Replying To Galway9801:  "So, you're suggesting that academic excellence is divided completely evenly among all ethnicities and to think otherwise is racist. Is it actually the case that there is no disparity at all?"

Replying To Seanfanbocht:  "Realists."

Replying To Viking66:  "Doing exactly the opposite in what way? And you still didn't answer the question I asked you earlier- what alternative policies could they pursue that would actually help bring about a 32 county Republic of Ireland?"

Replying To Tirchonaill1:  "The opposite in that they were opposed to British rule in Ireland but now they run to the British treasury for funding and are helping run the six counties for the British state with other unionists.
What other policies? Not having a 25 year sectarian murder campaign for one thing was a policy that did not work or help bring about a united Ireland.
It helped get them into power though suppose that's what they saw in their 'long game' strategy.
Wasn't worth a drop of blood or an hour in jail. The people would have been better following Hume all along."

Replying To Tirchonaill1:  "The opposite in that they were opposed to British rule in Ireland but now they run to the British treasury for funding and are helping run the six counties for the British state with other unionists.
What other policies? Not having a 25 year sectarian murder campaign for one thing was a policy that did not work or help bring about a united Ireland.
It helped get them into power though suppose that's what they saw in their 'long game' strategy.
Wasn't worth a drop of blood or an hour in jail. The people would have been better following Hume all along."

Replying To Tirchonaill1:  "The opposite in that they were opposed to British rule in Ireland but now they run to the British treasury for funding and are helping run the six counties for the British state with other unionists.
What other policies? Not having a 25 year sectarian murder campaign for one thing was a policy that did not work or help bring about a united Ireland.
It helped get them into power though suppose that's what they saw in their 'long game' strategy.
Wasn't worth a drop of blood or an hour in jail. The people would have been better following Hume all along."

Replying To Viking66:  "If there had been no armed struggle life for nationalists in the North would be exactly the same as it was in the early 60s. The armed struggle was directly in response to the violent treatment of the civil rights movement. Best you study a bit of history. Maybe if you had of lived in a Nationalist area of Belfast at that time you would know how people felt there, and wouldn't be spouting the rubbish on here that you are now."

Replying To BarneyGrant:  "What would you know about that in fairness? The IRA's objective was to force the British to leave Ireland.

They gave up. Brits still here and SF run by people who had nothing to do with anything other than spotting an opportunity."

Replying To BarneyGrant:  "What would you know about that in fairness? The IRA's objective was to force the British to leave Ireland.

They gave up. Brits still here and SF run by people who had nothing to do with anything other than spotting an opportunity."

Replying To Viking66:  "If there had been no armed struggle life for nationalists in the North would be exactly the same as it was in the early 60s. The armed struggle was directly in response to the violent treatment of the civil rights movement. Best you study a bit of history. Maybe if you had of lived in a Nationalist area of Belfast at that time you would know how people felt there, and wouldn't be spouting the rubbish on here that you are now."

Replying To Tirchonaill1:  "I could write a book on it myself Viking, PSF were infiltrated and led by the nose by the British for decades, so many lives wasted on all sides, murder maiming and mayhem all for nothing
We will likely never know just how many in SF were 'turned'. I have my suspicion on a few senior figures though. Whatever the British had on them.
The whole thing was rotten inside and out and none of it has advanced the cause of a reunited Ireland, it's done the opposite in fact. Sf voters in the six counties may think it's great now having the 'First Minister' job' in reality they have accepted partition and the British schilling in the end.
If all it was about was obtaining catholic civil rights in the 6 counties then following John Hume all along was the answer."

Replying To Tirchonaill1:  "I could write a book on it myself Viking, PSF were infiltrated and led by the nose by the British for decades, so many lives wasted on all sides, murder maiming and mayhem all for nothing
We will likely never know just how many in SF were 'turned'. I have my suspicion on a few senior figures though. Whatever the British had on them.
The whole thing was rotten inside and out and none of it has advanced the cause of a reunited Ireland, it's done the opposite in fact. Sf voters in the six counties may think it's great now having the 'First Minister' job' in reality they have accepted partition and the British schilling in the end.
If all it was about was obtaining catholic civil rights in the 6 counties then following John Hume all along was the answer."

Replying To Viking66:  "Those lives were surely not wasted. There is a commitment now in place that when a majority in the 6 counties want a re-unified Ireland then that will be done. That commitment would never have been entertained by a British government if there had of been no armed struggle.
People of a Nationalist persuasion have fair representation in Stormont, which is another thing that wouldn't have been achieved by the civil rights movement by itself. Gerrymandering is something that the people of the 6 counties only have to read about in history books. There is far more equality of opportunity, employment, housing and education than there was before also. The PSNI while far from perfect is infinitely more even handed than the RUC were in the 1960s. Irish is now an official language in Northern Ireland. While most of these were objectives of the civil rights movement they wouldn't have been achieved if the Nationalist people in the 6 counties hadn't stood up for themselves.
Your posts are implying that the civil rights movement was something completely seperate to the republican movement. It was in the early to mid 60s, but the republican movement gained more and more popular support as a result of how the British State treated the civil rights movement. Many leaders of the civil rights movement, especially the younger ones, became the new leaders of the republican movement after the split in the IRA, as they were more militant than the older lads who were already in the IRA since the early 1960s and before. Most of these older lads formed the Official IRA after the split, while most of the younger lads who only came to prominence as members and then leaders of the civil rights movement in the late 60s went on to form the Provisional IRA. The PIRA experienced a huge growth in numbers directly as a consequence of British action towards the civil rights movement. The 2 movements, Republican and Civil Rights, were both pretty much led on the ground by the same younger lads at this stage. I think it's poor out of anyone to suggest that these lads were motivated by money or power, as they simply didn't have either. They were mainly motivated by anger and sadness. The whole bad situation snowballed from there.
As regards the Brits and infiltration they built a very large empire on the principle of divide and conquer. They were the masters of subterfuge since the middle ages. Like most world powers before and since. If anyone believes that they didn't have a good idea who thought what then they are incredibly naive. At the same time if they had the power to lead the Republican movement anywhere they wouldn't ever have conceded the prospect of a re-united Ireland in order to achieve a ceasefire and a longer lasting peace in the 6 counties."

Replying To Viking66:  "Those lives were surely not wasted. There is a commitment now in place that when a majority in the 6 counties want a re-unified Ireland then that will be done. That commitment would never have been entertained by a British government if there had of been no armed struggle.
People of a Nationalist persuasion have fair representation in Stormont, which is another thing that wouldn't have been achieved by the civil rights movement by itself. Gerrymandering is something that the people of the 6 counties only have to read about in history books. There is far more equality of opportunity, employment, housing and education than there was before also. The PSNI while far from perfect is infinitely more even handed than the RUC were in the 1960s. Irish is now an official language in Northern Ireland. While most of these were objectives of the civil rights movement they wouldn't have been achieved if the Nationalist people in the 6 counties hadn't stood up for themselves.
Your posts are implying that the civil rights movement was something completely seperate to the republican movement. It was in the early to mid 60s, but the republican movement gained more and more popular support as a result of how the British State treated the civil rights movement. Many leaders of the civil rights movement, especially the younger ones, became the new leaders of the republican movement after the split in the IRA, as they were more militant than the older lads who were already in the IRA since the early 1960s and before. Most of these older lads formed the Official IRA after the split, while most of the younger lads who only came to prominence as members and then leaders of the civil rights movement in the late 60s went on to form the Provisional IRA. The PIRA experienced a huge growth in numbers directly as a consequence of British action towards the civil rights movement. The 2 movements, Republican and Civil Rights, were both pretty much led on the ground by the same younger lads at this stage. I think it's poor out of anyone to suggest that these lads were motivated by money or power, as they simply didn't have either. They were mainly motivated by anger and sadness. The whole bad situation snowballed from there.
As regards the Brits and infiltration they built a very large empire on the principle of divide and conquer. They were the masters of subterfuge since the middle ages. Like most world powers before and since. If anyone believes that they didn't have a good idea who thought what then they are incredibly naive. At the same time if they had the power to lead the Republican movement anywhere they wouldn't ever have conceded the prospect of a re-united Ireland in order to achieve a ceasefire and a longer lasting peace in the 6 counties."

Replying To KillingFields:  "Interesting post and fair play for writing it but could you next time have some paragraphs as difficult to read in one big block or could the mods edit the post."

Replying To KillingFields:  "Interesting post and fair play for writing it but could you next time have some paragraphs as difficult to read in one big block or could the mods edit the post."

Replying To Viking66:  "It's in 5 paragraphs as it is Killingfields."

Replying To KillingFields:  "Sorry should have said

You should have separated it out more as it's difficult to read especially on mobile site.

Space out your paragraphs. Makes post easier to read"

Replying To cavanman47:  "You do know what a paragraph is, right?"

Replying To ForeverBlue2:  "The good ship Government…. Holed well below the water line and sinking fast… All starting to jump overboard and fleeing the mess they created…"