Ian Paisley dies aged 88

[UlsterNo9]

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-29177705

Like him or loathe him in his latter years did a lot to reconcile our wee country.

Sad news.

[rumncoke]

The Great Enigma so many faces and so many contradictions,so many good intentions and so many predictable bad outcomes


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[Snipe Watson]

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-29177705

Like him or loathe him in his latter years did a lot to reconcile our wee country.

Sad news.

Sorry no9, but in latter years he did a lot to fulfil his own personal ambition to be 'c0ck of the walk'. He did not mellow, he did what he had to do in order to be First Minister.
I can’t be having any sycophantic eulogising.....

[UlsterNo9]

Sorry no9, but in latter years he did a lot to fulfil his own personal ambition to be 'c0ck of the walk'. He did not mellow, he did what he had to do in order to be First Minister.

Only he will truly know.

I can’t be having any sycophantic eulogising.....

Well you see that’s where you and I disagree, any leader of a major party from early mid 90’s that took the bullet and the bomb from our streets, building on from the Good Friday agreement until now deserves recognition. He was the voice of a large percentage of people in our country. To say he did it for his own glory glorification is a bold statement. The voice many listened to which has gotten us to where we are now. If you can say without any uncertainty anyone else representing the Unionist people could have managed a similar feat by all means hold your opinion. As a non DUP voter I personally still like my own.

[rumncoke]

Few Unionists would have got in to mess in the first place he was an agitator first and foremost whose political appeal was aimed at the most bigoted


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[Snipe Watson]

Sorry no9, but in latter years he did a lot to fulfil his own personal ambition to be 'c0ck of the walk'. He did not mellow, he did what he had to do in order to be First Minister.

Only he will truly know.

I can’t be having any sycophantic eulogising.....

Well you see that’s where you and I disagree, any leader of a major party from early mid 90’s that took the bullet and the bomb from our streets, building on from the Good Friday agreement until now deserves recognition. He was the voice of a large percentage of people in our country. To say he did it for his own glory glorification is a bold statement. The voice many listened to which has gotten us to where we are now. If you can say without any uncertainty anyone else representing the Unionist people could have managed a similar feat by all means hold your opinion. As a non DUP voter I personally still like my own.

He did nothing to end terrorism. He did a hell of a lot to propagate it in the 70s and 80s. Had Paisley backed power sharing and Sunningdale in the early 70s, we would never have been in the mess we ended up in. He also led a lot of loyalists up the garden path and then left them there, washing his hands of their actions when they became too unpalatable for his liking and making sure nothing stuck to him.

[big mervyn]

Totally agree with Snipe. He did untold damage for 40 years and helped to prolong the conflict by maybe 25 years? How many wasted lives?

[aarons]

i wouldn't like to be the person at UR in charge of deciding whether or not to have a minute's silence tonight...

[UlsterNo9]

He did nothing to end terrorism. He did a hell of a lot to propagate it in the 70s and 80s. Had Paisley backed power sharing and Sunningdale in the early 70s, we would never have been in the mess we ended up in. He also led a lot of loyalists up the garden path and then left them there, washing his hands of their actions when they became too unpalatable for his liking and making sure nothing stuck to him.

Not here for an argument, simply marking that he contributed in his latter years to where we are now, as I would mark many others who tore us apart in the 70's and 80's that aided towards peace.

[pwrmoore]

He agitated and disrupted every attempt to solve the conflict until his own particular brand of unionism was in the position to make him first minister. Then he did exactly what he had prevented the others from doing for so many years before. Without him we might be more than 20 years further down the path to normal life.

[BaggyTrousers]

Snipe, you I suspect are much much closer to the truth but much I despised Big Ian & Marty the Provo in almost equal measure, I do believe there was something almost unique about the Chuckle Brothers.

I further believe that for each Bro'r, there was almost a matching animosity to the others beliefs and background. It should never be forgotten that Big Ian was a the heart of the attack on the Civil Rights March at Burntollet Bridge which is reputed to have been led my his then right hand man Major Ronald Bunting to quell sedious fenians.

Marty on the other hand, a man who definitely had blood on his hands having worked in Doherty's butchers, ruined many lives, either personally or on his orders - allegedly - so for them to have played their roles together was a remarkable turn around, irrespective of either's motives.

I must say, I have been a Big man impersonator for many years and his voice was a gift for who liked to mimic the fools on the hill.

He could be the ultimate figure for the expression "say what you like about ......" but he was some character, good & bad.

I can't claim to be heart-broken, I can;t claim to have ever agreed with much he said or believed but it's a bit sad when any figure who has had a large influence on the circumstances of your life dies - except Thatcher of course.

[BaggyTrousers]

i wouldn't like to be the person at UR in charge of deciding whether or not to have a minute's silence tonight...

I would have a moderate conflict as to whether or not to observe one. Actually that's wrong I would observe it but wouldn't have too much heart in it.

[Kofi Annan]

Interesting that people who near openly wept at the demise of a convicted terrorist like Mandela are quick to sully the name after the death of Ian Paisley I hope UR observe the death of Ian as they have other Politicians.

[Deckard]

Interesting that people who near openly wept at the demise of a convicted terrorist like Mandela are quick to sully the name after the death of Ian Paisley I hope UR observe the death of Ian as they have other Politicians.

would it not be fairer to say that most people paid their respects to the statesman that Mandela became, rather than the convicted conspiracist and saboteur that he had been (he was never convicted of 'terrorism' fwiw)?

Tbh it had not even occurred to me that there would be a minutes silence at the rugby, and I'd be pretty appalled if there is.

[Kofi Annan]

Deckard Mandela was a convicted terrorist and was the leader of an organization that killed more blacks than whites anyway, you like others will believe the rewritten history that suits people who are offended by the truth and are weak minded and bow to the offenders rather than have their own opinions. I don't recall Paisley being the leader of a terrorist organization nor convicted for for such. If a minutes silence can be given for Mandela a man who never once renounced the violence he supported then why not for Mr Paisley