To think that the timing of Gerry Adam's arrest does stink a bit?

[ClubName]

I despise the man and hope they have enough on him to let him rot, throw away the key etc

But, whatever they have it's not new (not new this week anyway) and I can see why he and his supporters think the timing of his arrest is political.

More importantly, unless he does end up in prison for a long time (which sadly I doubt) this whole business is just going to enhance his popularity and build the case that the PSNI aren't impartial

The Protestants are at university in Scotland and England. And also, working class Protestants tend not to go to university at all, whereas a greater proportion of Catholics do.

I'd say it's probably more segregated now than it was 20 years ago when I was there, things seem worse now in that respect. I know my younger relatives have absolutely no Catholic friends, whereas I have loads.

I left ten years ago and the only catholic friends I have I went to school with. I have only stayed in touch with one person from Queens and he is Protestant- and now working as a barrister. He gets most of his work from the Protestant solicitors firms.... And so the cycle goes on...

That's actually awful, I wouldn't think it would be worse now than 20 years ago and from young people who aren't old enough to remember the troubles.

Probably from the segregated Grammar school system... But that's a whole other debate.

The whole fucking thing is a joke. Everyone of those politicians has a lot to answer for. Somebody knows something. And if it wasnt sf kickin off about 'ooh the timing stinks, wah wah wah' it would have been fucking robinson an his cronies. Peace process?? Um, ok....

very to use another example, the town I grew up in used to be fairly mixed. There were no Protestant areas and Catholic areas, even in the 'rough' estates, and no particular difficulties between the communities.

In the past twenty years, this has all changed. The town has separated out, and Catholic families have been made unwelcome in some estates and Protestants in others. One side of the town is almost entirely Catholic, and the other is almost entirely Protestant. There is a line through the middle of town which in the evenings people from the 'other side' simply will not cross. There is regular violence.

None of this happened when I was growing up, we all lived side by side. So, yes, bombing and shooting has largely stopped, but community relations are probably much worse than they used to be.

There is violence,

Scarlettsmummy that's why QUB is known as 'Taoiseach's'

I had no idea before I went! I old went there because my mum had twenty five years earlier, but apparently it wasn't as segregated then.

I went to Friends (totally outing myself but not worried). The reason it has so many catholic children now is due to it being one of the few mixed grammars in the area, and Rathmore is over subscribed. It also is seen as quite cool now with the social media stuff, but academically very pushy.

It's no problem at all making friends from other backgrounds through work, thats where I met most of my Catholic friends. Its very hard indeed at Queens. And it's near impossible where I live. Because there aren't any!

Oh and it wasn't very integrated in the eighties and nineties when I was there! Only about 10% in secondary years, but none in my class in the prep. Very middle class though and those from a working class background, male and not good at rugby had a pretty hard time. This may have changed!

I don't want to mention my school by name but my superficially 'Protestant' grammar school was very mixed too. I think the outsider view of a totally segregated education system is not actually accurate.
Although having said that, I have never ever heard of a child from a Protestant background being educated at a Catholic school.

We went to look at Rathmore when I was doing the eleven plus, just in case I really liked it!

I went to Queens in the nineties and I do not recognise this segregation that you are describing at all. One if the best things about my time there was having friends from both sides.

What was your subject?

I was thinking the same Scarlett, that maybe the subject is the key? I'm guessing it would be different with medicine or pharmacy or something.

Very true alark its something that I rarely discuss in real life because its not foremost in my mind at any given time. I've discused a lot on this thread today, and I have thoughts that I have shared here, because the discussion arose, but I don't feel any need to discuss it at length in my day to day life.

Yes- I was thinking the sciences are maybe more integrated. Law certainly wasn't.

I also went to Queen's in the nineties and whilst we did mainly stick with out own group I definitely didn't find it as segregated as some posters did although I didn't do Law.
Arlene Foster was in my husband's class though

I know proddie children

Of course he, s got blood on his hands...

You wouldn, t get to the top there if you didn, t...

(grew up there)...

I haven't read the whole thread, so sorry if I am repeating stuff here.

I'm not saying that Gerry Adams is not guilty of crimes, he was certainly a member of the PIRA but to think there a straight link between his role and the murder of Jean McConville shows a misunderstanding of the nature of the conflict at the time.

Gerry Adams was named by Brendan Hughes in the Boston College tapes as being "in control" of a hit squad called The Unknowns who dealt with "traitors" or informers.

So as far as Brendan Hughes was concerned, and he was Gerry Adams right hand man, there was a direct link between Gerry Adams and Jean McConville.

Janine- what was happening up to 1969??? Why would the British army have suddenly, almost fifty years after the formation for the republic, have decided to go to NI??

Oh I don't know.

How about group a wanting civil rights but some of group b didn't want group a to have civil rights.

Then the army are sent in, initially welcomed by group a, but put under the control of group b.

Have a look at South Africa - all those nasty violent children in Sharpeville.

The 16th St Baptist church bombing?

Obviously it is not as simple as that, as I said before I don't think anyone involved has clean hands.

Scarlettsmummy2

Bringing Scotland in to the argument would be laughable if it didn't show such ignorance. Scotland is heading for a referendum, we don't know what the outcome would be. But is Scotland had 'the business vote' then the outcome would be a resounding 'no', not because of what the people of Scotland want but because businesses that are either based in Scotland but have customers all over the UK (think Scottish Widows, Scot Rail) or Businesses that are based in England but have businesses in Scotland (Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury's) have votes. Not even one vote per branch of Tesco, but 1 vote per £10 of the value of Tesco.

Would you really be happy with that?

And lets be honest, from this side of the Irish Sea the majority are happy, not that there is peace in NI, but that we can go shopping in London and if we are blown up it won't be an 'Irish bomb'. Day to day we don't think about it.

I'll be honest until recently I had not heard on Jean McConville until recently. Could I name any other 'victims of the troubles'?

Without looking things up, Lord Mountbatten, and then, no. I remember some news stories, the young woman buried by a wall after a bomb at remembrance service and her father being so eloquent. The unborn twins, at I think, Omagh. sorry if I got that wrong, didn't spell it right - tying to not google)

Now I was born in 1966 and probably didn't see anything about Jean McConville on the news (my parents limited TV news after my brother declared when he grew up he wanted to be an IRA sniper).

But I can't remember not knowing about the moors murders which happened before I was born.

Why do you think that is?