To The Large Thug Element Of The Rangers Support

[RFC55 108,665]

IT was good of the UVF thugs of East Belfast to give me a cue with which to follow my Fenian column of yesterday (which, as it happens I had started before the unprovoked attack on the Short Strand). For we should be clear about this; the culture of the Billy-Boy tribal bigot predates the emergence of Fenianism as a powerful force amongst the Catholic working classes of Belfast and Glasgow.

Paradoxically, the rabble-rousing leaders of these drunken louts have usually been teetotal clergymen, such as Roaring Hanna and Ian Paisley. The compulsory Sunday closing of pubs was once a primary element of their identity -- provided that their own drinking clubs were allowed to remain open. Logic is never the strong point of any strongly held tribal identity, but particularly so for these people, who have remained locked in a historical enigma wherein they are 'British', though living in Ireland, and generally lawless though they 'loyally' support the Crown, and sober in their general political aspiration, though usually enough drunk at the time.

They have a church, too. In their illiterate and incoherent scheme of things, Calvary is probably a collective for horses and maybe Gethsemane is something mysterious that happens in a sperm-bank. No, their real religion is Rangers Football Club.

Glasgow Rangers is the sporting icon for loyalist bigots. The club's own words are irreproachably neutral. It is law-abiding. It is patriotically British. Its outward message is of harmony and ecumenism. But to the large thug element amongst the Rangers fans the key to their identity is almost like the Third Secret of Fatima. It is this: NO FENIANS here.

There is a congenial, indeed government-backed myth, in both Scotland and in Ireland, that "one side is bad as another": that Sinn Fein-IRA are pretty much the same as the UDA/UVF. This is simply untrue. There is no republican equivalent to the Romper Rooms of the UDA, wherein men were routinely beaten to a pulp by loyalist thugs, and from which both the term and the practice became celebrated. And then there was Lenny Murphy and his merry gang, the Shankill Butchers, who for years in the mid-1970s abducted, tortured and murdered Catholics -- usually by cutting their victims' throats.

This culture did not emerge simply as a response to IRA violence. It was there already. It was feckless, violent, drunken, lost, lumpen proletarians for whom a perverted tribal identity conjoined with a Godlessly Calvinist sense of superiority, even as they stewed in their ghettoes of suffocating illiteracy and economic failure. But they were nonetheless elevated by the insane delusion that they are the chosen people, who have been deprived of their birthright by some vast conspiracy between the Catholic Church and the British government.

This psychiatric condition affects almost an entire under-caste, thereby placing their minds and aspirations almost beyond ordinary analysis.

This Sunday, it will be 45 years since their hero, Gusty Spence, murdered the teenage barman Peter Ward and seriously wounded William Doyle in the Malvern Street shootings. Thus the Troubles got under way. (Nineteen years later, the Catholic barrister who had defended Spence at his trial, also called William Doyle, was shot dead by the IRA for the hideous crime of being a judge. And so it goes.)

Now we know: these Troubles of ours haven't gone away, you know. And they're at it again in East Belfast, with a lost tribe of illiterate, paranoid barbarians wandering the bleak landscape of their own brutal imaginations, about no purpose that any one of them could possibly explain. Except they probably know this is a period of rather enjoyable violence, before the much-loved Orange marches -- plus riots, with luck -- can begin.

And next comes Rangers' first match of the season, to be followed by a night of paralytic alcoholism, and rounded off, no doubt, with a complete short-term memory lapse. (This is called "culture", by the way.)

For once, let history be our guide. Our political classes must not be swayed by the violence of these cretins.

Irish Independent

Have a gander at this. The IRA and Sinn fein were nicer people than the loyalist paramilitries apparently. They enjoyed just killing protestants, whilst the naughty men of the UDA used to beat people to a pulp

[Senna 735]

That reads like an OAP-killer article.

Ironic how he claims the troubles were started by one UVF man.

This Sunday, it will be 45 years since their hero, Gusty Spence, murdered the teenage barman Peter Ward and seriously wounded William Doyle in the Malvern Street shootings. Thus the Troubles got under way.

Beggars belief.

[Rangers_Youth 6]

these fenian cunts riot every other week and not a word is reported

[caseyjones 3,009]

Give us Shamrock Rovers in the CL qualifiers.

[MosesMcNeil 1,664]

No reasonable person could read that and take it as the view of a person intent on balance and truth.

How those angels of the IRA must be rejoicing in such vindication. The troubles, the murders, the brutality, the cruelty, the riots, the hate: all the fault of The Rangers.

As pathetic an article of fantasy as I've read in years.

[Senna 735]

Someone should mail this to Craig Whyte.

[Martin Luther 53]

That sounds as fair and balanced as Mac Crack Pot. I wonder he has the balls to talk about Northern Irish paramilitaries. I thought Johnny Adair was having a word with him after his MAD DOG and Ayrshire men story about those two clowns that sent stuff through the post?

[Martin Luther 53]

His name is Kevin myers and heres a piece on Fenianism he did the day before.

Kevin Myers: Cycle of futility that is Fenianism knows no end

Wednesday June 22 2011

The Northern Ireland police are trying to see the testimony of Marion Price to the Boston College oral history project, which has recorded the personal testimonies of the participants in the Troubles. The police apparently hope to discover something useful for a prosecution of the murderers of Jean McConville. Either way, no worthwhile trial will result. The only likely outcome is that other possible contributors to the archive might not offer testimonies.

Meanwhile, the cycle of psychiatric futility that is Fenianism continues, as it has down the generations. Marion Price spent some of her childhood holding a cigarette for her handless, eyeless mutilated aunt Bridie Dolan, who was hideously maimed as a teenager when the IRA grenades she was carrying exploded. Such a waste of a life did not breed caution: Marion herself became an IRA activist, bombing London, as had the IRA of her aunt's time.

Marion's life has been ruined by her involvement in terrorism, as was that of her aunt before her. Both women were useful largely because their sex partly protected them from suspicion.

Thank heaven for little girls. Ninety years ago this week, two RIC Auxiliaries -- Leonard Appleford and George Wames -- took tea in a restaurant at the top of Grafton Street in Dublin. As they left, a girl in a sailor suit pranced up and cried to some men behind her, "Here they are!"

The two men were then shot up to 20 times and killed. (Had they shot the person who fingered them, it would of course have been accounted a terrible war-crime by Irish nationalism). What a deed for a teenage girl to carry down all the days of her life.

I've said many, many times that the more we know of the past Troubles, the less likely we are to repeat them. But maybe that's because I want to believe it: for didn't the nationalist people of West Belfast have all the knowledge that they could possibly have wanted about the futility of violence before they began their insane war in 1971? Did they not have poor Bridie Dolan to tell them? Did they not have the ambush of Raglan Street of July just 90 years ago to tell them of the consequences of violence?

This sordid little murder of a Catholic police officer led to an eruption of sectarian violence in which 14 people were killed, 100 injured, and scores of houses burnt out. Did the nationalist people thereby learn of the futility of violence? Indeed not, as a generation on Bridie Dolan was to discover. The reverse: "The Raglan Street Ambush" is cherished in Falls Road folklore.

For decades, nationalist Ireland has told glorious stories of IRA Flying Columns beating the dastardly Black and Tans. In fact, there were few Flying Columns, and an awful lot of Grafton Street-like murders. Like poor Patrick Shanley, a Catholic RIC man from Leitrim, who three days after the sailor-girl so distinguished herself, was shot down as he emerged from Mass in Kildorrey in Cork, along with Sergeant Ryan. He was finished off on the ground.

Mary McArdle, who participated in a comparable murder in the 1980s, is now cultural adviser to the Northern Executive. Thanks heaven for little girls indeed.

Though, to be sure, most young girls are victims. In 1921, two weeks after the Grafton Street murder, and with the truce just hours away, an RIC man named Alfred Needham, aged 20, clearly thought that finally he could marry his sweetheart. But a clerk in Ennis tipped off the IRA that the groom's profession was "constable". So a beaming Alfred and his teenage bride emerged from the registry office -- and two gunmen shot him dead. Yet another young girl, yet more choice memories.

Next day, as the last seconds to the truce ticked away, RIC Constable Alexander Clarke -- who always went unarmed -- was returning to his lodgings in Skibbereen. He had studiously declined to engage in political work and was well-liked in the town. He was stopped by four gunmen and murdered. The "War of Independence" was now over: next chapter, "The Civil War".

Yes, I've deliberately picked on one strand of killings, of RIC-men in "ambushes". No one from Boston ever interviewed the participants of these killings, but the details were made public and available in the press. Did their shocking nature dissuade future IRA men and women from doing more of the same? Not a bit.

This July our political classes will once again unite around the fiction that "the War of Independence" was honourable and necessary and largely worthwhile. Meanwhile, armed republicans remain brooding bloodily over their ancient rites and pagan runes: for bizarrely, the more unsuccessful Fenianism is, the more it cherishes those past failures. This is cultural dementia, the equivalent of a sky-diver revering loose harnesses, or the deep-sea diver dreaming happily of leaking scuba tanks.

And in a couple of weeks, on the 90th anniversary of the truce, will we hear again from some damn-fool Catholic bishop prating about the noble fight for freedom of 90 years ago? And who, pray, will ask: Whatever became of that nice young girl in the sailor suit?

Irish Independent

[ZX750 31]

We'll march the streets of Glasgow

[Gaffbear 4,095]

Just narrow minded bigoted shite..Obsession with Rangers is getting serious

Lets all laugh

[Vodka 14]

Wtf? This clown has to be at the wind up. Either that or he needs locked up.

[J...R 20]

what the fucks this clown talking about, delided fucking idiot

[bluenose48 951]

When I first read the original post I started to laugh, but as I started thinking about the brainless idiocy of the whole thing.The thousands of innocents of both sides who were murdered by mindless thugs who used religion as an excuse to torture and murder other human beings. I started to cry.

[ForeverBlue_Since91 2,895]

Who even wrote this?? I bet he was a "Irish kafflick"

[BRICKY1872 118]

To try to sum up the rights and wrongs of the troubles looking at both sides and ending up banging on about a football team in Scotland is absolutely hilarious. This cunt must have been blazing drunk and ranting when he penned that piece.

[the heirs of cromwell 14]

the east belfast loyalist community have been attacked for years , & true to form 2 nights running leading up to the loyalists taking a stand against it ,+ the 2 boys shot on monday wer loyalists, & it wasnt dissident republics who have being doing the shootings it was the TERRORIST CIRA , but why let the true story get in the way . he states it was an unprovoked attack . LIAR !! plus the ira killed indescriminently women & children for years so this idiot is another delusionist with an agenda .

[tyabb bear 63]

Why don't we bomb the bastards back to the stone-age.........................Waite they are there already fuck them all

[Ferdasyn 431]

Piss poor journalism.

See all this hatred and violence between two sides in Ireland? Aye it's all a Scottish Footall teams fault.

[Der Hammer 160]

Rangers should just take the wanker to court,you can't just write what you want and have no comeback.Rangers under Murray allowed these arseholes to write what they want but Whyte has to stand up for our club and say "NO MORE"."NO MORE" writing what you want."NO MORE" blaming Rangers for everything.And "NO MORE" walking away after it laughing because Rangers don't bite back.Nicky Campbell and Keith Jackson have seen the growl now it's time to sink the teeth in.

[Martin Luther 53]

who have remained locked in a historical enigma wherein they are 'British', though living in Ireland,

No British though living in Britain.

FFS I wonder what hes got to say about the people who are Irish even though living in Scotland?

[ritchieshearercaldow 22,123]

Disgracefull article, it's seems this jhourno beleives the present troubles are down to Irish followers of Glasgow Rangers, not a mention of the rebel followers of the septic.

Also had to laugh when he mentioned the protestant Irish calling themselves British and not Irish, bit like some Scotsmen and a certain football club calling themselves Irish.

[Guest Andypendek]

He's obviously coming from a RoI angle. Seems from the two pieces penned that he has trouble finding a comfortable position on either side, and like most people who feel left out is aggressive toward everyone.

Really weird, the first post was just baffling and morally distorted, unless everything I have ever seen or read about Ulster is made up, then the second seemed humanitarian. I fail to understand the writer at all, I'm afraid.

[AMMS 27]

I take it no one has much issue with his second piece then?

Whilst making some pretty bizarre claims in the first piece he does allow us a moment of 'to see ourselves as other see us'. It is unfortunate that a number of loyalists involved in rioting in Northern Ireland do wear Rangers clothing, scarves used to cover their faces/protect their breathing being particularly noticeable. When pictures of them are then beamed into living rooms it's not a great association being made in viewers minds.

Belfast playwright, and Rangers fan, Gary Mitchell wrote very powerfully about this in the book 'It's Rangers for Me?' His experience of being burned out of his family home in Rathcoole by a loyalist mob, many hiding their faces behind Rangers scarves, brings home the futility of it all.

There is unfortunately a little truth in what the Irish journalist wrote, that the piece also contains inaccuracies shouldn't blind us from them.

[burnbank bear 342]

he needs a boot in the balls......taig cunt.

[DietofWorms 2,063]

He's obviously coming from a RoI angle. Seems from the two pieces penned that he has trouble finding a comfortable position on either side, and like most people who feel left out is aggressive toward everyone.

Really weird, the first post was just baffling and morally distorted, unless everything I have ever seen or read about Ulster is made up, then the second seemed humanitarian. I fail to understand the writer at all, I'm afraid.

I agree with this, the two articles seem written by two completely different mind sets.

It like he's trying to be an Agent Provocateur but in the end only appears confused.