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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU - England couldn’t care less about Northern Ireland

579 replies

ThisThatTheOther · 09/04/2021 08:19

Northern Ireland has seen a return to violence , petrol bombs etc every night for a week now. It’s dominated the headlines here in Ireland. People are worried as peace up north is so fragile. Listening to the radio yesterday an old advisor of Tony Blair was on to discuss. The radio host read out the top 8 listed stories on all main English sites and the violence of Northern Ireland didn’t even feature. It’s the top headline again in all major Irish publications this morning but not in English publications.

OP posts:
Emeraldshamrock · 09/04/2021 21:04

It's not about religion anymore, otherwise why are my affluent Protestant/ catholic neighbours not out rioting? It's about deprivation, lack of education, lack of opportunities, jobs
100% NI has beautiful homes and mixed areas along the coast lines.
I know the residents in Lisburn and the like won't be out rioting they're still backing these politicians by voting.
How did these parties get to walk away from government on full pay for years? Have they no management [looking at Boris>

BurbageBrook · 09/04/2021 21:09

Totally agree OP, it’s been treated like an afterthought in the news. Terrible.

randomer · 09/04/2021 21:09

I can assure you,I very much give a shit.I get religion/nationality confused. Brexit was an ill conceived vanity project.

lifesgoodwithlg · 09/04/2021 21:12

I am so sorry, those words are weak in terms of the emotions going around my head thinking of your loss. Whether Green or Orange we all bleed the same. I am from the south and remember so many atrocities, my heart goes out to you . I am sorry for your loss. May no other family suffer like yours has.

randomer · 09/04/2021 21:15

Green or Orange....time to drop this shit

Roodicus21 · 09/04/2021 21:19

@Emeraldshamrock exactly. I have no idea what religion my individual neighbours ascribe to (if any!). I couldn't give 2 shits. It didn't matter in London so why should it here.?
All I know is that our local village school has a very mixed bag (Protestant/ catholics/ non denominational and thankfully very diverse in terms of nationalities- were close to a university) so it's right to assume that this reflects my community. We all live very nicely together, and all our children play out too. Never any issues!

ImAlrightThanx · 09/04/2021 21:19

@randomer

Green or Orange....time to drop this shit
I agree. I was quite young but I remember the feelings of hope when the GFA was signed. I really, really hope we're not going to return to the past.
LexMitior · 09/04/2021 21:22

The problem is that even though people say they want peace, when it comes it to it, they still want and preserve the old divisions. It is all still there, still living under the surface, still whispered about, still useful to some.

This thread shows it. Still bound up in identity and difference, and constant reference to those things.

CantBeAssed · 09/04/2021 21:27

Totally agree @randomer

Emeraldshamrock · 09/04/2021 21:28

@Roodicus21 There has been huge changes in communities the past 20 years.
Despite what is in the news the younger generations have moved on very much love is love - people are people.
My friends DD has a mix of friends in uni no issues.
There'll always be diehards stuck in the past.
I lived in Belfast for years it is a really friendly welcoming city.

DioneTheDiabolist · 09/04/2021 21:28

The problem is that even though people say they want peace, when it comes it to it, they still want and preserve the old divisions.

Fear is what makes them preserve the old traditions. Unionism in NI is based on fear, the fear of what would happen if Catholics got the same rights as them. Which is sad on multiple levels.

randomer · 09/04/2021 21:29

Fucking William of Orange FFS

knackeredcat · 09/04/2021 21:34

Thanks @CantBeAssed and @IsFuzzyBeagMise. I think now with living in England I'm only really processing just what a nightmare living through the Troubles was. The thought of creeping back to those levels of violence, dead bodies covered in sheets and bits of what were once people blown to bits doesn't bear thinking about.

littlepattilou · 09/04/2021 21:38

@ThisThatTheOther Why say only the ENGLISH couldn't care less about Northern Ireland? Hmm

The Welsh, and the Scottish don't care about it, any more than England.

YABU. Once again only the ENGLISH get a bashing. Hmm

Sarahtrue11 · 09/04/2021 21:41

@DioneTheDiabolist

I always remembered the British soldier that was posted on our street. He was so young, he was a teenager.

You were 6years old and remember seeing an adult soldier and thinking how young he was @Sarahtrue11? As we say here: Yer hole!

Yes. Were you not able at six years old to identify teenagers?

I remember clearly having the thought "how can he be a soldier, he is so young". And my mother talked to him and asked him what age he was. He was 19.

Did you live in N.Ireland during the troubles? Would you like to share your experience?

"Yer hole", such an eloquent phrase, it conveys a lot. About you.

Original poster
ThisThatTheOther · 09/04/2021 21:46

Thanks everyone - very interesting to read everyone views

@Sarahtrue11 at this stage I’m not sure what the point of your posting is. There are posters here who have lost parents and close family members to the troubles. Maybe you could save sharing how exciting and fun the troubles were for you for another thread. It’s so disrespectful. KYA.

I hope we never return to those awful days. I’m glad to hear it’s starting to gain more traction in the U.K. media today. I hope if they riots continue the death of Prince Phillip won’t overshadow this as Westminster really need to take it seriously. It’s not something that can be let lie or hope it dies out. All it takes is for this to escalate with a death and the whole thing could spiral out of control!

OP posts:
Emeraldshamrock · 09/04/2021 21:48

I remember clearly having the thought "how can he be a soldier, he is so young". And my mother talked to him and asked him what age he was. He was 19.
Strange if your DM was Catholic. Catholic women didn't talk to soldiers those who did got accused of passing information the accusation was enough to avoid them.
DP did say the soldiers would be standing nearby when he was playing as a protection shield they were less likely to be shot among DC.

Sarahtrue11 · 09/04/2021 21:48

I don't think anyone should tell anyone else how they should have experienced the troubles. It is ridiculous. We all have our own memories of it.
My memory is of chatting to the nice teenage soldier on our street, and of being interested in what was going on.

I remember a bomb going off three streets away, and when we went to school the next day, none of the children were scared, and all of the children were bragging about whose house was closest to the bomb, how much they had heard, it was children being excited. Every child in the class was like that.
We were probably better off that way, we probably didn't connect it in our minds that bombs = death. I think it is very interesting how children react to things.
I just asked my brother about that time, he was two years older than me, and he remembers the same as me, that he found it interesting and exciting. We were children for god sake. All we saw was with our childish eyes.
Anyway, time to move on from this

DioneTheDiabolist · 09/04/2021 21:57

I remember clearly having the thought "how can he be a soldier, he is so young". And my mother talked to him and asked him what age he was. He was 19.

Since you googled the age of serving British soldiers in the Troubles @Sarahtrue11, will expand on my "yer hole" comment to say: Yer hole week's wages.🤣🤣🤣

notagainmummy · 09/04/2021 21:59

They are mostly teens who weren't born in the 'troubles' and don't even understand the intricacies of Brexit. Stop making excuses for them. It's not political for them it's antisocial behaviour orchestrated by the diehard republican/loyalist shitheads. They should be blood ashamed of themselves, if they had any

Emeraldshamrock · 09/04/2021 22:01

remember a bomb going off three streets away, and when we went to school the next day, none of the children were scared, and all of the children were bragging about whose house was closest to the bomb
What year? What area?

notagainmummy · 09/04/2021 22:02

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notagainmummy · 09/04/2021 22:03

@Aspiringmatriarch

YANBU, I heard about this yesterday on the radio and was really shocked it wasn't a bigger story.
It's been on TV news three days in a row 🙄
Tagaagajavdv · 09/04/2021 22:05

I’m English but Irish grandparents and shared a flat at uni with three girls from the north of Ireland which really opened my eyes.

I think large swathes of English people are ignorant to NI and don’t know or understand any of the issues or history. For example, an English person at my work informed me that ‘Bloody Sunday was when Irish yobs shot our soldiers’ safe to say I have been re-educating.

Many people (even Tory voters) think NI should be reunified and think it’s more of a drain on the UK than anything.

A lot of English people don’t care.

But there are those of us of Irish descent, Irish / NI friends and family who do care and try to understand and educate ourselves

Roodicus21 · 09/04/2021 22:06

Well as a catholic I remember asking soldiers if I could look down the barrel of their guns when I visited my grandparents. Soldiers were regular occurrences on the street at that time so we weren't afraid of them (at that time!). I also remember them being very young and it was the first time I'd seen anyone of a different race.

My aunt whilst walking her baby dc walked into crossfire and a soldier dived in front of the buggy to protect my cousin- saved their life. Not everybody hates (individual) soldiers (more likely the cause they stand for) and not everyone's experiences are the same.