Come Here To Me!

Flags go in the bin.

Presume it’s related to this, ‘Section 21’ of the makey uppey book of Royal Visit policing.

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Just a few videos from events in Dublin today. Did anyone else find it all a bit surreal? Stuck for time at the minute, but thought these worth posting as I’ve gone through a lot of the stuff on YouTube and think this the most interesting.

1: Sinn Féin black balloon protest. This took place just as the Queen was entering the Garden of Remembrance.

2: Yes, it’s the fella from Britain’s Got Talent.

3: Kids go loco on the northside.

4: Herself in the Garden.

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Here is the open letter from Justice for the Forgotten issued today.

VISIT OF BRITAIN’S QUEEN ELIZABETH II

Justice for the Forgotten believes the extraordinary coincidence of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth arriving in Ireland on the 37th anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings presents her Prime Minister, David Cameron, with a golden opportunity to make a genuinely significant gesture of reconciliation. It should enable him to announce his intention to open the files and make available the documentation that was withheld from Judge Henry Barron during the course of his inquiries into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and the other cross-Border bombings that were perpetrated in this jurisdiction in the 1970s.

The Dublin and Monaghan bombings, in which 34 men, women and babies were killed, caused the greatest loss of life in a single day during the entire period of the Troubles.

The British authorities not only refused to co-operate with Judge Barron but have also ignored repeated requests from former Taoisigh and especially the all-Party motion that was unanimously adopted by Dáil Éireann in July 2008, which urged them:

‘to allow access by an independent, international judicial figure to all original documents held by the British Government relating to the atrocities that occurred in this jurisdiction and which were inquired into by Judge Barron, for the purposes of assessing said documents with the aim of assisting in the resolution of these crimes’.

We remember Prime Minister Cameron’s words last June when he apologised for Bloody Sunday. He told the House of Commons:

‘It is right to pursue the truth with vigour and thoroughness…openness and frankness about the past, however painful, do not make us weaker, they make us stronger’.

In anticipation of this momentous occasion our plea to Prime Minister Cameron is:

Pursue the truth with vigour – make us all stronger – open up the files

We will be encouraging the public to attend our dignified wreath-laying ceremony on the anniversary (17th May) at the memorial in Talbot Street but no flags or banners should be displayed.

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Late yesterday evening I found myself in the city centre and gave hxci of this very parish a buzz, knowing he’d be about. We went for a walk around ‘fortress Dublin’, on both sides of the Liffey. We took in Dame Street, Parnell Square and other sites which will be central to the royal visit. Here are a few snaps.

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The Facebook page for the blog hit 1,000 followers today. Thanks all!

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I love this effort from Paddy Power.

Last week I was giving a walking tour of the city and stopped outside the old Irish Parliament building on College Green. Out front a red ‘Crown Relocations’ truck sat parked, a royal crown and all on the side of the vehicle. Two Gardaí were checking the sewers next to us. What an image, and proof you should always carry a camera!

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I was saddened to hear of the passing of veteran sports commentator, proud League of Ireland man and all around good guy Philip Greene. Phil had recently celebrated his 90th birthday. The son of a Bohemian FC supporter, Phil himself was a Hoop.

This excellent video tribute to Phil from Shamrock Rovers supporters deserves to be posted. Some classic pieces of Phil’s commentary can be found here, from the RTE archives.

Born in Dublin, Philip Greene began his radio career in the 1940s. He was editor, producer and presenter of the popular “Sports Stadium” programme. His first commentary on a soccer international was the game against Argentina at Dalymount Park in 1951. He went on to cover many famous games for radio, including the 1957 World Cup qualifier against England. A life-long Shamrock Rovers and Manchester United supporter, he also wrote a column in the “Evening Press” newspaper. Although best known as a soccer commentator, Greene also commentated on athletics and cricket, and was Head of Sport in RTÉ Radio. He covered his last soccer international for radio in 1985, the year of his official retirement.

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Now I’ve got the cheesiest title in the history of the blog out of the way, I can move on with the post….

I went down to Richmond Park earlier to see our A Team or reserve side in action. I’ve never been down to one of these matches before and wasn’t too sure what to expect. Alas, a crowd of us had decided it was worth venturing to, and it really did feel like any match night in McDowell’s. It might have been us against Shamrock Rovers, but outside the street was quiet.

Sticker spotted up in Palmerstown on way down to the match.

The next game is a derby, with the northsiders of Bohemian F.C, and the last game was actually Shamrock Rovers funny enough.We’ve no match to look forward to Friday thanks to Dundalk making it to the Setanta Final, so this game was designed to fill the hole in the week. We treated it like any encounter.

My Red Army Choir banner.

Unusually for us, we watched the game from the shed. We’ve been playing musical chairs around the stadium in recent years, but have made the mainstand home. It was nice to be down here. The shed is unusual in that now it houses the away fans on big nights. Taking up our place in the centre of it, a few dozen of us decided to make as much of a racket as possible.

Flags out.

Drogheda United’s Famous 45 Ultras recently showed just how much noise can be made in the shed with a small but vocal support. Some of the players on both sides clearly took to it, though the same can’t be said of poor Gary Twigg. Twigg has been out for a while for the hoops, and this was probably supposed to be a nice and slow-paced affair for him. It was almost surreal being so close to a familiar League of Ireland face without a steward or Garda officer in sight.

"It's like when the Red Army took Berlin."

Ultimately, the Saints won out by two goals,with a 3-1 scoreline. These matches are worth keeping an eye on. Free in, they offer a great chance to see the future of the club and get a better luck at some players who get the occasional run out in the top flight.

Wavey's out.

Having nowhere to go on Friday night, this was a nice midweek trip to Richmond. I’ll be keeping an eye on the A Team in future. Premier Divison, A Team, the kids or anyone else in the jersey is a saint worth supporting.

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