Back in 1996, my sister brought my family back from Ireland to The Old Sod. My nephew and I were playing golf at Killarney with a gentleman with a sharp, northern accent. He told us he had one daughter, a fact which, in addition to the accent, led me to understand – without having to ask – that he was a Protestant. A few holes later my nephew asked him what part of Ireland he was from, out of mere curiosity.
“Belfast,” he answered.
And are you Catholic, or Protestant, my nephew asked. Not seeing me wince, nor our companion’s pause.
It was an awkward moment right there, before our man answered. Sensing, perhaps, that my nephew didn’t know how fraught this question could be to a man who had spent his time living through The Troubles. That it was a question asked in innocence by a young American tourist, who didn’t know how answering such a question incorrectly in Belfast in the 90s could cause a man to wake up dead.
“Protestant,” he answered after an extended beat.
And on we went.
The world has moved on since then. But there are some would love to take it back:
A police officer has died following a shooting incident in County Armagh.
It happened near Lismore Manor in Craigavon as police investigated reports of suspicious activity.
Two vehicles were sent to the area and as officers got out of one, shots appear to have been fired, injuring one officer who later died of his injuries.
The attack followed the weekend murder of two soldiers outside an Army base in Antrim. The Real IRA said they were responsible for that shooting.
First Minister Peter Robinson described the latest killing as “an evil deed”.
“I am sickened at the attempts by terrorists to destabilise Northern Ireland,” he said.
“Those responsible for this murderous act will not be allowed to drag our province back to the past.”
God, I hope not.
Once when I was living in Ireland I got cornered in a kitchen by a drunken Irishman who demanded to know what religion I was. I (honestly) tried to convince him I was Agnostic if not Athiest, apparently this was not acceptable…. “everyone has a religion” and sides must be chosen!
And that’s before we get into the whole Derry/London-Derry thing!
Lex,
This breaks my heart as I expect it does yours.
My Protestant Mother’s ancestors hailed from County Armagh in the north, and my Catholic Father’s parents came from County Cavan in the south.
Here in California — an ocean and a continent away — it is nearly impossible to understand the hatred that festers in some hearts in the Old Country.
Rarely a day goes by that I do not thank my lucky stars that my ancestors braved a mighty ocean that I would be born an American. My paternal grandfather served in the US Army in the late 1890s, my father during WW II, and I paid my debt in Vietnam and elsewhere for three decades.
Regretfully, I’m the last of my line, but we did what we could for a country that has treated us so well.
I’ll shed yet another tear for Ireland and its people tonight.
Michael
Thats funny because a lot of the $$ for the IRA came out of San Francisco CA if you look into it!
Jock,
Not sure I can find the humor in the killing of a police officer.
Michael
And…
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/09/world/europe/09ulster.html?th&emc=th
Real IRA claims responsibility for the shooting of four British soldiers (two fatally) and two pizza deliverymen in Antrim, this past Saturday.
Northern Ireland’s senior police officer has asked for support from the Special Reconnaissance Reg’t.
Could, possibly, get messy.
Who benefits from this? What or whose interests are being served? Irish / IRA, or other.
Kinda harsh for a late pizza delivery, don’t ya think?
I’ve been led to understand that there’s an old, probably Arab, proverb that the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Looking at the family of Christendom, with the Mohammedeans at the gates, I’m beginning to think the only proverb we have is that we put the fun in dysfunctional.
– Max
It gets worse–last night a policeman was also shot and killed in an ambush near Belfast.
As an American (retired Navy–NFO in S-3s) living in Dublin, I would like to reply to Michael’s comment about “the hatred that festers in some hearts in the Old Country”. While it’s certainly true that such feelings exist, they are confined to a VERY small number of people, and generally restricted to a couple of neighborhoods in the North. To Steve C’s point, the only people who benefit from this are very small lawless elements that never supported the peace process, every single political party has condemned the shootings.
I’ve lived here 14 years and have never once had religion even come up, except in the context of good-natured jokes in the pub. (I happen to be Protestant, although my wife and daughters are Catholic, and it is absolutely a non-issue. Nobody has ever asked me my religion, although they could pretty easily surmise it from my very English surname.)
Anyway, Ireland is a great place to live, work, or visit, and I wouldn’t want potential visitors to be put off by what is hopefully an isolated incident and not a return to the bad old days.
–Steve
Steve,
You are correct. I should have placed more emphasis on the word “some.” These killers are like the LA street gangs and bear no resemblance to the normal, rational person of either city.
Glad you are enjoying Ireland, and thanks for the update; aunts and cousins have made the visit, but it’s still on my wish list.
Enjoy,
Michael
Steve-
Having no evidence to back this I actually originally wondered if this was the RIRA were looking for a smokescreen (or rather diversion) for their criminal activities, the majority (even when I was living there) being rather sick of the whole argument.
If so it’s not bad timing, Rangers v Celtic next weekend IIRC and marching season around the corner…
Y’all quite miss the point, as usual.
Being as there is a giant sucking sound from Washington, evidence of a power vacuum in the making,
Terrorism is back in style again.
Look for more in a neighborhood near you soon.
Check me on this, cottus, but you’re saying that it’s Obama’s fault the IRA is getting feisty?
Um, yeah, that makes sense. Just like Katrina was Bush’s fault, right?
That is one thing I will not pin on the current administration. And while I’m feeling charitable I must commend his speaking out today in favor of merit pay for teachers surely creating angst among the teacher unions.
A Celtic rock group I enjoy, Iona by name (http://www.iona.uk.com/newindex/2004_pages/links.htm), wrote the song, “Murlough Bay”, the lyrics in part being:
“Here is a place
You could write or paint pictures
And dream that the troubles will end
Here is a place where we join our hands
In a love we defend”
The first time I ever heard it, I wept, knowing the context in which that verse was written.
Oh, how I pray the troubles don’t begin again!