34 thoughts on “Was It For This?

      1. eoin

        Takes 10x more facial muscles to frown as to laugh. Today is face day! [tomorrow, we’re back on legs
        ;-)]

    1. Papi

      It costs 9.99 every time you log on and brings you to the site next to where you want to be.

  1. some old quare

    They are both wrong- part of Ireland IS still in the UK.

    The Ireland = ROI silliness only came about because the unionists insisted on NI being separate as part of the Good Friday Agreement but geography cannot be denied- Island of Ireland = Ireland.

    This is why GAA has teams from 32 counties after all.

    1. ReproBertie

      Bunreacht na hÉireann, Airteagal 4:
      Éire is ainm don Stát nó, sa Sacs-Bhéarla, Ireland.

    2. Rob_G

      The name of the country (in English) is ‘Ireland’.

      So ‘Ireland is still part of the United Kingdom’ is categorically incorrect.

      Though in fairness to the rep, presumably he/she lives in India, and probably is not that familiar with all 30-odd European countries, which are on the on the other side of the world, after all.

      1. some old quare

        The name of the country is The Republic of Ireland which is a subset of the island of Ireland.

        Now where did I put that penny whistle?

        1. Rob_G

          I understand that you are from the north, and may not have had the benefit of an Irish-language education to read Repro’s comment above

          “ARTICLE 4

          The name of the State is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland.”

          1. some old quare

            So Name = Ireland and Description = Republic of Ireland and still, people from NI who carry Irish Passports are equal citizens.

            My passport also says ÉIRE/Ireland btw, which was legally obtained in NI in the local post office.

          2. Rob_G

            All the more surprising then how insistent you were that you were correct when saying the incorrect name…

        2. Spaghetti Hoop

          Er, no.The name, as per the UN official listing is ‘Ireland’ and further divided by our constitution as ‘North’ and ‘South’.
          The Republic of Ireland is a soccer team.

          I see civic education in schools is still seen as a’doss’ subject.

          1. Slightly Bemused

            When I was in school most of our civics class consisted of the teacher trying to explain table manners. All I really remember is his explanation that you can use your hands if food has a bone in it, and how to politely transfer something unpalatable from your mouth to your plate.

            Nothing about rule of law, our type of democracy, or what it meant to be a citizen. Narry a mention of the Constitution.

        3. pedeyw

          Now if we can just get everyone to admit the tricolour is green, white and orange and not green, white and gold.

        4. Termagant

          But the island of Ireland isn’t part of the United Kingdom either. Northern Ireland is, but that’s only a quarter of the island. Ireland the island isn’t a part of any political grouping, it’s just a bit of land with water all around.

      2. Batty Brennan

        Well matched by the number of Irish people (including an embarrassingly large number of those in public life) who refer to “Africa” as a country.

  2. Gabby

    Google is certainly not the unerrant Sacred Scripture. And King Billy is not alluded to in the Book of the Apocalypse.

    1. The Old Boy

      I’m not so sure; noted attributes of King Billy include:
      -Rode a white horse
      -Crown given unto him
      -Went forth conquering.

  3. Slightly Bemused

    I once was crossing a border into Uganda. The immigration official did not want to accept my Irish passport, saying we were part of the United Kingdom. After a few moments of trying to explain, I said ‘fine, in that case I don’t need a stamp. Ireland is as much a part of the United Kingdom as Uganda is, so we are all part of the same country.”
    The look of outrage on his face was priceless, at which point I explained that Ireland had been independent of the UK since before Uganda was, so if he insisted we were still part of it, he must accept that Uganda was also. His colleague, listening in, laughed at that, and said something in Swahili. After a grunt, I got my passport stamped and handed back.

    Oh, the joys of international travel.

Comments are closed.

Sponsored Link
Broadsheet.ie