Any chance Aengus and his bunch of fawning semi-literate colleagues might engage in a little introspective analysis before running to blame the “bleedin furriners” for their not being able to maintain the charade of them living in the ‘richest’ society on earth?
How about an examination of the role that he and his poxy newspaper (and indeed the media generally) played in bringing ‘us’ to where ‘we’ are today.
As an aside, are all Sindo hacks schooled in the use of the royal we? Is it some sort of pseudo-psycho mechanism which they feel will ensure that nobody ever disagrees with them ie how can ‘we’ disagree with ourselves? Its very annoying to read an article where the author seems to assume some sort of kinship or common ground with you despite him or her talking nothing but utter fucking shite.
I’ll be firing off a complaint about this prick’s use of that disgusting phrase in a moment. I have just finished reading Anthony Beevor’s masterful history “Stalingrad”. A chilling and terrifying book. For this Fanning cunt to be bandying around a phrase like this in light of its true connotations is an abomination.
Maybe Sir Anthony is just getting in some groundwork before Her Majesty’s visit. With the mantra out of the EU and back into the real Union a step up the royal ladder might even beckon. How fitting if during her visit Her Highness were to bestow the title Baron, Viscount, Earl or even Count with o.
You would be surprised (shocked? mortified?) how close the South came in the 50’s to going on bended knees grovelling to be allowed to reenter the UK. The reason why FF jettisoned 30 years of fundamental political principals when they embraced T.K Whitakers plan was because the only viable alternative was to petition to rejoin the UK. By the mid 50’s the country had economically reached the end of the road and was on the verge of complete collapse.
No debt but heading rapidly for demographic collapse due to mass emigration triggered by gross economic mismanagement.
The 1950’s tends to be a blank period in Irish history, especially what was going on behind the scenes.
I was first made aware of how serious things were in the introduction and some of the essays that were part of a festschrift in honour of the 30’th anniversary of TK Whitakers plan. This is the book I think…
The line about rejoining the UK was something I have heard talked about over the years, usually as a throw away line by people who were around the DoF and environs at the time. I think the last time I saw it in print was in one of Garret FitzGeralds pieces in the IT. Who would have been kicking around the relevant corridors of power at the time. I think Conor Cruise O Brien has also refereed to it in print as well. He would have been well placed to know the political angle at the time. I think a lot of the discussion at the time may have been around rejoining the Commonwealth as a cover for just how dire the situation was. The decision to leave the Commonwealth in 1948 was a profoundly stupid one considering the supposed importance of a united Ireland to all the main parties in the South. But indicative of the inability of all involved at the time to do any joined up thinking or to move beyond slogans immersed in self-pity.
There’s no denying the economic disaster of the 1950´s and how much of it was self made.
Some context is needed however particularly with regard to the mass emigration - Britain and the other major European economies were going through massive post war reconstruction aided by the Marshall plan and Ireland was very much sidelined from that process.
However I don’t think any of the information on this thread provides backup to the thesis that Ireland was close to “groveling” to rejoin the UK.
Nor, frankly, would I expect that the UK would want the Republic back in the fold. The British Exchequer has enough on it’s plate with the North, and wouldn’t countenance taking on another Scotland, especially in the midst of the current debacle.
