Sunday bloody Sunday
Feb. 23rd, 2007 03:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lproven(Prompted by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ickle_tayto)
November 21st 1920 was the original Irish Bloody Sunday; the more recent one, with which I was more familiar, was in Derry on 30th January 1972.
In 1920, first, the IRA, ordered by Michael Collins, killed 14 British, including 12 army intelligence officers - most of the 18 members of the "Cairo Gang", named for the café they frequented in Grafton Street.
Then, in a horrific reprisal, the Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary Reserve Force (both parts collectively known as the "Black and Tans") killed 14 civilians. 7 were shot to death, including footballer Michael Hogan, 5 more fatally wounded & 2 trampled to death in the panic.
The thing is that, allegedly, the British government is considering making a formal apology to Ireland on Saturday at the upcoming rugby match at Croke Park in Dublin. The match itself is a big deal because Croker, the 3rd biggest stadium in the EU, is meant to be for Irish games only: Gaelic football, hurling and so on. So the fact that an "English" game is to be played there is, I gather, controversial.
What do folks think?
Despite my Irish name, I'm not really Irish myself. My father was - born in Belfast, but the family left when he was still very young. I have never even visited the city myself, aside from a stopover of a few hours in the airport due to bad weather when flying to the Isle of Man. I've been to Dublin quite a lot, though, which is where most of my meagre knowledge of the Irish war of independence comes from. Why isn't this stuff - the Irish & American wars and so on - taught in British schools? How come I read of endless shows about WW2 on UKTV History but not these? They're big deals to their people.
(I know, WW2 is the only major conflict the Brits were involved in of which there's significant movie footage - but there are other well-documented wars. How come I see sod-all of Korea, Vietnam or anywhere else?)
For what it's worth, I'm a rather non-political person myself - indeed, somewhat anti-political - and have no strong feelings either way. I do tend to think that Northern Ireland ought to be given to the Republic, though, but with as many concessions to Ulster Irish as possible to sweeten it - like free relocation to England, Scotland or Wales, or free dual citizenship, or anything else that might soften the blow a bit.
I'm not sure it'd really end the Troubles forever, though. It wouldn't do anything to resolve the Catholic/Protestant divide, for instance. (Me, I'm a staunch atheist, I think both sides are barking.)
ickle_tayto)November 21st 1920 was the original Irish Bloody Sunday; the more recent one, with which I was more familiar, was in Derry on 30th January 1972.
In 1920, first, the IRA, ordered by Michael Collins, killed 14 British, including 12 army intelligence officers - most of the 18 members of the "Cairo Gang", named for the café they frequented in Grafton Street.
Then, in a horrific reprisal, the Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary Reserve Force (both parts collectively known as the "Black and Tans") killed 14 civilians. 7 were shot to death, including footballer Michael Hogan, 5 more fatally wounded & 2 trampled to death in the panic.
The thing is that, allegedly, the British government is considering making a formal apology to Ireland on Saturday at the upcoming rugby match at Croke Park in Dublin. The match itself is a big deal because Croker, the 3rd biggest stadium in the EU, is meant to be for Irish games only: Gaelic football, hurling and so on. So the fact that an "English" game is to be played there is, I gather, controversial.
What do folks think?
Despite my Irish name, I'm not really Irish myself. My father was - born in Belfast, but the family left when he was still very young. I have never even visited the city myself, aside from a stopover of a few hours in the airport due to bad weather when flying to the Isle of Man. I've been to Dublin quite a lot, though, which is where most of my meagre knowledge of the Irish war of independence comes from. Why isn't this stuff - the Irish & American wars and so on - taught in British schools? How come I read of endless shows about WW2 on UKTV History but not these? They're big deals to their people.
(I know, WW2 is the only major conflict the Brits were involved in of which there's significant movie footage - but there are other well-documented wars. How come I see sod-all of Korea, Vietnam or anywhere else?)
For what it's worth, I'm a rather non-political person myself - indeed, somewhat anti-political - and have no strong feelings either way. I do tend to think that Northern Ireland ought to be given to the Republic, though, but with as many concessions to Ulster Irish as possible to sweeten it - like free relocation to England, Scotland or Wales, or free dual citizenship, or anything else that might soften the blow a bit.
I'm not sure it'd really end the Troubles forever, though. It wouldn't do anything to resolve the Catholic/Protestant divide, for instance. (Me, I'm a staunch atheist, I think both sides are barking.)
