itself?
Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 02:46 PMIs this another one side is as bad as the other exercise?
Never were, are or will be. This is a sickness that has apologists aplenty claiming that it is a form of community expression.
Those with the intelligence to know better bring shame on themselves by attempting(unsuccessfully) to reason it so.
Hatred for hatreds sake is idiotic.
Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 03:05 PMfootballs coming home.
Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 03:20 PMIngram.
Some may have believed England good enough to win the world cup. However now that you have said it no-one will believe it.
Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 03:23 PMI thought England were playing at Seaview on the Shore Road this afternoon.
Everyone was wearing England shirts.
Bizarre !!!
Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 04:19 PMIf you want to support a winning team get out now and buy your Serbia&Montenegro;shirts
Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 04:29 PMwhat would be the point in wearing an england top in dublin, could it possibly be to incite trouble,was the writer hoping to provoke some sort of response, if so i would have thought the english where given the irish attitude towards england in Dublin in 1916, rember armalites are dangerous toys.
Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 04:53 PMAnd in English, Martin ... ?
;-)
Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 05:00 PMDuring the 2002 World Cup, I watched one of the England games (no idea who they were playing—not really into football) in a spit and sawdust pub in Dublin. All locals, all Irish except for me.
The whole pub was cheering for England ... no big deal at all.
Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 05:04 PMwell Gav old bean what if we got the bold Conor to don an english shirt and walk around some Asian area,s in dear old blighty, or perhaps try wearing a celtic shirt on the good old shankill road in wonderful Belfast,
Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 05:10 PMdear slugfest mo cara I think perhaps you may have had a wee drop to much of the auld falling down water ,
Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 05:18 PM“well Gav old bean what if we got the bold Conor to don an english shirt and walk around some Asian area,s in dear old blighty”
He would probably just blend in, the amount of St George flags being flown seems to increase with every tournament. Quite remarkable, seeing as it is a christian symbol.
Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 06:11 PMthere,s nothing christian in killing them auld dragons, Mustapha. dont they know that dragons are an endangered species, I should know I married one
Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 06:27 PM“I thought England were playing at Seaview on the Shore Road this afternoon.
Everyone was wearing England shirts.”
Wes
And not just on the Shore Road, i drove into a loyalist parade on the Newtownards Road in East Belfast this afternoon and the whole area was covered in people wearing England, Northern Ireland and Rangers football shirts.
I can understand loyalists wearing Northern Ireland and England shirts at the parade
But England shirts..?
P.S
I have never seen as much alochol being consumed in one place.
Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 06:33 PMits just a pity they dont know what nationality they really are, well maybe we know now why so many schools in loyalist areas,are closeing down they must have almost a 100% absentee record. and they cant hold their water,never mind alcohol
Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 07:03 PMWes
And not just on the Shore Road, i drove into a loyalist parade on the Newtownards Road in East Belfast this afternoon and the whole area was covered in people wearing England, Northern Ireland and Rangers football shirts.
I can understand loyalists wearing Northern Ireland and England shirts at the parade
But England shirts..?
P.S
I have never seen as much alochol being consumed in one place.
Posted by sam on Jun 10, 2006 @ 07:33 PM
I agree! England fans should be English only, if your from England and live in Ulster (like myself) then it’s o.k to wear the colours, if your not English you should be supporting someone else like N.Ireland, or Ireland. It really annoys me when I went out to buy my beer in Tesco this morning and their were lots of Northern Irish people wearing England tops - they have no right to, they are born on another island, it is my team and my country - not theirs that is at the World Cup! I would want Ireland to do well in the World Cup in the past, but I certainly wouldn’t go out and buy the top wearing it with pride! It is backwards! Rant over!
Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 07:35 PMI got into a pile of shite for wearing a nakedly blue scarf*, in the 4 provinces in Ranelagh. This was the early 90s ..... these days i don’t think anyone would really care.
*it just happened to be a certain shade of blue...i wasn’t wearing it make any statement or support.
Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 10:36 PM“Some may have believed England good enough to win the world cup. However now that you have said it no-one will believe it.”
Actually I was almost tempted to buy the hype on England this time round, but watching them play seems to have cured that delusion.
Posted by on Jun 10, 2006 @ 10:42 PM
