Good point.

Reada…when words such as Comrades Patriots Sovereignty etc come fast and furious in a short contribution I suspect we have a throw back in our midst and your place in a modern world probably could be found in few locations but one does come to mind…North Korea!. Do you ever feel like travelling?

Wrong link Mike but No, I don’t feel like traveling anymore. I have travelled but my heart is here in Ireland. And I’m not impressed with this notion of globalization we are being fed. If you tried traveling you’d see that this airy fairy idea of us all being part of a global village is not leading to equity among the citizens of the world.

Even though some republicans in America are sullying the word I’m proud to call myself an Irish republican. Not as keen on the word nationalist as some types of nationalism has definitely sullied that word. Irish republicanism on the other hand was born from an aspirational idea of the defeat imperialism and the creation of a state of equals. It might always only be an aspiration in a world where money is god but it’s an aspiration worth having. This move towards globalization is only going to lead to economic slavery. Not buying. No thanks Mick.

Réada, I hear where you’re coming from, but Fianna Fail under De Valera tried the the self sufficient model, and failed. I really don’t know that any so-called republican party are really worth the effort these days. Between them, both Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein have given the republican ideal a bad name.

Adrian, I don’t mean a return to an attempt of self sufficiency – I’m no fan of DeV. I’d be all for cooperation between countries and did welcome the idea of the EEC back in the day as it lessened our dependency on Britain as a trader and opened up new markets to us.

That’s why I prefer the word republican to nationalist. I love diversity and although I’m a socialist republican I wouldn’t fall into a communist ethos of a one party government.

In relation to Sinn Féin I see them as the only party courageous enough to step up to the plate. They were the only party on this island ready to take on the might of one the biggest empires the world has ever seen after Michael Collins assassination. And they are the biggest party that is willing to say Anglo debt is NotOurDebt.

Sinn Féin are also against the selling of our state assets and natural resources while FLab Gael are willing to sell them off and have the cheek to pretend they’re grateful when the Troika give us permission to keep some for job investment. There’s only one job FLab Gael are interested in – their own.

There you go Adrian. I don’t expect you to agree with this Shinner but as I said I love diversity.

You may be a fan of diversity yourself, Réada, but your party is not. Diverse opinions have never been welcome in SF. Any diversity within the party is just leadership-approved window dressing, extolled by the PR machine. Just ask any of those who have left the party in the past ten years.

Sinn Féin are not the great hope you wish for, but are yet another political dead-end for Irish republicanism (just like FF). They have no regard for the Republic, and have no loyalty towards it. Any party that refers to our country as the 26 counties, the south, “down there”, or even the Free State, anything but its actual name – the Republic of Ireland – is broadcasting its contempt of it.

Fair play to you for seeing all the faults in the government parties. Now, ignore your party’s PR machine, and take a good look. If you really value republicanism, and the Republic, you’ll think long and hard before voting SF again. Because broadcasting “diverse” opinions within the party will lose you friends real quick.

And yet Dev tried the self sufficient, isolationist model and that didn’t work either. And membership of the EU has done lots of good as well as bad. The example I used previously was the fact that women who got married had to leave work pre EU membership. And that’s just one example of the social progress made. On another note look at the infrastructure we got. Would a completely independent government have managed to build all that?

Too often individuals, shaped by politicians and the media, blame Europe for a lot of problems but the reality is far more complicated than that.

Ryan, why are you equating “Free Independent Ireland” with “self sufficient, isolationist model” ?

Admittedly It’s speculative, but I think it’s fair to assume that those in Government today wouldn’t take a decent pay cut for their country let alone put their life on the line.
So when they try to tell us they are carrying on his vision they cannot be taken seriously.

http://www.glasnevinmuseum.ie

he’ll go home for cake while the rest of us have dry bread and water

he might even wear an expensive frock while he’s eating it

They have no manners Rommel. Let’s face it, Noonan has a hard neck. You should volunteer to do security and escort the lip service Republicans away. ;)

losing it’s borders and previous currency etc which were “lost” after the people of Ireland passed referenda to enable the country’s entry into thes institutions, I can’t imagine a democrat like Collins would be turning in his grave once the wishes of the people are being maintained!

I don’t see anything wrong with what he’s said. Ireland has faced much greater problems before and we’ve overcome them all.

Lol! You don’t see anything wrong with what Michael Noonan said David because he is your inspiration. It gave my eyes a headache.

I’m really sick of FLab Gael paying lip service to our patriot dead. Would Michael Collins have pushed for us handing over our sovereignty in the last EUref? I don’t think so.

Our Irish government in in the pockets of Financial terrorists and are doing their bidding. Has Michael Noonan released a statement as to the role he played at the recent Bilderberg conference? No because he didn’t play a role – he was merely reporting to his Overlords. This current financial situation is one of the biggest threat to our nation and FLab Gael are NOT up to the job.

Nail squarely on the head Reada.

Réada you expanded on what my point was, cheers.

I know it’s clichéd to guess what Collins would say if he were around today, but I’m certain he’d look at the comments section of TheJournal and wonder where the optimism has gone from his fellow citizens.

Or lack of opinion-ism from from certain citizens David.

Sovereignty and Michael Collins dont go together very well Reada, He left the sovereignty of a quarter of our country with the British

Indeed Gavin but it is now known that while he agreed to the foundation of the free-state he was sending arms and ammunition to his nationalist comrades in the 6 counties. He had not turned his back on them like successive governments in the republic have. Support for them finished with his assassination. It is my opinion that Collins should not have signed the Treaty but he was a soldier not an negotiator and so I lay the blame for this on DeValera & Co.

Now onto David’s 2nd comment. I always have a difficulty when I’m inclined to agree with you David but in this instance I have to. In my opinion I do believe that Collins would despair at the comments on Journal, mainly at those from yourself and your comrades in YFG.

The truth is that nobody can say what Michael Collins would have done in the present circumstances. Not Reada, not David, not that columnist from the other week and especially not any politician. It’s disingenuous of people who never met the man to *guess* what he would have said or done – mostly for their own purposes. And I apply that to all historical figures.

Réada, I agree with you regards the Treaty. De Valera shafted Collins (and the people of Ireland), plain and simple.

But we are where we are now, and can only change the future, not the past.

That is true Ryan, we can only surmise what Collins reaction would be judging him on his actions. He wasn’t afraid of dying for his country when he took on the fight. There’s no doubt in my mind that threats have been made to our government to pay the banksters. To plagerise a song:

“Some men work for silver,
some they work for gold.
But there’s patriots who’d work for Ireland,
for the land that FLab Gael sold.”

I’ll be singing that all night now. :-)

Noonan is part of the problem.

Not on your nelly would he.

@david Shelton

Where’s your evidence that Michael Noonan is feathering his own nest??

Hi John (Murphy), If you miss out on the Michael Collins Commemorative Coins there are some absolutely stunning 1916 Easter Rising Centenary Proof Commemorative Coins available from http://www.1916uprising.ie that can be purchased online. In 24 carat gold plate, fine silver plate and bronze finishes these unique Irish designed coins are something to treasure and pass on from generation to generation.
They also have limited edition pure silver ones (only 1000 being minted) and I believe a very limited edition run of 24 carat pure solid gold ones (only ten being minted) but these are expensive. The plated versions are €35, €25 and €18 respectively plus shipping of €10 worldwide.

You’ll be waiting a while

I heard Bertie’s doing a roaring trade in them already. You can pay in Euro, sterling or dollars. Cash only though!

I wouldn’t hold your breath.

Bet it wouldn’t have been an issue in the first place. He was known to be prudent and hated waste by all accounts. ;)

MaCrab, I think Collins would be more in tune with the romantic notion Irish people have to owning their own piece of land. I think Collins would tell Enda Kenny and Phil Hogan to cop themselves on before he’d have us paying a rent to financial overlords. He might even take a few bankers out and shoot them before he’d ask the citizens of Ireland to cough up for banksters’ mistakes. Just a wild guess… ;)

Didn’t think it possible but a new low even for you.

No and there won’t be any for the butcher Billy Wright either…!!!

A coin for a killer, any killer is wrong.

Do you mean Ian Brady the Moor’s Murderer?

Patrick, it’s clearly your intention to stir up trouble. Every time I see your icon I shudder in disbelief.

Patrick. I suppose you’d be looking for a pound coin for Maggie