Ireland

mark@unicorn.com
Tue, 14 Apr 1998 11:28:01 -0700 (PDT)


I really hate to defend the English actions in Ireland, which have in the
past been much more oppressive even than those they used against my
ancestors in Scotland...

Brian D Williams [talon57@well.com] wrote, from thousands of miles away:
>No you do not "see". there will be no further partioning of any
>kind, the IRA will not be the government, the current republican
>govt will control ALL of Ireland.

Only one problem... the Irish government have made clear on many occasions
that they don't want the IRA and definitely don't want the Northern
Protestants; AFAIR they even changed their constitution recently to remove
any claim on Northern Ireland. You can't seriously suggest dumping millions
of Protestants into one of the most staunchly Catholic countries on the
planet?

>The PEOPLE you refer to are descendants of those deliberately
>settled onto Irish soil by the British Government, to enforce their
>rule, not unlike the British invasion of Iceland in WW II, they are
>invaders every bit as much as the soldiers.

Uh, so an Irish Protestant who was born in Ireland, grew up in Ireland,
lives in Ireland, and comes from a family that's been living in Ireland
for centuries is an invader? I think you're letting emotion get in the
way of reality; which is the main reason why nothing has been solved
in Ireland despite decades of warfare.

> Unlike the soldiers who
>do not belong there,

In reality, of course, while the soldiers have on many occasions acted
reprehensively against the Republicans -- and IMHO some should have been
up in court on murder charges for it -- their main job is to keep the
Republican extremists and Unionist extremists apart, not to act as an
invading force.

>they would be free to remain, but under Irish,
>not British law.

But the vast majority of Northern Irish don't want that, and the Irish
government don't want that, so how is it going to happen? Trust me, the
majority of British people and government would be glad to get rid of
Northern Ireland and give it to the South if they could do so.

Mark