It is right and proper that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered people take part in the St Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City.
And right and proper that the Irish people here demonstrate to our American cousins that this kinda discrimination is unacceptable.
Yet here in Norn Iron, we have our own problems with celebrating St Patrick’s Day in those “public, shared spaces” like the City centre in Belfast.
Now at least, in Belfast the parade is legal.
And yet in Downpatrick, Armagh and other places in the North, there will be the inevitable row if someone dares to show up at a parade with the National Flag.
For even on St Patrick’s Day, the National Flag of Ireland is unacceptable to unionists.
Shame on them…but its only to be expected.
Shame too on the LetsGetAlongerists who tell us the National Flag is not…”inclusive” enough. This …from the same mindset that brings us “Orange Fest”, the bizarre attempt to sell Orangeism as a day for us all.
Some of our favourite LetsGetAlongerists will attend the American consulate in Belfast to celebrate the Fourth of July. They will also have the hot ticket for the French Consulate on Bastille Day.
If you are in a Doctors Surgery waiting room you will see some of the top LetsGetAlongerists at these functions…just look at the September issue of the Ulster Tatler.
If the LetsGetLongerists had any sense of decency, they would not turn up …because of course the American and French National Days are hardly…”inclusive”. The Stars and Stripes and Le Tricolere will be on show.
And of course quite properly the Great and Good of Belfast LetsGetAlongerism will celebrate with our Indian, Chinese and other residents, on their “Days” to demonstrate their liberal credentials.
Yet the only people in Norn Iron who can be ridiculed and marginalised with impunity are the Irish. All to appease people who hate the Irish nation and all it stands for.
Shame on the LetsGetAlongerists.
Shame on “nationalist” councillors who facilitate it.
Hopefully none of my readers will be upset by the photograph of the National Flag of Ireland. It was being carried in Kiev, Ukraine yesterday. Isnt Freedom a wonderful thing?
Keeping An Eye On the Czar of Russia 
The Seasonal Cycle of the blighted OWC: St Paddy’s Day and Poppy Day.
As usual a concise, pithy and healthy dose of reality that describes the inequality confronting Irish people here. It will touch a nerve of many I think.
You can be Irish in Edinburgh http://www.edinburghsfestivalofireland.org/ where Scots, English gladly, joyfully join in an easy, happy inclusive expression of Irishness, but you are not allowed any official expression or celebration of being Irish here. It should be noted that the majority of the listed events would fail the ‘inclusive’ test of letgetsalongerists in this part of Ireland. A bad Irish joke.
For St Paddy’s Day to be part of our ‘shared future’ it must be inclusive and therefore it has to be divested of any expression or celebration of an Irish national context. Our fellow British countrymen and women can then joyfully join us on common ground of celebrating the religious aspects of the day.
For Poppy Day to be part of our ‘shared future’ it must be inclusive and therefore Irish nationalists’ have to stretch themselves to join with their British fellow countrymen and women in acknowledging, respecting the British Army war dead on the common ground of Irish dead in the first world war. Irish nationalists can then respectfully, rightfully join our British countrymen in wearing the poppy and attending Remembrances Services under the Union Jack and with a British Army guard of honour.
This is in essence the cornerstone and very visible expression of ‘letsgetalongerists’, of so-called progressive unionism. It requires Irish people in the north east of Ireland to forgo and willing suppress their own national consciousness. A passive sleeping dog.
It dovetails in with the promotion of a northern Irish identity, albeit with individual rights for Irish cultural expression within a NI centric and inclusive UK framework.
The suppression of the national rights of the Irish people in this part of Ireland has to be challenged.
From the inception of this state the mindset prevalent across Unionism has been of ignoring, belittling and suppressing the Irish national identity. Any attempt to promote or encourage any aspect of an Irish identity has been regarded as being ‘political’, politicising the subject, subversive or foreign, not belonging to this place.
Such a mindset has to be challenged, constantly and persistently. This mindset cannot accommodate ‘parity of esteem’ and is why all shades of unionism, including the ‘nice people’ of Alliance and NI21 have rejected the principle as being divisive.
Our right, as Irish people, to public expression of our nation and to play a full part in our national life has to be become centre stage for nationalism.
Nationalist politicians in stretching themselves think they are holding out the hand of friendship; however it is not based from a position of equals but on a perceived acceptance of a Unionist British context.
It will not be reciprocated and only sets back any acceptance by unionism of the parity of esteem principle.
The BBCNI will of course show some minor member of the British “Royal” family distributing shamrock to the “Irish Guards” and “Royal Ulster Regiment”
St Patrick’s Day can be allowed in a British Irish context and at a stretch an Ethnic Irish thing….but never ever as an expression of Irish nationality.
eurofree3.wordpress.com has already suggested wearing a green poppy (see Catholic ex-servicemen don’t count) Can you imagine the faces at the belfast cenotaph if nationalist politicians turned up to the ceremony wearing green poppies?And newsreaders on the BBC and UTV also wore them?
BBC Newsreaders cannot do that.
I know a few years ago, some objected to wearing a poppy and were confined to the Radio.
A disgrace.
Fitz, you can be Irish in Glasgow during the St Patrick’s week festival. Wee tricolours are given out to the audience at the St Patrick’s Concert and everyone waves them merrily. Afterwards, we drink a wee toast to you. All in all it’s a great week.
http://www.glasgowstpatricksfestival.co.uk/#
And all over England…no problem.