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SEVEN PSNI OFFICERS have been injured in violent clashes during controversial parades in Belfast today.
Clashes erupted between police, loyalists and republicans after a loyalist band breached a Parades Commission ruling barring them from marching past a Catholic Church on Donegall Street.
One of the officers was taken to hospital for treatment, but the injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.
Other bands are believed to have breached the Parades Commission ruling restricting them to pay a single drum beat during their march of that section of the parade route.
PSNI officers and riot police came under attack as they separated protesters from the parade while the bands marched by the church.
“It is our assessment that there have been breaches of the Parades Commission determination and I assure everyone that we will be working to bring those believed to have breached it before the courts,” Assistant Chief Constable Dave Jones said. “We have gathered the evidence required to do so.”
Jones, who is in charge of the policing operation, said that today’s parades “provides challenges to policing” and that the PSNI is “fully aware of the impact our actions can have on communities”.
“I am appealing for calm as the day progresses and for all those with influence to use it to ensure a peaceful end to today,” he added.
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The good old orange order … Keeping the north 300 year in the past
Both sides are as bad as each other
It is not the Orange Order that were at fault, but grouchs in the Catholic community who cannot see the light hearted side of playing songs celebrating their murder outside their churches and primary school every weekend for 6 months of the year. Why on the 12th alone, they kicked up a fierce fuss on the Ardoyne when a UVF flute band, named after a loyalist shot dead in the 90′s stopped on the road and played “No pope of Rome” on the spot where he shot 5 people. No respect for the Orange Order and what we bring to the table.
(I’m being sarcastic, it’s not like i’m Eoghan Harris, John Bruton or a Northern loyalist. )
They all need to grow up. I’m glad we don’t have to deal with it in the republic.
COPY AND PAST FANTASTIC. LOL. Black man, what black man?
I think this statement from the Greater Ardoyne Resident’s Collective pretty much sums the situation up-
It said: “These contentious marches only serve to poison community relations and further alienate and polarise our peoples, and all just to pander to the will of a few bigots who use culture as an excuse to mask and impose their outdated and obsolete triumphalism upon our community.”
I should add that I grew up in the North.
Great post Eamon.
Boot in the hole!
Right in there son!!
Belfast House Mafia?!
“Apologies, I thought you were Bishop Brennan”
Great to see. Hon boy, horse it into ‘em!
I’d never kick you in the arse. I think you’re great!
I am the first to criticise Republicans when they are acting the maggot but to be fair here, all the Loyalists seem to want to do here is antagonise the Republicans? After all, the rules were set up to ensure good relations and it’s the Loyalists that seem to constantly be breaking them with their farcical marches! Why the need to rub Republicans faces in it? Can they not just march a different route etc? It’s just moronic what they’re doing!
There’s two of them in it! As bad as each other! Thugs!
Tony. The gentleman beside you in that photo is black, just imagine an org. that forbids him membership of it based on his colour. Imagine that they forbid people that have a black parent or that were married to a black person. Then tell him that every weekend form March to October, he can most weekends have the pleasure of having that org. march through his community. Imagine that that march includes members of org’s that killed blacks, that has bands named after people that killed blacks and that play lovely songs about being up to their knees in “black blood”.
Would you call him a thug, if he was irate at that. If the Klan marched in the Bronx, would it be a case of “they both are as bad as each other”. We both know that it wouldn’t.
Thats a fairly tidy response by Eamonn, in fairness. But can anyone tell me, why do the parades commission allo them to march out of their own areas? It seems they are only asking for policing/monitoring expense..
Bob. The Orange Order at the time of Drumcree in 96 brought 120, 000 people on to the streets, the set up road blocks, forced shops to close, and had the UVF/LVF killing people at the same time. The police did nothing, but batter the taigs off the street.
The Orange Order has very many powerful members at every section of society and it is willing to get rough if it doesn’t get its way. If they were told march to your hearts content, in your own community but don’t crap on others doorsteps, they would go absolutely beserk. They have the muscle to back it up and the police let them.
But they played into their hands! It was an obvious antagonising move and they got the reaction the unionists wanted….a fight!
They need the cop on to not get sucked into it! This sort of foolishness must be buried and left in the past! If one side of it can see that then that’s progress!
They’re as bad as each other and iv no sympathy for any of them. They dont represent the Irish or even the people of northern Ireland when they partake in this crap!
Easy for us to say here Tony. But like Eamonn said – if somebody came and celebrated on top of the spot where 5 of YOUR family were shot by paramilitaries, how would YOU feel then?
Jesus wept, ever wonder what that phrase really was trying to describe.
I think that a group of bigoted thugs marching in a parade in an area where they are not wanted, who try to break a court order preventing them from repeating their last march’s antics of playing hate songs outside Catholic churches and primary school, but are stopped and then decide to charge through the police lines at people who live there and start flaking in to them and then to have someone refuse at any level to condemn them for that but try to blame the people who got attacked as well. Your argument is what some people call the “sluts in dresses”, if they weren’t dressed like that, if they weren’t on the street like that etc etc.
Well these people bloody well live there and they are entitled to be protected from thugs who run off the streets to batter them, based on them being as inferior due to being papes, and if you don’t like that, then you certainly don’t represent the Irish people or common friggin decency either.
Jesus truly Wept.
I have to agree totally Eamonn. We in the south are turning a blind eye to this because it’s not in front of us. Dare I say if we here had to put up with it, based on our history – it would be a very different story. Shame on us for ignoring this and remaining so aloof.
Are you a cross-dresser Tony Stanley?
Nice tracksuits.
The more things change the more they stay the same, what a collective bunch of imbeciles
The young lads are just fighting for the sake of fighting, no reasoning behind it!
There’s a little more to it than that in fairness.
Don’t think there is Clive! Just an excuse for thuggery!
In fairness if you had 5000 uniformed thugs marching down your street on a regular basis every weekend from March to Oct. celebrating the murder of people from your community, mocking your community, chanting names of people that died and laughing. I’d say you’d be pissed off too. If the loyal orders tried marching and acting like they do, in any neighbourhood in Europe, they be battered off the streets by the police and enraged locals.
Have to agree with Damien and Tony, this could have been dealt with peacefully thought the courts. Its bad enough that the people in this neighbourhood have to put up with intimidation without having violence braking out in front of their homes.
Arra Tony there is, you’re right though about them both being thugs. Burn the place down and start from scratch.
I should have clarified that the young lads are there for the fighting and the ‘craic’ where as the older people would be there for an actual protest,they remember the bombs, the killings and the violence that came before.
Rulings don’t seem to matter to them David, had the obeyed the ruling they were given this wouldn’t have happened…
so you can just take the law into your own hands then? If the courts ruled against them and the bands and orange order refused to pay they would be held in contempt. Serious nationalists now seek to resolve clearly illegal actions like this within the law.
What happened here today was loyalist thugs went looking for a fight and thugs who’s actions are not representative of the whole nationalist community but would gladly wear the title in search of legitimacy, gave then one.
They’re not young lads…the “kicker” is overdue at the weekly OAP bingo…
I see the Loyalists are at it again. Idiots
Just can’t let it go ,,,, move on with the times
Adidas appears to be the favored garment amongst protestors & supporters of parades , they do have something in common.
They should apply to be the sole sponser of riot clothinga and apparel in Northern Ireland ;)
Those marchers were banned from playing songs after they were caught by two people on video on the 12th singing a song that said words to the effect of the famines over, go back to Ireland….yeah I know, its supposedly a glasgow sectarian song. There’s a link to that in the guardians coverage.
Morons were dancing outside the church singing their hate songs in July. It’s ridiculous that the agreement allows this kind of what can only be called hate speech to continue. It’s like the kkk getting a licence to march through Compton
For anyone wondering why this band was denied permission from marching outside this church:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My5cf2zlkpo&feature=player_embedded
Enough of this “they are as bad as each other” nonsense.Your fellow Irishmen and women in Ulster have been putting up with this antagonism from Irelands answer to radical Islam for over 300 years.
I forgot to mention that the tune they are playing is “The Famine Song” and not Sloop John B.
the problem is that people down here mostly dont consider those up north as fellow irishmen, having been subjected to decades of revisionist historiography and pro eu neoliberalism. the result is that its almost tea party ideology down here at the grass roots
Thanks JJ for taking your life in your hands, to show the world their true colors. Even though the world does not seem to care.
Well said Peter. People here need to educate themselves on these issues and realise this kind of antagonising had been going on for decades. Orange Order break a ruling and ‘both sides are as bad as each other’ … Rubbish
To others, I suggest reading books like ‘Ireland: a history’ by Richard Kee before passing comment.
Well said Peter, I hope this now puts an end to the debate about whether to allow the Orange Order march in Dublin.
In this case both sides are not as bad as each other.
The bands defied a ruling that stated no music past the church, when that didn’t provoke a response the South Belfast Protestant Boys broke in to a rendition of The Sash, again when that failed to get the desired response the bands broke ranks and attacked the protesters.
The Royal Black Preceptorary have a responsibility to control both their members and those of the bands they employ. This parade and any others on this road must in future be banned or re-routed.
As usual the loyalists are their own worst enemy.
Ohhh right in the gooch !!!
“they’re all as bad as each other” or glad we don’t have it down here” comments really are most insulting and ignorant. Firstly, nationalists DON’T EVER march down through loyalist areas, they only ask for the same respect and peace!!! It’s actually only in the last 15 years of this sordid british established sectarian statelets 90 yrs existence that nationalists could march in Belfast city centre. Secondly, there go us all “down here” by the grace of geography and the fact that it was the the six northeastern counties that were planted by the English/ Scots and not Leinster / Munster/ Connaught. Goddamn partitionist crap. There are more than half a million Irish citizenship holders in the six counties. They deserve our support against sectarianism as if it were happening in Cork, Dublin, Galway or any where else in the world!!
Dont forget part of Ulster is in the republic
Most of that crowd probably never been inside the church
Loyalist bands don’t usually go to Catholic churches!
What had the North ever to do with Religion?.It was about power and control.
well said eamonn. some real knee jerk right wing pieces of work on here
Some things never change !!
It’s not good to see this kind of thing again in Ireland.
The OO are a few generations behind. They were told not to march there and they did and they knew there would be a reaction. Bunch of simpletons. They don’t care about anything but trying to prove a point.
Move on and grow up!
What happened there today is a result of an incident that took place outside that church on July 12th. Anyone interested in finding out what actually happened, instead of posting senseless remarks, look it up.
I thought Donegal weren’t playing until tomorrow?….
To be fair the Blanket Defence might have been needed in that situation…
Who are they playing ?
Mark i think many people down here are unaware of the sheer scale of antagonism that the Catholic community has faced over the years.
They are also afraid of appearing to support Republicanism by showing any solidarity with Ulster Catholics fighting against the religious fanaticism of these yokels.
I get it, their religious fanatics are worse than our religious fanatics.
Think you need to spend some time up North, Reginald. You’ll learn pretty quickly that YES – they REALLY ARE much worse than our fanatics.
One religious fanatic is as bad as another.
It’s the sheer scale of Protestant fundamentalism in Ulster that is the problem.It’s not a marginalised and ridiculed bunch of halfwits at the sidelines,the DUP is full of these people.
Hit them where it hurts the most I say. Fine each band member that defied the ban 5000 pounds each or 6 months in jail They will think twice about breaking the law next time around.
can we get that mans name who kicked the younglad up the arse i’ve a job for him outside leinster house next week
I’m proud to be Irish today
Are you being sarcastic?
Primitive pole pissing idiots.
Or hole kicking idiots no
Sorry Officer, me shoes stuck up this guys arse!
Both sides are as bad as the other, I feel sorry for the poor cops, the idiots on both sides should just keep on punching each other until they are both gone & allow the normal people live their 21st century lives.
The loyalist band broke threw the police to attack people on the street. I know that people down here, have a very skewed way of looking at the North but how in the name of sweet Jesus, does some galoot attacking you on the street make you as bad as anyone else.
You do realise don’t you that this organisation upsets, irritates and offends a wider range of people than those who would stand and protest or throw a punch? Most of them are silent, they regularly bite their lip and accept this repeated provocation. I’m one of those NORMAL people who would very much like to live my 21st century life in a 21st century society, unfortunately the orange order are living in the 17th and on days like this, trying to pull us all back with them. Their bigotry and rule breaking aside, in a different part of northern ireland I endured the sound of lambeg drums for 5 hours today, this would annoy any sane rational human being. What makes you think getting rid of the violent element would solve anything.
I have a solution to end rioting in Northern Ireland for good. The police will arrest anybody caught rioting and dump them all on one of the small Islands off the North Coast. They then will leave these idiots to fight among themselves for all eternity on this island while the rest of the People can go on living our lives in Peace and Harmony.
This is really silly. Why don’t they decide to settle their differences over a nice game of scrabble?
You think they could manage Scrabble? Scarper is their thing.
These people are suffering from a condition known as accellerated reverse evolution mode, otherwise called devolution. They are well on their way to being primates and, in no time at all, they’ll be wallowing in their favourite environment, the primeval slime. And the sooner the better.
These marching privileges should be revoked if the Loyalist community continue to use them as a means to provoke. Do people here remember this video?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCwZC4zOobI
A men tries to film a pipeband marching in circles outside of a Catholic church in order to provoke its members. Then man filming is then threatened and assaulted.
If that was Catholics marching and breaking the rules they would get the water cannon, baton charged and arrested. Still one rule for Catholics and a different one for the Protestants!
or maybe we just don’t like Ireland being used as an excuse for thugs & criminals whose idea of being Irish is supporting Celtic, attacking ambulance drivers & police at traffic accidents & smuggling petrol. Being Irish doesn’t mean being anti-British & anti-Protestant. All this talk about provocation, just ignore those doing the provoking & you win. Simple.
Obviously you have never lived in N.Ireland !!
What a stupid comment!!
They are dead right kicking off, i don’t know how the Catholics up there put up with those Jaffas banging their drums celebrating the killing of Catholics year after year.
Rod Stewart seems to have put on some weight in pic 8….
Ban all parades nationalist and loyalist. You’ll certainly be assured of less violence.
Why would you ban nationalist commemoration then? Please show me one example where nationalists marched through a loyalist area? Or maybe where a nationalist band stops outside a Protestant/ catholic church to play sectarian tunes? the rubbish peddled by the establishment that “both side are as bad as each other” is lazily followed by people on this and other sites. If your going to make a comment, please have something to back it up with!! The facts are clear, no nationalist bands or organisation have ever either requested nor attempted to march through exclusively loyalist districts.
Such wonderful people. Bigoted narrow minded idiots – both sides.
that orange band are class there playing at electric picnic this year
Would this be in any way tolerated it was Muslims marching through a jewish quarter in a city or the kkk in front of a black church in the south of U.S
Looking at it again I think he was just trying to stop the young lad from falling over .
Stabilizing him so to speak .
yea like a third leg type of thing
Exactly Damien
Very thoughtful of I reckon
Sick to death of this crap. Wish those six counties would just float off into the sea, and let them at each other and then they can pick on the immigrant community. All up there are a bigoted shower and both the UK and Ireland are better of without them. I’ m sick to death of them all surly they have better things to do like GET A JOB
Your man would have no problem kicking Bishop Brennan up the arse!
How is the Orange Order allowed to exist if it doesn’t allow people who are not of the Protestant persuasion to join?
I’m sure the people of the North could use some type of anti-bigotry law to their advantage at EU level.
leave them to it, celebrating the Dutch defeating the English by waving union jacks about??
*Dutchman who was supported by the pope and probably gay (Irony considering the OO own beliefs)
The main areas of sectarianism seems to be in the major urban areas up north. From experience people from both creeds in the rural areas appear to be able to communicate, work and live beside each other without the strife
At least he’s not a left footer !
theres really no answer to that level of willed ignorance. got work to do anway
May I have my boot back please you g man .
The sheer ignorance shown here by some of those that live comfortably south of the border is quite frankly shameful. I’ve lived south of the border all my life, never supported Provoism, but who knows how they would react if they had loyalist bands marching up and down their streets, acting as if you were a second class citizen. The most disgraceful of the comments I’ve seen above was “But they played into their hands! It was an obvious antagonising move and they got the reaction the unionists wanted….a fight! They need the cop on to not get sucked into it! !” – ah yes, by that logic Rosa Parks should of just stood up and given up her seat on the bus to a white person and just avoided being arrested by police in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955, as she would just end up playing into the white man’s hands. I hate the ever growing partitionism that idiots in their 20′s and below exhibit in the south, ignorance is bliss to them.
there wouldnt have been a problem if the parades commission had just allowed the OO to do what they wanted.
(sarcasm)
?!
This site is acting odd today, tried commenting a few times but it wont let me! Anywho, what’s all the fuss about exactly? Not allowed play drums!?
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