Anyone?

Sacerdotal?

Yesterday: In Belfast

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32 thoughts on “Peak Denial

  1. Col

    I presume it was the best option- how would it have gone down if they stayed seated with their arms folded?

  2. paul

    because the alternative to the applause was to hang their heads in shame like the bauld children that they are. But that would be admitting guilt, not something a politician can really do.

  3. newsjustin

    They were slow and unenthusiastic about joining in a) because it started behind them, they are humans like us and wary of joining in when their natural inclination in church is to stay sitting and quiet b) the comment was about them, so they had the good grace not to applaud immediately like fools who didn’t realise that they were being criticized. A similar dynamic would have occurred if they were being praised – you don’t clap yourself and give yourself a standing ovation. c) Despite the above, as humans, they had to eventually join in, commend a good point while not seeming to be clueless that they were being criticised.

    Honestly, it’s what most of us would do in that situation.

    What do people who are questioning them suggest they should have done at that moment? Jump on the pews and lead the clapping, or maybe to commit ritual suicide en masse in recognition of their failings?

    1. Mickey Twopints

      I fully agree with you on this one. Funerals are the most awkward of social occasions, and they were there as elected representatives, not as friends or family. On a human level, they were between a rock and a hard place and it makes me uneasy to see them criticised for acting like imperfect human beings – it’s clear that there was no malice or intended disrespect displayed by any of them.

      Having said that, it’s difficult to avoid a feeling of schadenfreude when watching one or two of them in particular squirm in discomfort.

      1. newsjustin

        Yeah. It was a good point well made by the priest. And thet deserve to be criticised. But not for just being awkward human beings at a funeral.

    2. SOQ

      Arlene and Mary Lou, both articulate and astute women, both very aware that in an emotional media situation, every movement or gesture would be scrutinised. So now today they have both jumped back into the trenches, hands on hips spouting red lines.

      Actions speak louder that words girls, or in this case as suggested- photo ops. Prove us cynics wrong eh? Be like Lyra, change the world one step at a time, starting with NI.

      The VERY bold Eamonn is originally from Creggan of course. Creggan outside Crossmaglen I mean. Yes, there is more than one.

  4. George

    Arelene Foster didn’t clap. Mary Lou did. Mary Lou Blames the DUP which is probably fair enough as they have been very happy getting attention in West Minster.

    1. SOQ

      Arlene did clap, she just didn’t it to be a media pic storm against the DUP- which is perfectly fine. Watch the video again eh?

  5. Catherine costelloe

    The Late -Late show beckons for Fr Magill! I’m looking forward to Lyras book on two little lads that vanished from a bus stop on route to school. R.I.P.
    It would be some legacy if the political parties ruled ,even if they agreed to differ , shelve contentious points for 3 years, and got on with it !

    1. newsjustin

      Yeah. A bit of bravery wouldn’t go amiss. Just park the nonsense, realise that sometimes we don’t get what we want of is ideal. Just say, “Fock it” and get on with it.

  6. Pip

    A stupendous own goal by the killers’ side, and a tragic sacrificial lamb delivered.
    Strange and wondrous times.

  7. TheQ47

    I assume the applause was because each side is blaming the other, and they were applauding to say “Yes, I agree. They (the other side) do need to get on with it”

    1. newsjustin

      I doubt it. I doubt many in the congregation there yesterday at that kind of petty. Most people in the North aren’t that pushed about the posturing around Irish and the Renewable Heat clusterfock.

      1. TheQ47

        Sorry, I didn’t make myself clear, I meant the applause by the politicians. The applause by the rest of the congregation was real and meaningful, I’m sure.

        1. newsjustin

          Sorry Q. I took you up wrong on that. Perhaps you’re right about the politicians. Again, human nature….can justify the clapping to themselves afterwards.

    1. SOQ

      You don’t go to many Irish funerals now do you? Funeral selfies never caught on here.

      Because the first couple had to have the phones surgically removed I expect

      1. Dhaughton99

        I didn’t particularly mean funerals but I have been to 2 funerals of people from the Congo in the local cemetery and it’s extraordinary to see the use of phones and cameras and the amount of people who attend. The music and singing is also wonderful.

        1. Mickey Twopints

          It crossed my mind that the whole thing was probably a huge culture shock to Theresa May, if she’d never attended an Irish funeral previously. I hope she took the positivity home with her.

  8. Cloud

    Side point: Hats off to the camera operator. The slow pan and zoom at that particular second captured an historic moment perfectly. They were mid-move as the applause started too – I wonder was it instinct or coincidence?

  9. RuilleBuille

    So nthe priest got his Warhol’s fifteen minutes of fame.

    Where was he when Ian Ogle was murdered by unionist terrorists because he objected to them selling drugs. Not a peep out of the mass media. Not onl was Mr Ogle murdered but the UVF are now running a campaign of intimidation against his family and two have received PSNI imminent danger warnings.

    1. Rob_G

      Pretty sure that Ian Ogle’s funeral service wasn’t held in this RC church; if it had have been, I am sure that the priest, who seems a thoroughly decent sort, would be the first to condemn it.

      1. newsjustin

        This was a Church of Ireland church. Fr Magill was asked to preach. Partly because he knew Lyra McKee.

        And RuilleBullie a quick glance at this gentleman’s Twitter leaves me in no doubt that the guy is involved in more Belfast community, cross-faith, cross-community, youth, anti-sectarian, anti-gang, anti-violence initiatives than you and I have had hot dinners.

  10. Ian-O

    What was Zappone doing there? I can understand Leo, Mary Lou, Arlene and May, but she is the minister for Children & Youth affairs, what exactly does this have to do with her brief outside of her getting herself another LGBT photo op at an LGBT persons funeral?

    She’s a fupping joke – did she drive to Belfast via Cork by any chance – if so, guess who is paying for her vanity mission to someone else’s grief?

  11. SOQ

    The leader of the DUP gets chastised by a Catholic priest at the funeral of a LGBT activist. Now if I wrote that into a fictional story, nobody would believe it.

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