Women's World Cup

To be fair, it was completely unacceptable, completely crass and completely stupid. And people trying to portray it as some sort of over reaction need to cop on. Singing songs, burning flags, childish insults, commemoration events for terrorists, glorifying violence and all the other rubbish needs to stop. On both sides.

Having said that, I thought the response from Irish Manager today was top class. She didn't defend it. She didn't blame social media. She didn't accuse people of over-reacting. She didn't hide behind 'It was a dressing room' excuse. She totally took responsibility for the stupidity of it.

I was also disgusted until I heard the sanctimonious sky news presenter ask the Irish player if they needed to be 'educated' on the meaning of the chant.....Like he knows anything about it......Then I was dragging out my Wolf Tones CD to have a listen to....

And of course it gives the DUP a reason to get up on their high horse...That's the worst bit about it!
 
To be fair, it was completely unacceptable, completely crass and completely stupid. And people trying to portray it as some sort of over reaction need to cop on. Singing songs, burning flags, childish insults, commemoration events for terrorists, glorifying violence and all the other rubbish needs to stop. On both sides.

Having said that, I thought the response from Irish Manager today was top class. She didn't defend it. She didn't blame social media. She didn't accuse people of over-reacting. She didn't hide behind 'It was a dressing room' excuse. She totally took responsibility for the stupidity of it.
Yes, I thought hr response was excellent.
Though a more wholehearted apology from the team would be better.

I was also disgusted until I heard the sanctimonious sky news presenter ask the Irish player if they needed to be 'educated' on the meaning of the chant.....Like he knows anything about it......Then I was dragging out my Wolf Tones CD to have a listen to....

And of course it gives the DUP a reason to get up on their high horse...That's the worst bit about it!
It's difficult not to let the emotions rise when the DUP speak or when British people ask if Irish people know their own history.

That said when discussions about getting more Unionists playing GAA come up I wonder how many people think about the wisdom of naming the Gaelic Football Cup after the leader of the IRB in London who almost certainly passed on Michel Collin's order to assassinate Sir Henry Wilson, an act which started the Civil War. Maybe we've all a bit to learn about our own history.
 
To be fair, it was completely unacceptable, completely crass and completely stupid. And people trying to portray it as some sort of over reaction need to cop on. Singing songs, burning flags, childish insults, commemoration events for terrorists, glorifying violence and all the other rubbish needs to stop. On both sides.

Having said that, I thought the response from Irish Manager today was top class. She didn't defend it. She didn't blame social media. She didn't accuse people of over-reacting. She didn't hide behind 'It was a dressing room' excuse. She totally took responsibility for the stupidity of it.

I was also disgusted until I heard the sanctimonious sky news presenter ask the Irish player if they needed to be 'educated' on the meaning of the chant.....Like he knows anything about it......Then I was dragging out my Wolf Tones CD to have a listen to....

And of course it gives the DUP a reason to get up on their high horse...That's the worst bit about it!
So just to summarise, you accept the apology and are happy to move on.
 
According to the man who wrote the song , it has nothing whatsoever got to do with the IRA . It was a song about graffiti in Glasgow. Just saying.... And also most if not all of them weren't born when this song was written so didn't even know what the song was even about , like some posting here . I think why not focus on their achievement, not trying to put them down . They have apologized so let's move on and wish them well in the World Cup.
 
So just to summarise, you accept the apology and are happy to move on.

I didn't lose anyone to the IRA so not up to me to accept any apology. Do I think they regret it? Yes? Do I think they were trying to offend anyone? No. Was it offensive? Most certainly Yes.

This wasn't a minor incident. This was the Irish national team singing a sectarian chant cheering a terrorist organisation. I know they apologised but they are just going to have to suck up the criticism coming their way.

The idea that they didn't know what they were singing is complete rubbish. They knew. They are adults. They grew up in football where sectarianism is never far away. Our obsession with Celtic and Rangers proves that.

They have done brilliant stuff and really hope they enjoy the world Cup but as I said they are in for a few uncomfortable days and they deserve that.
 
I was also disgusted until I heard the sanctimonious sky news presenter ask the Irish player if they needed to be 'educated' on the meaning of the chant.
The trouble is there’s no right answer to that question. You either didn’t grasp the significance of what you were singing and just went along with it (which makes you a sap) or you knew exactly what you were singing (which makes you an IRA supporter).
And of course it gives the DUP a reason to get up on their high horse...That's the worst bit about it!

Indeed. That’s completely unforgivable.
 
The trouble is there’s no right answer to that question. You either didn’t grasp the significance of what you were singing and just went along with it (which makes you a sap) or you knew exactly what you were singing (which makes you an IRA supporter).
Our national team singing a song supporting a terrorist organisation that sought to overthrow this country and considered our police, army and judiciary legitimate targets.
They weren’t (aren’t)just terrorises, they were (are) traitors. And women representing our country were chanting songs supporting them… utter morons.
 
I think we need to be sensitive to the real victim in all of this. I'm speaking, of course, of Darren Frehill. I'm out of the country at the moment but was he on the sports news this week and was he holding up?
 
Yeah sure whatever Leo. I'm the one insulting their intelligence by suggesting they don't actually support the IRA and you're not insulting them by suggesting that they sang that song in celebration of the IRA.
Take another read of your post, you said they sang it out of ignorance, no suggestion of whether or not they agreed with the sentiment. They since acknowledged themselves that they understood the meaning perfectly well and that it was absolutely unacceptable.

I suppose you think every football chant should be taken literally too.
Are you suggesting an alternative interpretation of 'oh ah up the 'Ra'? Is chanting offensive remarks as a group in a stadium somehow inoffensive? FIFA have put significant money behind trying to remove this behaviour from the game.
 
The first thread on this post was to say well done to the girls in green . This , in my opinion has gone way off topic .
 
I think Una Mullally captured it very well in her article in the Irish Times today (and I know some of you will have stopped reading after Una Mullaly but that doesn't mean she isn't correct!).
As Joer said, this thread has gone way off and I'm saying no more on the matter.
 
I think Una Mullally captured it very well in her article in the Irish Times today (and I know some of you will have stopped reading after Una Mullaly but that doesn't mean she isn't correct!).
As Joer said, this thread has gone way off and I'm saying no more on the matter.
The Shinner spokesperson masquerading as a journalist, that Una Mullally?
Does it read like an essay from a badly informed Transition Year student or is this article different from all her other ones?
 
The Shinner spokesperson masquerading as a journalist, that Una Mullally?
Does it read like an essay from a badly informed Transition Year student or is this article different from all her other ones?
She has actually slipped pack to early adolescence. She compares singing "Up the Ra" to British fans singing Rule Brittannia. She does understand victims of IRA terrorism taking offence but can't understand why anybody else does, heck who are we to take offence at, say, glorifying the holocaust (sorry Godwin's Law).
 
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And the Protestant team from Liverpool who Irish Catholics love beating the Protestant team from Glasgow that Irish Catholics hate.
It was close though. Never did understand the Irish support for Liverpool with their dreadful history of crowd trouble. As to being true to one's tribe can you blame folk for deserting Everton?
The first thread on this post was to say well done to the girls in green . This , in my opinion has gone way off topic .
I think you mean it was not followed by a unanimous endorsement of its congratulation. The topic of this match will long be remembered for the disgusting after match behaviour rather than for the Irish victory. But I agree we are no longer "shooting the breeze" but "letting off steam".
 
She has actually slipped pack to early adolescence. She compares singing "Up the Ra" to British fans singing Rule Brittannia. She does understand victims of IRA terrorism taking offence but can't understand why anybody else does.
Yes, her argument, and it's a real stretch to called it that, is that if you find apologists of terrorism and murder distasteful you must be old.

I'd suggest that if you find apologists of terrorism and murder distasteful you must be historically literate and morally developed.
 
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