TheBigShort
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Sorry, my bad -- Westminster. I use it for Twitter abbreviation.
Who/what is WM?
Agreed, but as an idiot's guide to 400 years of NI politics, not to mention his pen picture of the Paisleyites, this piece was superb and compulsory viewing for Irish history Leaving Cert students.
Agreed. Changing all the street signs to Irish/English, having Irish/English announcements on public travel, providing an Irish alternative to all public service interactions etc. will swallow that up in no time. Notice how down here we get away with pretending Irish/English equality; up there you can bet the shinners would grind the system to a halt in exercising their rights to have all communications in Irish.I must admit that I am stunned by how badly the DUP did in their deal with the Tories.
They got increased flexibility to spend an existing €500m, just enough to cover the cash for ash scheme, and a further €2bn over 2 years.
Thats 5% of the existing grant. The DUP put the Tories into government for a 5% pay rise. Unbelievable ! A once in a generation opportunity and they settled for 5%. I thought they would screw far more out of Theresa.
The Tories got to form a government, Theresa gets to be PM, appoint the entire cabinet, all the probably thousands of patronage jobs and the DUP settled for a 5% pay rise. I thought they're made of sterner stuff.
Changing all the street signs to Irish/English, having Irish/English announcements on public travel, providing an Irish alternative to all public service interactions etc. will swallow that up in no time. Notice how down here we get away with pretending Irish/English equality; up there you can bet the shinners would grind the system to a halt in exercising their rights to have all communications in Irish.
I don't think many people would disagree with you.because all of it (money) is worth zero without the confidence and support of society -
What on earth does that mean? Socialism is a political and economic doctrine. Are you saying that society can't function without it? Does society not function now?without socialism all profiteers and capitalists are redundant.
Are you suggesting that people should be afforded an ethnic identity based on their mother tongue and that should be on par with a distinct ethnic group whose identity can be traced back to the bronze age?it wasnt that long ago that the Dáil stood in unison to acknowledge the 80,000 Traveller community as an ethnic race, but the 80,000 native Irish speakers are somehow not to be afforded the same status in their own country?
without socialism all profiteers and capitalists are redundant.
I don't think many people would disagree with you.
What on earth does that mean? Socialism is a political and economic doctrine. Are you saying that society can't function without it? Does society not function now?
Are you suggesting that people should be afforded an ethnic identity based on their mother tongue and that should be on par with a distinct ethnic group whose identity can be traced back to the bronze age?
B/S according to Wiki 1,500 people in NI speak Irish as their first tongue. I'm ignoring people from the jailtacht like Grizzly. By contrast 30,000 speak Polish. My guess is that more people speak Mandarin.
In NI the Irish thing is very much the counter on one side to the Flags thing on the other
The British government is partly to blame for committing to an ILA in the St Andrews agreement,
This is to do with the Irish language. It is part of our culture, it is a language that is under threat and needs protecting.
but in the last census, some 1.6m people answered that they had the ability to speak Irish.
I spent about 14 years learning Irish in total, but it was only when I went to work in an Irish speaking environment that I actually learned to speak it properly. And even then it was a joke, letters sent to government departments or clients had to be translated because our Irish was not good enough and then responses were slow because we had to wait until someone in the dept who's Irish was good enough could answer us.
If 1,500 Irish speakers have the "right" to conduct their affairs with public officials and utilities in Irish do not 30,000 Polish speakers have an even greater similar right. Does the Chinese community have similar rights? Or do rights only apply to natives?
I think you know what I mean when I refer to the Irish "thing" or the Flags "thing".
If 1.6M people in the census describe themselves as Irish speakers then I'm afraid the census must take its place alongside lies, damned lies and statistics. I did Irish up to NI Junior Cert but no way would I describe myself as an Irish speaker, but I suspect I have more focail than many of that 1.6M.
Yeah, but look at all the value-added jobs it created!
It is part of our our historical culture and it is decline because people have neither the need for nor interest in, it.
You sound like a FG'er law and order man.The fabric of a society is based on common aims and goals. The laws of the land are a reflection of the commonality between us all. If we ever get to a free-for-all, do as you please, do as you see fit, type of society then the society will collapse.
No it isn't; socialism is about the people (the "wurker") owning the means of production. Since everyone with half a brain now accepts that that is a stupid idea socialism has morphed into the people owning or controlling or, now, regulating the means of production.Taxation is a form of socialist ideology. The basic premise being that we all need to collectively contribute some of our individual wealth in order to protect and prosper that wealth.
Fair enough but it's a very a la carte version of socialism.In other words, without the direct and indirect input of all citizens, everything we own individually is worthless. From the clothes on our backs, the food we eat, the roof over our heads – it is a societal collective that facilitates it all, every bit of it. That to me, is socialism.
The Brehon Laws are also part of our historical culture but we don't use them any more.This is to do with the Irish language. It is part of our culture, it is a language that is under threat and needs protecting. We have similar protections here under the Official languages Act. There may only be some 74,000 native speakers, but in the last census, some 1.6m people answered that they had the ability to speak Irish. It is a language that its roots can be traced back to the 3rd and 4th centuries. So just because a small minority only use the language, does not mean we, as a society should just ignore their rights. That is why I used the Traveller comparison, only a small minority, but they deserve their rights to be recognised and protected. The gay community, a small minority, they deserve their rights to be recognised and protected. Native Irish language speakers, a small minority, deserve their rights to be recognised and protected.
Why would 1.6m people indicate in a census that they have the ability to speak Irish, if they neither have the need nor the interest in it?
Why would 1.6m people indicate in a census that they have the ability to speak Irish, if they neither have the need nor the interest in it?
The Brehon Laws are also part of our historical culture but we don't use them any more.
I absolutely reject the notion that Irish speakers are somehow more Irish than non-Irish speakers. It's 200 years since anyone in my family spoke Irish as a first language. It is not part of my Irish identity. We protect Irish speakers in that we do not oppress them of discriminate against them. Not facilitating them is not the same as discriminate against them. Should Shelta (Cant) also be a protected language? What about Ullans (Ulster-Scotts)?
Everything boils down to $$$, like the good free-market capitialist that you are.
Irish traditional music in the 1950's was also on its deathbed, until a little known trad band called The Chieftans re-generated the interest in it. Not only are they Internationally multi-award winning musical performers, the interest in the Irish trad music has never been greater. With it creating jobs, not only in music, but in tourism too. It is a huge pull-factor for tourists to this country.
Irish dancing, has also seen a surge in popularity, in no small part to shows like Riverdance etc. This is also a major pull-factor for tourists to this country and there are thriving international competitions held every year in Irish dancing. Jobs, jobs, jobs.....$$$$$, you should be happy about that.
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