FG will be in deep trouble in Cork if they allow that to go ahead. Typical headlining grabbing students!!!

There’s only 2 c..ts in Thai story and maggie is the 2 of them

It really is just typical Young FG BS. Many of the older members of the party remember the contempt that she treated Garret Fitzgerald and Peter Barry, his Min. for Foreign Affairs. in the 80′s.

The line between being controversial and been seen as a fool are very fine. They oft over step it.

As for her loolah economics of concentrating wealth in fewer hands, well, that’s not working out well, is it?

Loolah economics? Yeah, Britain would have been much better off had the previous Labour government stayed on and gotten them bailed out by the IMF all over again. She broke the unions, stopped the never-ending miners’ strikes and generally sorted Britain out.

No need to change the name, Dominic. They are one of the Irish conservative parties. They used to be linked in Europe in the EPP. The Tories moved to the anti-federalist ECR along with the UUP. Their shared economic philosophy is very evident at present. Crafty as ever, they gave the Labour Party the main cutting departments. Hilarious…

Why do they not debate the level of corruption in ireland which may be of some use to the country

Nail on the head there Ann.

Dumb and dumber!

Spot on Eugene I think you’ve hit the nail on the head.

@ 1 Human Being
Thanks.Either that or the water supply in cork has been spiked again,They might as well award Stephen Ireland for sports personality of year award too :).

Her policies may have partly caused the banking crisis, yet at the same time when she took over the UK’s economy was in a terrible state after the Labour government of the late 70s. People criticise these policies now, yet the policies did create close to 30 years of prosperity at the same time.

I wonder if she was in power now would she have nationalised banks the same way Brown and Cowen/Lenihan did? True capitalism would have let them fail, while a properly competitive market would have meant they never got “too big to fail”.

@Ryan Allen
” People criticise these policies now, yet the policies did create close to 30 years of prosperity at the same time.”
By the time we get out of this mess it be around 30 years of Austerity.

Young eejits if they are anything like their older counterparts.

Well, they are *are* honouring the routes of the neo-liberal policies being followed by their exulted leader Enda. Poll tax Vs household charge?

Some of us are young enough to remember Maggie’s other sobriquet: Margaret Thatcher: Milk Snatcher. So this proposal by the UCC Branch of Young Fine Gael is not at all far away from the mindset of Fine Gael itself.

and the organisation of which said Mr Morrison was a member were angels then?

Quote: Tadhg O’Donovan told TheJournal.ie that the group likes to debate divisive issues and “Margaret Thatcher is certainly a divisive character”

She wasn’t a divisive figure in Ireland Tadhg. Everybody hated her.

anti left are you for real. Im a FG voter and i am disgusted at the way they have treated the police force, they have stripped it to the bare minimum and left us in a shambolic state. This is what i would expect from SF or Labour but why FG i dont know. Thatcher for all her shortcomings at least had balls.

well said Irish Mule..100% correct…and they call themselves the party of law & order!

Just a bit of clever PR. I doubt it will be passed very much.

FF have a much better record in Gardaí recruitment. FG usual approach is to cut and cull Gardaí. Fact! Don’t know why you’re surprised.

FG were defined themselves as party of Order, they were more flexible on the law side of it, flaunting it and and the constitution in the 70′s to a degree not likely to be seen again.

They have a commitment to preserving the Status Quo, they have had plenty of chances to put in controls and oversight to combat white collar crime, political corruption, etc. They aren’t a fraction as corrupt as FF, there are few parties in Europe that would be, but they never challenged the rotten morass that is this state and fought those who did tooth and nail.

define treason please…murdering members of the security forces of this state surely is treasonous is it not? particularly in the course of crimes such as kidnapping and bank robbery…

Think you left out close to thirty years of economic growth in the middle there!

Defo.
I find it quite ironic that they both lost their minds (more fully) as they aged.

If I had a mind like theirs, I’d have dedicated my life to losing it. Nasties.

Jesus Ryan. That is the equivalent of saying “sure didn’t Bertie give us a decade of unequaled growth and wealth”.

On the downside he, FF and the PD’s destroyed the economy, and it will take decades to recover. Thatcher and Reagan just led it on a global scale. Both of them unleashed eras of massive borrowing and spending. Most of the spending was to enrich a very small few. The fact that they have made shit of the entire entire economic system of the Western world is kind of a big deal.

While we all stood and watched. Like it was one big reality TV show and the batteries on the remote were banjaxed…

Look what your party is doing to this country at the minute !!!

FG , FF, & labour not one difference in any of your policys rape and pillage of this country on a massive scale ….

This is the typical knee jerk reaction to everything. No matter what budget as brought out people were going to complain. The newspapers didnt even have to wait for the budget to make their exaggerated comments, similar to the one you have just made. What people have to realise that for all the shite sinn fein and fianna fail, and the dopes up the back of the dail come out with, we have no choice. The day fianna fail signed the imf agreement they signed away economic sovereignty, not saying they had any choice because if they didnt, we can only guess what the consequences may have been. And fotpr the record, while their may not be much differences between FG and FF,labour are a socialist party, mot radical socialists but their policies on welfare were seen in the budget when jobseekers benifits werent cut as without labours views, i have no doubt FG would have cut it.

Stephen, your forgetting that Joan Burton thought it was a good idea to cut Disabilty Allowance for 16-23 year olds. And those on the job seekers, who work casually, were cut by a sixth, when the working week was changed from 6 to 5 days. So, yes, thay are all the same….self serving!!!

To reinforce your view, they are probably too young to remember an answer she gave to reporters after signing the Anglo Irish Agreement, if she had had the foresight, peace on this island would have been achieved sooner rather than later. She also insulted Dr Fitzgerald, just like Leo Varadkar was extremely disingenuous to the late Dr Fitzgerald, Leo accused him of tripling the National Debt in the 80′s whilst we were paying 48p per every punt and that was the lowest rate! Anyway, the question and answer below:

Question (Irish Television)
Prime Minister, you said that you want political stability within Northern Ireland, within the United Kingdom.
Could I ask you, in your view, does Dr. FitzGerald [fo 22] therefore accept that what you are both working towards is an internal solution within Northern Ireland, within the United Kingdom, and by implication, does that mean that the British Government has for the foreseeable future ruled out the three main options within the Forum Report?

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
I have made it quite clear—and so did Mr. Prior when he was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland—that a unified Ireland was one solution that is OUT. A second solution was confederation of two states. That is OUT. A third solution was joint authority. That is OUT. That is a derogation from sovereignty. We made that quite clear when the Report was published.

Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom. She is part of the United Kingdom because that is the wish of the majority of her citizens. The majority wish to stay part of the United Kingdom.

The Forum Report indicated that they realized that any change in the status of Northern Ireland could only come about by the consent of the people of Northern Ireland, so we are dealing with a situation where Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom because the majority of her people wish to be part of the United Kingdom and we have a minority community.
That is the situation we are presented with.[fo 23]

This was (in)famously known as her out out out speech.

Personally, Dr Fitzgerald was the only honest politician in my living memory and I held him in high regard, as for the rest and current, my comment would not be fit for publishing.

Another good read on Dr Fitzgerald is here. http://www.eurotrib.com/story/2011/5/19/8753/93412

Eamonn, Garrett Fitzgerald is, I’d say, the only FG politician that I would struggle to find faults in. But I would have preferred were he more forceful with Thatcher.

But Eamonn if you’re looking for a relatively modern day politician to hold in high regard it has to be John Hume. It is to him I attribute the peace on our island. His secret meetings with IRA lead to the Anglo Irish agreement and his talks with Gerry Adams – the Good Friday Agreement. The rest were just extras imho. He’s the only Irish politician to whose funeral I’ll bother going. Although not for a long time I hope.

A true Irish patriot. He was prepared to sacrifice himself and his party to save Irish lives. Not many politicians around you can say that about, unfortunately :-(

“Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom. She is part of the United Kingdom because that is the wish of the majority of her citizens. The majority wish to stay part of the United Kingdom.” Hmmm. Don’t remember ever being asked if I wanted NI to be part of the UK. Why would any reasonable British subject (citizenship only conferred on us during Thatcher’s time), want such a hopeless place (to borrow from Rihanna) as part of their country?

Réada. Concur. Would add Seamus Mallon and Gerry Fitt (“more socialist than nationalist”), perhaps? How about David Ervine – running for cover now…

I love Seamus Mallon too. Your sum up of Gerry Fitt is accurate and the bould pup Ervine, I commend for his effort in the loyalist ceasefire. Can I leave it at that please? I wish him no ill but it’s green blood runs through these veins. :-) But Hume is my fav modern day politician by a mile. 

And yet she also signed the Anglo Irish agreement later on and she managed to grow the UK’s economy after the disastrous stint of socialism in the 1970s.

Omg Ryan Allen. I understand now. You must be a member of young FG. Leave now before they the brainwashing causes irreversible damage. You poor thing.

Sheesh Ryan. You seem to really have it in for socialism, despite obviously not actually knowing what socialism is. Neither the Irish Labour Party, nor the UK Labour Party are socialist. They were left-wing parties that have since reformed to become centre-left parties. Yes they are on the left, as socialism is. But socialism in its correct form precludes any private enterprise. As far as I was aware, private businesses continued to operate in the UK during the 1970s. Private businesses were established in the UK in the 1970s. There continued to exist a system of class (including Lords, Ladies, Earls, Queens, Princes, Princesses in the upper classes, etc.). These facts point to the obvious – there was no socialist government in the UK in the 1970s. If there was such a government these two would not have occurred. In other words, there was a government of the left in force in the UK during the 70s. Socialism is only one of many philosophies to be found on the left (including Anarchism, Communism, Social Democracy, Democratic Socialism, etc.). But to state anyone on the left is socialist is identical to stating that anyone on the right, including Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael, is Fascist. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are both right wing/centre right parties. Fascism is also located on the right of the political spectrum which also includes philosophies such as Liberalism, Liberal Democracy, Feudalism, Nazism, various centre-right philosophies, etc.

Why don’t the simpering idiots in Young FG Fogies INVITE her over for a spot of debating.
I understand that Nick Griffin of the British Nationalist Party will be giving a bit of a spiel at the same great seat of learning on the 23rd Feb next. Perhaps they could arrange for both these stalwarts of British intolerance to share a podium. What an eye opener that would be!
Perhaps they could arrange for a national broadcast of the great event so that the beleaguered population of the state might be appraised of how the more senior members of FG might be inspired by the rantings of this pair in the continuing governance of the country. Perhaps the ex FG Mayor of Naas Darren Scully might hop up and give a few yelps to round the occasion off. Cue the usual applause, foot stomping and cheering in honour of this great and inspiring occasion.

@ Réada: Nope, I’m not a YFG member. Youth political societies are to be avoided anyway I think. I also think the brainwashing comment is uncalled for. Who “brainwashed” you into thinking what you think? Re Thatcher, I just don’t see the big deal in the members of this society debating this.

And I also (at high risk of personal attack from fellow commentators!) think Thatcher did a good job in turning the UK’s economy around in the 1980s. Even you have to admit the improvement in the UK economy from when she entered office to when she left. And such was her legacy that Blair and Brown had to shift firmly to the centre, building on her deregulation and liberalisation of state monopolies (e.g. establishment of the FSA and the UK postal service). I believe all people do good and bad things and I do think the demonisation of her is also partly caused by her gender. Like I’ve said before on here, it’s my opinion that centre-right female politicians receive far greater personal criticism than their centre-left colleagues. It also amuses me that both of the women to have led the large Western European economies (Merkel and Thatcher) have come from the centre-right.

Also I think everyone who hates Thatcher on here should go see the Iron Lady. I’m sure you will all get a thrill out of seeing Thatcher’s Alzheimer’s portrayed on screen. And with a Democrat in the lead role and two Labour (UK) supporters writing and directing, it doesn’t exactly seek to cover Thatcher in glory – more make a mockery of an old woman currently suffering from dementia. But the film shows “the price she paid for power” according to the writer, which made me wonder what my grandmother who also had the disease was paying for.

@ Brian: There are many variations and degrees of socialism. Even socialist parties who have been in power haven’t implemented all socialist theories, including the one you cite. And also both Labour UK and the Irish Labour Party are affiliated to Party of European Socialists. And I’m sure members of both parties would describe themselves as socialist.

Just because you describe yourself as something doesn’t necessarily make it true. North Korea describes itself as the Democratic Republic of Korea – hardly a bastion of democracy. Although not a socialist myself, nor a lover of the Labour Party, I do have many friends who are supporters of that party, including some who are members and not one of them describes themselves as socialist – they have often corrected me on that when I mockingly call them socialist. They describe themselves as social democrats.

Ryan. It was a joke. I know you’re not in YFG. And they must have been out of pink blankets because it was a green blanket wrapped around me when I was born. :-) My socialist ideals must have come from the red blanket they used when the green one was in the wash! My dad was a die hard FF and my mam a floater so there was no one brainwashing me. I just favour socialism with a view to having a fair society. 

Regarding your comments re her contribution to the UK economy substitute UK for London and you’re accurate. 

I agree with you that female politicians are criticised more harshly than their male counterparts. Unfortunately with our current political system one has to be a tough old bird to succeed to the top.

And I’m sorry about your grandmother Ryan. My grandad had it too and it’s awful. 

But I won’t go to see the Iron Lady in cinema but will watch it when it hits tv. I’ll need to use the pause button regularly in case I feel nauseous. I will breath a sigh of relief when her spirit leaves this planet. I won’t make the mistake Dev made and sign any book of condolence. I’ll never forgive her for the murder and mayhem she caused in my country and her own with her intransigence. She can go to hell.

Jeez Ryan. Were you in the UK in the 80s?

@ Shane
The fact that they are having this debate proves that they have themselves have come to your conclusion.

Green Party Youth maybe?

Remember that FG were the only party that refused to offer condolences to the Fullerton family. The subsequent investigation in to his murder were stymied at every level.

They covered up for the killers same as they did with the Dublin/Monaghan bombings.

Oh for god sake! I’m all for moving on, but you’ll hardly see the British commemorating the founding of the provisional IRA, and neither should they! Getting more disillusioned with FG by the day! Way to alienate all their newest voters!

O ffs Patrick. You have now rendered me incapable of lifting my jaw off the floor. People who switched their vote to FG in the last election should be entitled to a revote. FF voters definitely entitled to forgiveness sooner. Not sure what to do about the forever fools like myself that voted Labour. I am shocked.

patrick..the uvf commemoration will refer to the historical uvf..formed by carson..just like the commemorations of the 1916 rising and war of independance will refer to the “old ira” noone is commemorating the thugs of the modern day evil incarnations of either organisation. dont forget that the 36th ulster (uvf) division fought and died side by side with the 10th & 16th (redmonds volunteers) divisions in ww1. this is about reconciliation and a better understanding of our shared history so that we never produce such vile terrorists in the future. the cowardly murder of clr Fullerton was and remains one of the most vile attacks of that dark period and there must be justice for hus family and for ALL victims of both terrorism.and state collusion

For all the FG/Thatcher bashing that’s going on was it not FG/Thatcher who signed the Anglo-Irish agreement?

Know your history…

We know our history well Winston. Too well. It’s an open wound. Truly

Why? FG are a centre right party and Thatcher is a celebrated international centre right political figure….

Her position as an icon of the Right isn’t necessarily the issue; it’s specifically the woman’s policies regarding Ireland that’s at issue here…

I support constructive debate but this is not a debate about policy, this is the honouring of a war criminal. The fact that there are going be people debating in support of this is very scary and says more about YFG than anything else. Have a debate about conservatism and thatcherism if you like but honouring a woman that has done so much to Ireland, the UK and the sinking of the Belgrano is disgusting

No No No ……

@Colm Mooney
Sign…!!…What are you trolling about?As much as I don’t like corrupt politicians,How was Haughey or Ireland “supportive” of General Galtieris?Were we sending over Guinness on the cheap?
One word for yea…. TROLL :(.

I’ll see your Galtieris and raise you one Pinochet!

simple fact sir…haugheys govt supported the invasion of the Falkland Islands..troll wtf is that supposed to.mean..not that im.bothered..insult away if that floats your boat..ill stick to historical.fact

@Colm
Their you go that’s what a troll is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet).
Where and how did “haugheys govt supported the invasion of the Falkland Islands”?.Also in your first comment you say “Ireland was quite supportive”so where was Ireland supportive as well?
I won’t really call that a insult more of a description of what types of comments your leaving on this Blog.

Colm, no matter what valid points you raise the mist of hate overrules the logic of most people…

well eugene I was 15 at the time and remember the anti british sentiment of the time very well..wolfe tones warbling about las islas malvinas..our govt refusing to assist uk through trade sanctions..relying.instead in.the then eec’s arms embargo..that really hurt galtieri didnt it..seeing as hiw big the irish arms industry is.

oh checked your definition…does not apply to me

I don’t believe you’re a troll either Colm but you are being pedantic and you don’t see the situation the way most of us do. You cannot blame us for that. Ireland is still scarred from England’s interference and the very mention of thatcher sets the green blood boiling. She was a driving force in misery here and in her own country. 

And if she’s made an honorary member of YFG a rousing chorus of las Islas Malvinas will be the least of your worries ;) 

@Colm
Wars and sanctions that the UK pursue over their land have nothing to do with a neutral Ireland, The Wolfe tone’s didn’t run the government back in the day so what does any off this article got to with the Wolfe tones.
” I was 15 at the time and remember the anti British sentiment of the time very well”
.Irish and British relations were never great until only recently thank god,But I wouldn’t wish anyone any discrimination,My uncle’s got it really bad in the UK in the 70′s too.If Ireland was supportive of Argentina then we would be sanctioned too.Take this any way you want but were all moving away from the past I hope you do too.
@Winston
You having a laugh,Hate?.You may or may not agree if my comments have logic to them but I was only asking the guy for some support to his comments.Were was the hate behind my comments?

WTF? What an absurd comment devoid of a semblance of fact! Where is your claim for the ethnic cleansing of Nationalists coming from?

@ at Winston , so what if she did do some economic good in her own country ,this is ireland . Even in her own country she is reviled as much is as she is revered by your likes .where would northern Ireland be now if left to her likes , mo molam did more in year than she did on all her terms as PM,also tore the guts out of industrial Britian , but her biggest legacy will be that which she shares with Ron Reagan , the pursuit of neo liberal economic policy that led to a culture of financial deregulation that see faceless bankers driving nation states on to their knees across Europe ,Well done maggie !
.

m.guardian.co.uk/uk/2001/jun/16/northernireland.catholicism?cat=uk&type=article …… there you go

Nice one Pilib. In your face Winston. In your face! 

Hmmm. “Margaret Thatcher horrified her advisers when she recommended that the government should revive the memory of Oliver Cromwell – dubbed the butcher of Ireland – and encourage tens of thousands of Catholics to leave Ulster for the south.” So did this actually become UK govt policy? Is “encouraging” the same as the “purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas”? Just asking…

She did more than encourage it Michael. Her gov policy at the time actively forced trainloads of nationalists to uproot and move to 26 counties. I remember it and I was only a kid. They were dark days.

A life long FGer? That life obviously didn’t stretch back as far as the 1970′s because if you saw how bad Britain was pre and post Thatcher you’d see that the lot of the people was dramatically improved! The IMF was knocking on the UK’s door before she took over! Check the figures on unemployment, growth, inflation etc… Check the facts and come back to me!

Were you there in the 80s Winston? 4 million unemployed. Race riots. Hunger strikes. Bombings. War in the S Atlantic. Arms race. Miners’ strike. Samantha Fox. Oh, and the social welfare bill actually increased…

Red White and Blue, if they had their way