Right in there son!!

Belfast House Mafia?!

“Apologies, I thought you were Bishop Brennan”

Great to see. Hon boy, horse it into ‘em!

I’d never kick you in the arse. I think you’re great!

Both sides are as bad as each other

It is not the Orange Order that were at fault, but grouchs in the Catholic community who cannot see the light hearted side of playing songs celebrating their murder outside their churches and primary school every weekend for 6 months of the year. Why on the 12th alone, they kicked up a fierce fuss on the Ardoyne when a UVF flute band, named after a loyalist shot dead in the 90′s stopped on the road and played “No pope of Rome” on the spot where he shot 5 people. No respect for the Orange Order and what we bring to the table.

(I’m being sarcastic, it’s not like i’m Eoghan Harris, John Bruton or a Northern loyalist. )

They all need to grow up. I’m glad we don’t have to deal with it in the republic.

COPY AND PAST FANTASTIC. LOL. Black man, what black man?

I think this statement from the Greater Ardoyne Resident’s Collective pretty much sums the situation up-

It said: “These contentious marches only serve to poison community relations and further alienate and polarise our peoples, and all just to pander to the will of a few bigots who use culture as an excuse to mask and impose their outdated and obsolete triumphalism upon our community.”

I should add that I grew up in the North.

Great post Eamon.

There’s two of them in it! As bad as each other! Thugs!

Tony. The gentleman beside you in that photo is black, just imagine an org. that forbids him membership of it based on his colour. Imagine that they forbid people that have a black parent or that were married to a black person. Then tell him that every weekend form March to October, he can most weekends have the pleasure of having that org. march through his community. Imagine that that march includes members of org’s that killed blacks, that has bands named after people that killed blacks and that play lovely songs about being up to their knees in “black blood”.

Would you call him a thug, if he was irate at that. If the Klan marched in the Bronx, would it be a case of “they both are as bad as each other”. We both know that it wouldn’t.

Thats a fairly tidy response by Eamonn, in fairness. But can anyone tell me, why do the parades commission allo them to march out of their own areas? It seems they are only asking for policing/monitoring expense..

Bob. The Orange Order at the time of Drumcree in 96 brought 120, 000 people on to the streets, the set up road blocks, forced shops to close, and had the UVF/LVF killing people at the same time. The police did nothing, but batter the taigs off the street.

The Orange Order has very many powerful members at every section of society and it is willing to get rough if it doesn’t get its way. If they were told march to your hearts content, in your own community but don’t crap on others doorsteps, they would go absolutely beserk. They have the muscle to back it up and the police let them.

But they played into their hands! It was an obvious antagonising move and they got the reaction the unionists wanted….a fight!

They need the cop on to not get sucked into it! This sort of foolishness must be buried and left in the past! If one side of it can see that then that’s progress!

They’re as bad as each other and iv no sympathy for any of them. They dont represent the Irish or even the people of northern Ireland when they partake in this crap!

Easy for us to say here Tony. But like Eamonn said – if somebody came and celebrated on top of the spot where 5 of YOUR family were shot by paramilitaries, how would YOU feel then?

Jesus wept, ever wonder what that phrase really was trying to describe.

I think that a group of bigoted thugs marching in a parade in an area where they are not wanted, who try to break a court order preventing them from repeating their last march’s antics of playing hate songs outside Catholic churches and primary school, but are stopped and then decide to charge through the police lines at people who live there and start flaking in to them and then to have someone refuse at any level to condemn them for that but try to blame the people who got attacked as well. Your argument is what some people call the “sluts in dresses”, if they weren’t dressed like that, if they weren’t on the street like that etc etc.

Well these people bloody well live there and they are entitled to be protected from thugs who run off the streets to batter them, based on them being as inferior due to being papes, and if you don’t like that, then you certainly don’t represent the Irish people or common friggin decency either.

Jesus truly Wept.

I have to agree totally Eamonn. We in the south are turning a blind eye to this because it’s not in front of us. Dare I say if we here had to put up with it, based on our history – it would be a very different story. Shame on us for ignoring this and remaining so aloof.

Are you a cross-dresser Tony Stanley?

I forgot to mention that the tune they are playing is “The Famine Song” and not Sloop John B.

the problem is that people down here mostly dont consider those up north as fellow irishmen, having been subjected to decades of revisionist historiography and pro eu neoliberalism. the result is that its almost tea party ideology down here at the grass roots

Thanks JJ for taking your life in your hands, to show the world their true colors. Even though the world does not seem to care.

Well said Peter. People here need to educate themselves on these issues and realise this kind of antagonising had been going on for decades. Orange Order break a ruling and ‘both sides are as bad as each other’ … Rubbish

To others, I suggest reading books like ‘Ireland: a history’ by Richard Kee before passing comment.

Well said Peter, I hope this now puts an end to the debate about whether to allow the Orange Order march in Dublin.

They should apply to be the sole sponser of riot clothinga and apparel in Northern Ireland ;)

Dont forget part of Ulster is in the republic

I get it, their religious fanatics are worse than our religious fanatics.

Think you need to spend some time up North, Reginald. You’ll learn pretty quickly that YES – they REALLY ARE much worse than our fanatics.

One religious fanatic is as bad as another.
It’s the sheer scale of Protestant fundamentalism in Ulster that is the problem.It’s not a marginalised and ridiculed bunch of halfwits at the sidelines,the DUP is full of these people.

Or hole kicking idiots no

Loyalist bands don’t usually go to Catholic churches!

What had the North ever to do with Religion?.It was about power and control.

well said eamonn. some real knee jerk right wing pieces of work on here

yea like a third leg type of thing

Exactly Damien
Very thoughtful of I reckon

*Dutchman who was supported by the pope and probably gay (Irony considering the OO own beliefs)

Why would you ban nationalist commemoration then? Please show me one example where nationalists marched through a loyalist area? Or maybe where a nationalist band stops outside a Protestant/ catholic church to play sectarian tunes? the rubbish peddled by the establishment that “both side are as bad as each other” is lazily followed by people on this and other sites. If your going to make a comment, please have something to back it up with!! The facts are clear, no nationalist bands or organisation have ever either requested nor attempted to march through exclusively loyalist districts.

To be fair the Blanket Defence might have been needed in that situation…

Who are they playing ?

There’s a little more to it than that in fairness.

Don’t think there is Clive! Just an excuse for thuggery!

In fairness if you had 5000 uniformed thugs marching down your street on a regular basis every weekend from March to Oct. celebrating the murder of people from your community, mocking your community, chanting names of people that died and laughing. I’d say you’d be pissed off too. If the loyal orders tried marching and acting like they do, in any neighbourhood in Europe, they be battered off the streets by the police and enraged locals.

Have to agree with Damien and Tony, this could have been dealt with peacefully thought the courts. Its bad enough that the people in this neighbourhood have to put up with intimidation without having violence braking out in front of their homes.

Arra Tony there is, you’re right though about them both being thugs. Burn the place down and start from scratch.

I should have clarified that the young lads are there for the fighting and the ‘craic’ where as the older people would be there for an actual protest,they remember the bombs, the killings and the violence that came before.

Rulings don’t seem to matter to them David, had the obeyed the ruling they were given this wouldn’t have happened…

so you can just take the law into your own hands then? If the courts ruled against them and the bands and orange order refused to pay they would be held in contempt. Serious nationalists now seek to resolve clearly illegal actions like this within the law.
What happened here today was loyalist thugs went looking for a fight and thugs who’s actions are not representative of the whole nationalist community but would gladly wear the title in search of legitimacy, gave then one.

They’re not young lads…the “kicker” is overdue at the weekly OAP bingo…

Are you being sarcastic?

You think they could manage Scrabble? Scarper is their thing.

Obviously you have never lived in N.Ireland !!

What a stupid comment!!

The loyalist band broke threw the police to attack people on the street. I know that people down here, have a very skewed way of looking at the North but how in the name of sweet Jesus, does some galoot attacking you on the street make you as bad as anyone else.

You do realise don’t you that this organisation upsets, irritates and offends a wider range of people than those who would stand and protest or throw a punch? Most of them are silent, they regularly bite their lip and accept this repeated provocation. I’m one of those NORMAL people who would very much like to live my 21st century life in a 21st century society, unfortunately the orange order are living in the 17th and on days like this, trying to pull us all back with them. Their bigotry and rule breaking aside, in a different part of northern ireland I endured the sound of lambeg drums for 5 hours today, this would annoy any sane rational human being. What makes you think getting rid of the violent element would solve anything.

This site is acting odd today, tried commenting a few times but it wont let me! Anywho, what’s all the fuss about exactly? Not allowed play drums!?