some crack if Martin give her a big sloppy kiss on the cheek!!!
And then she did the same!!!
That would be true peace!!!

And a big kiss on the lips as well! that would be brilliant PR for Sinn Fein!!

There should be a fourth option, 1) yes 2) no 3) I dont know and 4) I don’t care

One needs to get over ones petty grievances.

Yes, and the question could perhaps be ‘ should the Queen shake hands with Mr Mcguiness’ Try that pole and c how it would go.

I am seriously worried about the NO voters. nIf anyone has a grudge bank of this extent they need help. n

Well spoken Graham!

I think the question should be, should the Queen shake hands with a man that ‘at the very least’ ordered others to commit murder?

@rodrigo detriano
Or should Martin McGuinness shake the hand of a Queen that over the years watched over “her” army killing “her subjects” There is always to sides to a story. The past is the past. It’s time to move forward and forgive….

SF does not, nor will it ever, have a monopoly on Republicanism.
That line should be changed in the piece.

@ Paul Anthony Ward

The fact that there is an article on journal.ie just shows once again that these adolescents in mind and body are given too much media time. The sooner these ‘old’ bigots from all sides just move on or out the better. As to MLoo McDonald’s answer when asked what she thought, “well, there are a few outstanding issues that need to be resolved”. Give me a break. They won’t be resolved in the Queen’s lifetime, or MLoo McDonald’s lifetime. The people of Ireland need time, time to enjoy what’s there. That is some kind of peace. Nobody on all sides are best friends in the 6 counties, but hopefully in the next 50/100 years they will be. Yes, I feel it will take that amount of time, especially with all the self centred, narcissistic tendencies that are there at the moment and will be there for some time.

McGuinness, show the adult side of you, shake The Queen’s hand. If you don’t, it will show that you really don’t care about the people in the North, you don’t want to move on and that you are out for yourself in what you can get out of in history books. Do you really want to be remembered as the big child that wouldn’t shake the Queen’s hand. I am sure it will take a lot for the Queen to shake your hand after what you/IRA did to to Lord Mountbatten, the children and others that day. No it wasn’t a war it was a very cowardly time by all sides. It took all these years for all of you to realise that all it needed was to sit down and talk. It may take 50 years 100 years but hopefully some day everybody can live in harmony in the 6 counties and maybe, maybe, some day Ireland will be 32 counties. But I am quite sure it won’t happen in your time or mine.

Comment of the week again Sheila

@

I just want to make sure that McGuinness, Adams and the rest realize that I know and accept what happened on all sides. I was a teen in the 60′s and grew up watching it every day. It was a terrifying, horrible time. Bloody Sunday was just awful and so sad. The people that were killed in Dublin, was awful too, I had just left the city centre after being out with my parents. Omagh was despicable, those murdering bas###ds knew there were tons of children and parents there that morning buying school books and uniforms.

There are despicable, hateful, self centred narcissistic bas###ds on all sides and we need fresh young faces in control so we can move on, some time.

@ Mike Sandover

(sorry forgot to put name in for comment above)

Well said Sheila!

Ah come on now paul, in refrence to FF – there has never been anything bar a token refrence in the party slogan that even came close to premoting republican values – It was all a con, and we bought it!!

*promoting

When Mary Lou McDonald made her comments, she is reflecting the anxiety that many Irish people feel regarding any association with a British monarch. You have to have lived through the troubles from 1969 onwards to appreciate that feelings still run deep. To flippantly walk up and greet the monarch like a long lost friend will antagonize many in the Nationalist community.
I personally think Martin should do it, in order to move the process along, but i 100% support his and SFs cautious and diplomatic approach to an extremely sensitive matter.
For those who think its not a big deal, have no idea what or how the troubles began in the first place.
It began in 1969 on paper, as this is when the first shots were fired in anger. However, the struggles for the Nationalists, were ongoing for decades. No Nationalist needed apply for Government jobs.
Civil rights marches were banned to prevent Nationalists demonstrating their human right to request thiings like one man, one vote, equal access to education etc.
Only 10% of the police force were Nationalists, and all this was compounded by the fact that the Monarchy institution itself was anti-Nationalist, in that you could be Muslim, Hindu etc and marry royalty, but again no Nationalsit need apply for that job either.
The war in the North was terrible, and murders of civilians were perpetrated by all sides. However, the Queen put medals and knighted the murderers from Bloody Sunday, Ballymurphy etc. That is why so many people were annoyed at the fool Shatter last week, when referred to Derry as ‘Londonderry’. The memory of Bloody Sunday still burns deep there, and the Queen publicly awarded medals and knighthoods to the leader of the British Army murderers from that day, and from the Ballymurphy massacre.
Time has moved on, but in the South, you have the likes of FFg/Labour and FF who will either condemn SF for not shaking the Queens hand, as not being willing to move on, and we will have the same parties and their lackies who will make cheap jokes at SF for greeting her, if they do decide to accept the invitation.
I saw one commentator on a thread yesterday, making jokes already that Martin McGuinness swore allegiance to the Queen recently. This is the sort of diatribe and ignorance that would put a true Nationalist off meeting any British monarch.

As I said above, i hope Martin McGuiness does meet the Queen, but i hope he handles the entire situation delicately, so as not to alienate the people who have moved on with him and SF to date. The last thing this Island needs, is another faction of Republicans to break away and decide to resume their war against the British. It really is that sensitive. But i am sure that FF/FFg/Labour will not understand this. They will use this opportunity to have cheap shots at SF, no matter what decision is made,

Please Paul. i hope that you are not suggesting that Fianna Fáil are Republicans.

People hardly believe they are a political party, more like an Irish criminal Free mason’s, divvying up the fat of the land among them selves and their members.

FF 50 years ago had a Republican ethos, but anyone genuinely interested in political beliefs or vision have found FF a very cold house for decades.

So tired of this. During the Presidential campaign any reference to Martin McGuinness’s past or SF/IRA actions during the toubles was roundly criticised by SF and their allies as being “backward looking” and not reflecting the current situation. Yet SF and their supporters constantly drag up past events that suit their arguments when they want.

Well they can’t have it both ways. Either every side leaves the past behind or every side is still open to criticism and questions on their past actions. Personally I’d prefer the first option at this stage. McGuinness and SF need to realise that they are part of the political process which has agreed the future of Northern Ireland and therefore have to move on with the rest of us.

Nobody is asking Martin McGuinness to greet the Queen as a long lost friend. He’s being asked to shake hands with her as part of a ceremonial visit. An action that shows respect on both sides.

@Cal1 Mooney, I don’t think anyone could put it better than you have there. Sinn Féin need to bring their support base with them, not alienate them. Members of my family were on the Bloody Sunday march and lost friends that day. To them it is much more than a handshake. Their murderers were decorated by that woman for their “bravery”. I fully agree it is time to move on and look towards a shared future. @Sheila, not everyone shares your view of the past, as one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. I do apologise in advance if I have made any spelling mistakes, wouldn’t want to upset you now would I?!!!!

SF made Republican a bad name.

thts the journals question the big sinn fein question is should we pay the household charge and the government gave a resounding YES..mcguinness will do what he personally thinks is right and its his choice he earned it..

Oh right Dave. Do you assume that everybody can only think of one thing at a time? Most people can think of several.

Should the Queen shake hands with Martin McGuinness?

haha very good, and true!

Mary mc aleese republican lol

sorry not a lot of people. only a small few on here

Nah, blood, him shud greet her clenched fist to clenched fist, tap off each others knuckles her and aw dat, London stylee, saying “Wagwan, cuz?Wacha do?is a nice dayyyee an’ aw dat, innit?” Den dem shud light up some green n orange bud bruv, know what I mean? stick on sum proper bass lines moving on surround sound stereo troout Bucknim Palace fo real, fam…Aiitt, I iz ghostin…

Only if the queen was making an issue of it. I don’t know if she did. As far as I can remember, Charles is the only royal with a personal fudge against the Irish republicans due to the death if his uncle ( father as the rumour mill goes ). It shouldn’t be any different for her than shaking the hand of a member of the Indian government.

All is good in Cork so lets not bother ourselves with Northern politics huh…
I am alright Paddy,,,Let the Irish up there sort it out for themselves.. ;)

Judging by some of the comments on here some people refuse to move on!

@Barry,

That’s an option, but he never left in the first place! A hyena never changes its colours.

nelson mandela..sheila

And tell me Barry if he does meet QEII are you prepared to let bygones be bygones?

Didn’t the Queen meet Nelson Mandela and she was impeccably opposed to him and what he stood through out the last few decades. This is a woman whose daddy was a Nazi sympathizer ffs.

@paw she has plenty of questions she should answer british forces r a killing machine with her at the helm.

And he could ask her about the Paratroop regiment, about Bloody Sunday, about Britain’s “shoot to kill” policies, about Internment without trial, about the Dublin & Monaghan bombings …. The war is over – now we are waiting for Britain to do the honourable thing and get out of our country. Britain has to recognise that they can not go on occupying places like the Malvinas, Gibralter and Ireland!

So are you saying that all the members of Irish families who were murdered
by the british occupation don’t matter to you???

That being said, I think it’s positive that they’re meeting.
I just don’t think SF should be looking for credit for coming to the conclusion 20yrs after everyone else officially did.

Truth and Justice? The sheer gall of people like you.

Clearly its truth and justice for one side only obviously. How about a bit of truth and justice for the thousands of people murdered by the IRA? How about truth and justive for the families of the disappeared like Jean McConville and orthers?

You lot wouldn’t know truth and justice if it came up and slapped you in the face. Thankfully it seems that people like you are increasingly becoming a smaller and smaller part of our island.

Jim, the notion of the conflict as a tribal head bashing exercise (where British Imperialism did not play an instigator’s role) is naive at best and utterly ignorant at worst.

To talk about “sides” in relation to a protest against systematic STATE violence and discrimination is to miss the point completely.

Though i agree in general with moving on, i dont think you can compare Germany and France to whats happened in the north. Any occupation during the WW2 was resolved at the end of the war. NI is still divided between unionists and nationalists wanting different things

Spoken like a true englishman ;)

are you British is she your Queen if not why you claiming her as your own..typical

I’m Irish brend and I’ve never killed anyone to prove it.

you didnt have to paul..maybe your circumstances were better..is she your queen ?

She’s the British Queen not mine. Did you not know that? And just in case of further confusion, sf/ira do not represent me either.

You sound like a salesman yourself..

@The dogs bollocks

Ha ha ha, post of the week!

@dogs bollocks. Typical loudmouth – can’t make a coherent argument so you resort to ridiculous insults. Take yourself off to a football match somewhere where you can abuse referees and players you don’t like. Let off some steam because all that anger is not good for your heart … er sunshine. :)

Mr. UK Propaganda….lol

So with all the issues up North it was only the Irish Republicans that killed people. nnBut sides are as bad as each other.

Countless innocent men? Are we talking about Attila the Hun or are you actually saying Martin McGuiness has done this? I wish the people that criticise him could spend some time in his shoes when he was younger.

wolfgang that statement could also be said of the queen.i think the handshake will happen.british army has killed many more civilians then ira weapons of mass destruction my arse she has plenty of blood on her hands none of them r saints.

A ridiculously idiotic comment. By that same logic, she is the head of state of a country which has more innocent blood on its hands than the IRA could ever come near…

She is head of a nation that has its own military. She would have little to do with tat military herself if anything.

The same cannot be said about McGuinness. He is a leader of a terrorist group which almost nobody supports and has played a vital part in the murders and bloodshed done at the hands of this organisation.

To equate the two is utterly retarded, frankly.

Oh my God what a comment!

You’re wrong.You’re approach is too soft. Instead, he needs to walk in there, like a man, on cue witn the sound of rolling thunder, dressed up in a big black cape with inner scarlet red lining, let out a hearty “Wooooahhh huuuhhh huuuh huuu huuuu!” in a Romanian accent, then take a big bite out her neck before the boys and girls from MI5 martyr him by shanking him with a big wooden stake!

I’m sure a rep from Hamas will turn up to give a eulogy at his graveside…

dammed if you do dammed if you dont do ye blueshirts ever get sick of the same ol dribble …get some p.r guru from Brussells

Sinn Fein have brought destruction and poverty?? What country are you living in? The IRA would have never existed if it wasn’t for the illegal occupation of this Island by the British.

The IRA would have ceased to exist in 1922 if de Valera and his fellow travellers had not flounced out of the Dail when they lost the vote on the Treaty.nnIf they had taken the peaceful road we would have had our united Republic 60 years ago and thousands of lives saved.

why do people believe the royal family has nothing to do with the british armed forces can wolfgang r anybody tell me please

@Ben Gunn
What planet are you from?
Go read a history book!!

Some questions you may need to ask yourself…
Why was the IRA formed??
Where did its members come from?
Is a terrorist one who defends or invades a country?

Ben. There were 200k armed loyalists that didn’t care what way the national vote went. Look at Sunningdale in the 70′s, the peace talks fell apart, because 150k unionists took to the streets and blocaded them, threatened rebellion if Catholics were allowed in to Govt. or positions of power. The shut down the North entirely. The RUC and British Army did nothing. If it had been the Nationalist community then the RUC and British army would have shot and beat them off the streets.

If Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, had wanted peace, then they would have been pushing for better rights, basic civil rights, for Nationalists in the North, for decades prior to the conflict. They didn’t because they were too busy robbing the state here, and then when it kicked off in 69 and the RUC were burning thousands out of their homes, the only thing to do was to did out the old rifles from the back and tell the police at the front pouring petrol in the letter box where to go.

Is that something to be happy about? That what Spenser, Cambden, Mountjoy and all the rest of the colonisers set out to do in the 16th century and wipe out our Irish culture is finally completed and we are now fully integrated?

Im neither happy nor sad about it. I am just stating a fact whether you like it or not

any Irishman worth the name would lament this fact

obviously you don’t. That says something.

I am just as much an Irishman as the next person but i dont need feel the need to hate anything thats not Irish…Its a completely paronaid point of view.

Any relation that thing Brendan McGahon. Has he apologized to the family of Seamus Ludlow yet???

Good to know we can tick you off as a person who disagrees fundamentally with democracy and the right of self determination.

That’s the way to move it forward alright Marty! I personally think that the Irish people earned worldwide respect on the world stage last year when the Queen came to Ireland. She was treated with respect, she treated US with respect, and it broke down a lot of barriers for us all. I’ve often been to Northern Ireland, some of my best friends are living in Belfast, and the vast, vast majority of people just want to move on. I was up there before the ceasefire, and I’ve often been up there since. The feeling of peace is actually palpable now, and that’s how people want it. Nobody cares for violence, unless it’s under the mask of protection rackets and drugs. Don’t fool yourself, Unionism and Republicanism are long gone, now it’s a cover for organised crime. In my opinion. Marty, turn off the Wolfe Tones CD and step into the 21st century. nnMcGuinness, shake the woman’s hand FFS.

@Eric Pelow
lmao…Do you know what democracy means????
Tick what you like pal but you should have a dictionary close by..
In a democracy everyone is entitled to have their own point of view without it being suggested that they don’t believe in democracy itself..lol
Foreign troops on Irish soil has nothing to do with the word democracy or self determination!
If you don’t believe in standing up for a free Ireland that’s your yellow prerogative.. ;)

Democracy? Monarchy is one of the most undemocratic and immoral establishments ever invented.

If only it were that simple, I’m sure the UK would want to give it back!

Grow up….. Do you really think we could afford to take on the north. The people in the republic would have to take on and pay for the services in place in the north. That means higher tax’s. A lot higher.

Is she an unwanted visitor? Surely it is the right of the majority of NI to decide that, not a single person or a minority group.

@Torpedo
This not ture…
@Karswell
Surely the Republic would have a say as well? After all we have Irish citizens living in NI

@Shirley Cummings. A simple commitment and a firm date to get out would be enough for most Irish people. Britain had an agreed exit date for Hong Kong and lowered their flag on that date.
@Torpedo. The failed state in the north is a direct result of partition, so obviously Britain will have to help with unification. And Germany did why can’t we?
@Karswell. your so-called NI was created by force by Britain so any majority there is a false majority

The Queen has no more power to “to cease the occupation of part of our country” than you have. Has not McGuinness and his party already done a deal with the British Government to take part in the shared government of that “part of our country”? Be realistic; to jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war.

@Mick

It’s people like you that don’t and won’t let the young people of Ireland live in peace and enjoy the one bloody life they have on this earth. Your attitude stinks! Mcguinness hides his, but not very well. His face and eyes say a lot. Hopefully you will grow soon and realise that all the people of Ireland have an opinion and don’t need someone like pontificating sh1te.

Grow up, for the new generation of this country.

Good to know that the dinosaurs are not extinct.

Martin McGuinness’s movement blew the Queens cousins to pieces. If she can shake hands, he should be humbled.

The citizens of the north can vote to leave the UK anytime they wish.

Time you grew up

Well said Sheila

Paul,

Martin McGuinness had relatives who were civilians that were murdered by the British Army. The Queen actually gave the leaders of the squads medals for those murders, this definitely swings both ways.

Nelson Mandela thinks McGuinness is a honourable humam being who on here thinks Nelson Madela is a murdering terrorist..shit down on yere own and celebrate what mainstream media has been telling ye read a history book..armchair activists

The future status of Northern Ireland has been agreed to by almost every political party in the UK and Ireland. If a majority of people in Northern Ireland agree to join the Republic then that is what will happen assuming that a majority of people in the Republic agree to it as well.

Get over this “give us back northern ireland crap we just gave away the republic or dont you read the papers, Irishmen have more say about what happens in northern Ireland then they do in the new federal state that was the republic.

@Con…Northern Ireland voters have consistently voted …whenever they were asked..in favour of staying part of the UK. I recall a Red C poll..taken last year which showed the %age expressing a preference for staying within the UK had actually increased significantly. The current situation of an Agreed Ireland is the one that is most likely to succeed and has the support of the majority of the population in the whole island….since it simply reflects reality.

Desmond… Seriously, can i ask you when the last time the voters in the North were asked that question???
Because, if you rely on opinion polls as your answer to the democratic right of the people,, FF would have been out of power 2 years before they exited the stage, and the current Government have no mandate.

There hasn’t been a vote on unifying the Island. The last referenda North and South showed the Majority of the Island voting for the same thing… it wasn’t unification, but that doesn’t really matter now. They all voted the same way, so according to your logic, we should have a United Ireland immediately.

any relation to Mick Stone there lad?? lol