I don't believe this

After getting the funds secured from the Belfast City Council for this years Saint Patricks day parade, we have just got told that we will not be allowed to bring the tri-colour to the parade.

As you know Saint Patrick is the patron Saint of Ireland, so why not let us Nationlists bring the Irish flag with us?

The ouncil only gave the funding, as long as we did not bring any tri-colours with us, so the Protestants can feel secure on this holiday. I completely understand this, BUT the Protestants generally don't get the day off school or work to be in the celebrations, so why invent this rule for the 95% Catholics that go

If the cops try to enforce this rule, there will be chaos on the streets of Belfast!

This rule is not worth the paper it has been printed on, it is just like telling Protestants that they are not allowed to bring union jacks and england flags to the 12th of July parades!

I'll tell you now, if they do try to enforce this rule to the Protestants for the 12th ofJuly parades (which they do gets police escorts and council funding for!) there would be absolute mayhem!

I don't care about this rule, I am still going to go down with my tri-colour, along with everyone else and have a great time! I'm not letting this rule stop me!

For the past few years, we have had NO council funding and it was still great so if we loose the funding, it won't be a big loss!

[edit on 13-3-2006 by speight89]

Like it.

Make Ireland and St. Patrick's day about Religion. Good thinking, good work! That's what Ireland needs!. :-)

Keep up the good work soldier.

Seeings Northern Ireland is not apart of the Republic, it does make sense. But no flags are allowed there (including red hand of ulster, orange men, etc) it is not another one of the so called "anti-catholic" laws.

They are trying to make unity on St.Patricks day, thats why flags are barried so no group can influence it.

I'll tell you now, if they do try to enforce this rule to the Protestants for the 12th ofJuly parades (which they do gets police escorts and council funding for!) there would be absolute mayhem!

Absolute mayhem is an understatement and they would not remove flags for 12th July parades. St.Patricks day is the only event they are making non-partasan

Back to St.Paddy,

Its going to end up with trouble, i was raised from the loyalist area and i was brought up that St.Paddy was a catholic/republican holiday. Trying to get both sides to celebrate it "nicely" is asking for trouble.

Originally posted by infinite
Seeings Northern Ireland is not apart of the Republic, it does make sense.

- Naaa, I disagree infinite.
Please don't take this as flaming your comments but here's why.......

I think it makes as much 'sense' as trying to 'ban' people in anywhere else from flying a German or a Greek or a French flag, it really ought to mean that much or little depending on your background.

But then this is nothing to do with anything remotely connected to 'sense'.
It's all NI's sectarian brand of politics.

One side trying to antagonise the other.
Irish republicans and nationalists know it gets right up unionists noses and in turn unionists know a ban would get right up republicans and nationalists noses.

They are trying to make unity on St.Patricks day, thats why flags are barried so no group can influence it.

- This is fair enough as far as it goes.

But the selectivity some use in this area is most amusing.

As a place where each tradition is supposed to have agreed to a parity of respect and esteem the idea is supposed to, ideally, be 'both or none' (and because in the meantime NI is part of the UK on some offical buildings that means a union flage is sometimes flown).

But let's be honest for certain unionists and republicans the idea of both together or none at all is anathema.
Some prefer the slugging match in the hope they just might pull it off (as if ).

Absolute mayhem is an understatement

- Er, just out of interest how old is everyone in this discussion?

I refer you to the begining of the last round of the troubles and Paisley attempting to get the old RUC to remove the Irish tricolours.....

When McConnell, himself a Unionist, ordered the police to move against the Republican headquarters he was responding to pressure from Ian K. Paisley, leader of the Free Presbyterians. Paisley had threatened that if the RUC did not remove the tricolour he would lead a march of his followers to Divis Street and take it down himself.

cain.ulst.ac.uk...

- This is where we came in, hmmmmm?

Those with influence ought to be relaxing and calming people, not winding them up over this kind of crap. It can get out of hand and it has goten out of hand before.

Frankly I could care less what anyones' 'favourite colour(s)' are.

they would not remove flags for 12th July parades.

- Do you know that there was a time when some people wrote to newspapers claiming that that kind of 'counter use' of the Union flag a disgrace?
How times change, huh?

Also, protestant extremists should not be permitted to disgrace the Union Jack by flying it on their counter-demonstrations.

cain.ulst.ac.uk...

St.Patricks day is the only event they are making non-partasan

- Well I get the idea infinite but how is that seriously meant to work?

The patron saint of Ireland day is meant to be stripped of it's 'Irishness' (to suit a section of society who vehemently deny their own 'Irishness)?
Why?

(it makes as much sense and it's about as likely as trying to strip the Union flag from the 12th of July)

Its going to end up with trouble, i was raised from the loyalist area and i was brought up that St.Paddy was a catholic/republican holiday. Trying to get both sides to celebrate it "nicely" is asking for trouble.

- Why should it?

If people don't 'feel' Irish and don't want to celebrate the patron saint of Ireland then don't go (and certainly don't start trying to create hell over it). It's as simple as that.

Just because in some areas of NI people are still loopy enough to indoctrinate their kids with that kind if idiotic nonsense it is neither correct nor the whole story.

Go and see the big parade at Downpatrick and see protestants celabrating the day without trouble, as they have done for many many years.
news.bbc.co.uk...

(note too that there is a pig ignorant f*@kwit element reported jeering there but it is confined to a handful of idiots making a complete t*t of themselves).

I'm not saying it's always easy but it can be done and there is no reason why it should not be done......especially when we see the catastrophic results of not doing it.

Happy Pats day to you all.

[edit on 17-3-2006 by sminkeypinkey]

I am of Irish decent (County Claire) by 2 generations. My grandfather had a saying - "You don't have to be Irish to be Irish" which I believe is also a song?

So just enjoy St Paddy's Day for what it is - a chance to get drunk and throw up!