Both GUI affiliated , the jolly .  Golfing wise thats good enough for most of us .

Norman showing which foot he kicks with ...Those Prods love their landlords ...

You can always rely on Scouse Tony for a cracking, witty and original one liner

Do we have any Southern Prods on here Wonks, as a West Brit I would like to doff my cap in their general direction.

Better class of communion wine?

Ozy , the more time Rory spends outside these shores the less he will be enchanted by the prospect of aligning himself with the Union Flag . But its still conjecture .

At least this week has shown he can change his mind .  And it is looking like a positive outcome on that front .  Maybe he feels more back in control now .

Ozy , the best statement on the affiliation or otherwise of someone from north of the border came from David Hewitt , certainly known to you from his exploits on the rugby field for Instonians , Ulster , Ireland , and the British and Irish Lions . Google it .

Surprised its not on there somewhere . Basically David said he was proud to have worn all jersies including the Irish , and he felt Irish when in the company of those from the south , and northern Irish when at home . There is a facility for that , anyone I meet abroad immediately classifies me as Irish . I have a British passport , my daughter has an Irish passport  , and her children have British passports ( the southerners refused them  Irish passports ) .

Its never simple given the artificial set up we have had since 1922 . There is a simple way to resolve it all , but it wouldn't suit everybody and it would take another 100 years before everyone assimilated a  new set up .

David was a cracking player too , (Irwin as was Hewitt ) work rider . .  Watched a bit of an old Pathe news match last night , Ireland vs Scotland , 1958 . The Irish back line had Pedlow , Henderson , Hewitt , O'Reilly in it , not sure who was playing as well , but Pedlow at wing seemed strange , and I think he scored 2 tries . Used to be my dentist too once upon a time .

Tony 57 ( any connection with a stellar Irish and Lions winger ? ) ,the anomaly that is Northern Ireland defies logic .  Six counties out of 32 , geographically located on a small island yet not connected jurisdictionally with the other 26 is daft .  Were it not for the history and the "tribes" involved and in situ .  Shades of Middle East , Pakistan .  Mountbatten and co were allocated 37 days to disengage from Indian scene , having been "operating" there for centuries , drug running et al via East India company .

How anyone thought they could "control " a unit like NI which had 357 miles of border with cheek by jowl neighbours ( some unfriendly) leaves the logical among us scratching our heads . But I dont think anyone thought it could last for 90 plus years . The money and effort wasted over these 90 years is mind boggling , and properly managed ( keeping the greedy and needy bankers and *ankers away from it with their grubby and vulgar hands ) could have ensured a decent country for all 32 . Lessons of history .

Thank goodness the rugby and the golf people stayed intact island wide , and if there is a lesson in that in propserity terms , so be it .  Soccer just one of the sports which has foundered partly because there is little logic applied in having seperate teams .

The lad lapped up all the sympathy last week and everyone was delighted with his win. The way he treated that lass was scandalous and typical of the arrogant sod. She was prepared to give up everything for him and he gave her 3 minutes. Well today the truth coming out hurt him on the golf course. Was there something in Caroline clad in the Irish colours the other day? was this to have a go at her X.

No "Law" vubiant .  Mere common sense applied to a relatively small self contained island with no need for 2 different legislatures up to that .  Ireland was a "unit" until 1922 . Question is , what happened in 1922 for it to be split into 2 different jurisdictions .  And who did it suit ?

The plantation was an attempt to replace the native population with mainly lowland Scots who were notionally at first glance "friendly and loyal to the Crown " . However history shows us that lots of independent thought evolved from those sources , and dissent resulted in a lot of them  having to go west where they helped fashion a new country more to their liking than their "old country"- viz an Ireland run by the English .

One of the salient facts about Northern Ireland is that the unionist population have more in common with their fellow islanders than they have with the citizens of the rest of the UK . Increasingly so , UKIP voters are not the only ones to recognise this .

Mistakes have been made continually by British and Irish governments which had allowed a drift into the "ungovernable" six counties we lived through for 30 years plus from 1966 ( yes thats when it actually started , not 1968 ) . Ireland's ( south ) biggest mistake was in not joining in the second world war effort formally and doing a deal to rectify the anomaly when the war was over ( or in the course of the war ) .  You dont get opportunities like that on a plate every day  , and the effect of that on unionist perceptions was a big factor in sustaining the desire to remain "British" .

We citizens of Northern Ireland are not blameless in the events leading up to present  , some of us have exhibited the worst forms of getting on with our neighbours . There are 4 players in the mix , Britain , Ireland , unionists and non-unionists . Satisfying everyone has so far been a bridge or two too far !

THE Number One attraction on the 19th June

^^^

It's the people who live there who have the right to determine their preferred status. No one else.

Why should the good people of Northern Irlenad have their lives determined by, for example, the votes of some romantic old fool in Keery...someone who knows nobody in Northern Ireland, has never been there, will never go...no way is such a person entitled to vote to determine the lives of these people.

If the majority of people in Tipperary wants to cede and thinks its practical and feasible to do so, then let them on.  Perhaps you could lead them?