Question an Irish Republican

I saw a few of them not too long ago at the Roundhouse in Barking.

The Dublin Legends? I have been tempted to go in the interest of seeing John - I think they have a number of dates next month. How was it?

The Dubliners, it was good.

They are almost certainly my favourite band, and my most listened to over the years. I'll always regret having not been able to see them live.

Yep, definitely, although the Clancy Brothers do come quite close.
Them and Nirvana, I will always regret not being able to see

Why are you deluded enough to think you're going to ever get NI? It's more likely that Ireland will rejoin the UK tbh.

Oh definitely.

My dad wanted this at his funeral, I don't think I will ever forget the words. In fact last Xmas I ended up singing it and some other amusing songs (Protect and Survive, Sick Note etc.) for a group of about 20 people (not family) when everyone had had too much wine Love these songs. Singing along now

Some nationalists would be amicable with a 32 county Ireland, but a province of the UK.

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# I think of those traitors who bargained in souls #
# And I wish that my rifle had given the same #
# To those Quislings who sold out the patriot game #

Oh, sorry, did I interrupt?

MSG

I'm in that boat, if given the choice between a united Ireland under British rule and as it currently is, I would jump at the chance to reunite. The Irish government has never succeeded to date and has been corrupted, although strongly RW returning to a 32 county state is more important than who rules it

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Even if it meant we were better off?

I would only consider that under a Dominion or special Commonwealth status, where we don't have to swear an oath of allegiance to the Queen or have her on any official documents like Canada and Australia do. Even then I wouldn't like it.

I hate the idea because that would be betraying everything and secretly saying that we agree that they have a right to rule in Ireland and be counted as one of their colonies.

"Believing that the British Government has no right in Ireland, never had any right in Ireland, and never can have any right in Ireland, the presence, in any one generation of Irishmen, of even a respectable minority, ready to die to affirm that truth, makes that Government for ever a usurpation and a crime against human progress." - James Connolly

No, to me that is unacceptable. The Free State might be corrupt but in one way, it is more free than the whole island would be under British Union. If anything there's the chance they'll just expand the UK instead of reducing Ireland to the Commonwealth. Both are unacceptable because they mean we accept that they have a legitimate right to rule in Ireland.Even if in some way, possibly economic, we were better off, there still wouldn't be peace. Even if some republicans are reluctantly okay, there wouldn't be peace. It would be a repeat of the Free State Civil War all over again.
There can never be peace in Ireland until the foreign, oppressive British presence is removed, leaving all the Irish people as a unit to control their own affairs and determine their own destinies as a sovereign people, free in mind and body, separate and distinct physically, culturally and economically.

(and we all know who said that...)

I would only consider that under a Dominion or special Commonwealth status, where we don't have to swear an oath of allegiance to the Queen or have her on any official documents like Canada and Australia do. Even then I wouldn't like it.

I hate the idea because that would be betraying everything and secretly saying that we agree that they have a right to rule in Ireland and be counted as one of their colonies.

"Believing that the British Government has no right in Ireland, never had any right in Ireland, and never can have any right in Ireland, the presence, in any one generation of Irishmen, of even a respectable minority, ready to die to affirm that truth, makes that Government for ever a usurpation and a crime against human progress." - James Connolly



No, to me it's unacceptable.

The Free State might be corrupt but in one way, it is more free than all of Ireland would be under British Union. If anything there's the chance they'll just expand the UK instead of reducing Ireland to the Commonwealth. Both are unacceptable because they mean we accept that they have a legitimate right to rule in Ireland.

Even if in some way, possibly economic, we were better off, there still wouldn't be peace. Even if some republicans are reluctantly okay, there wouldn't be peace. It would be a repeat of the Free State Civil War all over again.

There can never be peace in Ireland until the foreign, oppressive British presence is removed, leaving all the Irish people as a unit to control their own affairs and determine their own destinies as a sovereign people, free in mind and body, separate and distinct physically, culturally and economically.

(and we all know who said that...)

And we should aim to maintain relations with the UK, Ireland can't just be anti-British forever, if Britain is interested in returning 32 county Ireland as a province of Britain, financially benefiting all of the country and allowing us to retain our Irish heritage, we should jump at the chance. Not turn it to down for the sake of our history.

Britains given up on its colonies.

This is where I become unpredictable. After we have an independent UI I believe there's no reason not to set up relations, even a political-economic union between us similar to the EU...basically a mini-EU. I'm not anglophobic, just anti-imperialist.
Yes but they have this Commonwealth status which infuses the Crown and allegiance to it within their governments and constitutions:
"equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations."
Although I do think that we could always vote in a republican party that would repeat the 1949 Declaration of Independence

I see no reason to argue why we would treated any differently to the Scottish or Welsh.

Like America's tea-baggers

Oh, you don't need to tell me about how bad the DUP are. Anything attached to the late Ian Paisley Snr would be enough to make me recoil. He was a bigoted lout who perhaps found a bit of redemption as he neared the grave, but still represented - to me at least - the very depth of twisted, sectarian hatred.

I still have a degree of affection for the UUP, and had a lot of time for David Trimble when he was at his best, but they just seem almost irrelevant these days (not to mention he went off and joined the Tories...). Alliance are a bit too smug for my liking.



Tea Partiers, surely?

I think what you wrote might mean something else...