New chapter in community hope or sign of worse to come?
Photo: A nation once again? New Portlaoise mayor symbolizes darkening island, supported by “leaders” on both sides of the sectarian divide
From a correspondent:
With little fanfare, the last units of the British Army have left Ulster (Northern Ireland) after a presence of 38 years. Originally sent in to the province to protect Catholics besieged by Protestant rioters, the Army quickly became a lightning rod for Republican forces like the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the Irish National Liberation Army, who claimed to represent Catholics and called for unification of the six northern counties with Eire. As Operation Banner, the British Army presence was intended to keep the warring communities apart — Catholics and Protestants, the latter, as “Loyalists” wishing to stay a part of Britain.
The ending of Operation Banner comes after “peace accords” have brought a level of sectarian calm to the province, with both sides sharing power. While we applaud anything that brings white people together, the fact remains that the British Army’s presence is redundant. With the European Union in place, the old dream of “one Ireland” is irrelevant, while the IRA’s political wing, Sinn Fein, openly supports Third World immigration into the island, as do the Protestant leaders. In fact, the island as a whole already has a population of non-whites approaching 10%, and even “boasts” a black mayor in Portlaoise. The new Lord Mayor is Nigerian asylum seeker Rotimi Adebari.Meanwhile, some rogue members of “Protestant” groups like the Ulster Volunteer Force have given up sectarian warfare for drug dealing and human trafficking.
Over the course of the occupation, 763 soldiers died and 6,100 were wounded. Both sides of the sectarian divide blamed the Army for a number of atrocities, including 1972’s “Bloody Sunday” (subject of the U2 song), where soldiers shot 26.
The Army presence became iconic, with photos of “squaddies” crouching in door frames and being showered with rocks and bottles stamping an indelible image on the collective psyche.
All the blood, hatred and death that has smitten the island for generations has amounted to nothing, and points to the evil of intra-ethnic white hatreds.