The Dublin Riots (video)

Chronos-X · 7 Mar 2006 at 19:52

Nelson said:
It all makes me wonder, again, why the police in Britain and Ireland don't use water cannon. A couple of them would have all the stupid vandallistic thugs back indoors for a nice cup of tea much faster than a line of coppers stood there dodging missiles.

If there's a reason we don't use them, I'd be interested to hear it.

Lead by example. If their own country/side denounces them, it works out better than engaging in a fight.

Scuzi · 7 Mar 2006 at 19:56

Nelson said:
It all makes me wonder, again, why the police in Britain and Ireland don't use water cannon. A couple of them would have all the stupid vandallistic thugs back indoors for a nice cup of tea much faster than a line of coppers stood there dodging missiles.

If there's a reason we don't use them, I'd be interested to hear it.

The reason they don't use water cannons in Northern Ireland is that the PSNI / British Army prefer the use of plastic bullets. Water canons should be brought into use as they don't kill people and are much more effective.

Water canons are not required in the Republic. It is a peaceful country. In future, I hope such incidents can be prevented by the suits behind the desks before they even happen.

Che · 7 Mar 2006 at 20:04

Originally it might have been about all the Northern Ireland business etc but once the riot started it just turned into a a fight for the hell of it. I watched this programme on Sky One the other week about the pack instinct and rioting, people publicly raping people as a pack yet no one stopping it. If you're ever been in a riot or a gang of people it is strangely exhilirating, in a kind of animalistic way. Obviously it's a terrible thing but it does look like good fun! May soon

Major_hangover · 7 Mar 2006 at 20:13

I hate the world at the moment, our planet is heading towards melt down(literary) and we've got all these people saying "My countrys better than yours." "My religions better than yours."

In a couple of centuries, none of it may matter. World's gone mad!
Wish people would stop living in the past and look what's just round the corner.

Tachyon · 7 Mar 2006 at 20:15

Scuzi said:
The reason they don't use water cannons in Northern Ireland is that the PSNI / British Army prefer the use of plastic bullets. Water canons should be brought into use as they don't kill people and are much more effective.

They do use them, I've seem them on numerous occasions.

Scuzi · 7 Mar 2006 at 20:24

Tachyon said:
They do use them, I've seem them on numerous occasions.

As far I know they rented one from the Belgians for a couple of weeks during a spell of trouble one July fortnight, I don't think they actually have any of their own. If they don't have one they should invest in one. There are still enough riots going on to warrant it and they also fall in with the 'minimum force' requirements, unlike plastic bullets (which supposedly do fall into these requirements) which have killed 17 people, many of whom were innocent.

teaboy5 · 7 Mar 2006 at 20:28

I think its about time the OP got over this, i read the last thread on this but didn't reply. M8 any city in the world has the odd riots get over it. I get the opinion as long as it happens up north your fine with it, but not in the own backyard so to speak. And you always seem to blame loyalist's, ever stop to think some of them people rioting might be your own country men :rolleyes:

WJA96 · 7 Mar 2006 at 20:46

Scuzi said:
Water canons are not required in the Republic. It is a peaceful country.

If it's so peaceful why are all large transfers of cash accompanied by the Army?

As a long-term 'imported' inhabitant of the North who worked extensively in the South (and I love Ireland and all the people very much) I reckon that you all need to wake up and realise that you are living on a powder keg. You've got a lovely country and a great lifestyle on both sides of the border, but if you don't start being nice to one another it's going to turn into another Bosnia.

And the guy who asked about rooting out the terrorists with extreme violence: please see Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq etc. for examples of where other countries have gone in to root out terrorists with extreme violence and failed dismally. The 'terrorists' or 'freedom fighters' are so deeply embedded in their own communities that in some cases they have replaced the police as the source of law and order. The Irish need to sort this out themselves without the benefit of assistance from the British.

I've been in pubs where I was asked to leave because I opened my mouth to order a pint. And I've been in other pubs where I've been forced to leave because I was OK, but my friend had a discernably Southern accent.

And with a name like Walter I was wandering around wearing my protestantism like a big flag. Fine if I was in Waringstown, Ballymena or the right part of Lurgan, but liable to get me in trouble when the best barber's in Lurgan is opposite the pub where the IRA boys hang out. And I needed a haircut :eek:

Please don't flame me as an outsider - it's just my view as someone stood on the outside looking in. And I REALLY do love pretty much everything about Ireland, I still own property there and I intend to retire there. I like it that much.

Tachyon · 7 Mar 2006 at 20:47

Scuzi said:
As far I know they rented one from the Belgians for a couple of weeks during a spell of trouble one July fortnight, I don't think they actually have any of their own. If they don't have one they should invest in one. There are still enough riots going on to warrant it and they also fall in with the 'minimum force' requirements, unlike plastic bullets (which supposedly do fall into these requirements) which have killed 17 people, many of whom were innocent.

Your correct, they were on loan, I was thinking Sweden but when I see you'd written "the belgians" that definately rings a bell.
Anyways, bit OT here but your not a fan of the old plastic bullets then. I'd be of the opposite thought, I've no sympathy for rioters, all they have ever done is destroy their communities, there's times I walked to the end of my street & it looked like a warzone, I just think who do these ******** think they are that they can wreck where I live. (well, where I used to live.)
I've no sympathy for them. It's unfortunate of course innocent folks that would get killed but thats our wee province in a nutshell, it's always the innocent suffer.

Scuzi · 7 Mar 2006 at 21:20

Tachyon said:
Your correct, they were on loan, I was thinking Sweden but when I see you'd written "the belgians" that definately rings a bell.
Anyways, bit OT here but your not a fan of the old plastic bullets then. I'd be of the opposite thought, I've no sympathy for rioters, all they have ever done is destroy their communities, there's times I walked to the end of my street & it looked like a warzone, I just think who do these ******** think they are that they can wreck where I live. (well, where I used to live.)
I've no sympathy for them. It's unfortunate of course innocent folks that would get killed but thats our wee province in a nutshell, it's always the innocent suffer.

Very true. The main reason I hate plastic bullets is that I have been caught up in the middle of many riots, not because I joined in but because they were happening in my street and I had to get in and out. I've been fired upon with them and lucky enough was missed but the poor guy beside me who was also just trying to get past, took it in the elbow and had his entire elbow shattered. 8 of the 17 plastic bullet murder victims were in the age range 10 - 15 years. Had water canons been in use these deaths almost certainly would not have happened. A guy who went to my school lost the sight in his left eye when he was 14 because he was hit by a plastic batton round. The list goes on, it's a dangerous weapon which even in the hands of trained professionals has done and continues to kill innocents.

I must add that I by no means condone riots. I believe in protesting but the scum who turn legitimate protests into riots really get on my ****.

Such is life in Northern Ireland though

Von Smallhausen · 7 Mar 2006 at 21:27

Water cannons are simply a no no on the British mainland. They are deemed oppressive by the authorities evn though I can't think of a better way to demoralise an angry crowd in a safer way.

Scuzi · 7 Mar 2006 at 21:35

WJA96 said:
And with a name like Walter I was wandering around wearing my protestantism like a big flag. Fine if I was in Waringstown, Ballymena or the right part of Lurgan, but liable to get me in trouble when the best barber's in Lurgan is opposite the pub where the IRA boys hang out. And I needed a haircut

Jim McElroy's is closed now or did you mean the one in North Street

I can understand where you are coming from, but being asked to leave a bar because of your accent/name is a thing that happens only in the North. People in the Republic (well, the vast majority anyway) couldn't care less and are more than wecloming. Sectarian riots don't happen in the Free State.

Please don't take Lurgan as a reflection on the rest of the country. As a Lurgan man born and bred who was brought up in a Nationalist/Republican area (Taghnevan if you know it), I can vouch for the majority of the people in these areas. They are decent people intent on peace. The men in balaclavas you see patrolling our streets with AK47's, GPMG's and Thompson SMG's DO NOT represent the majority. They are criminals who turned organisations which were set up to fight for freedom, into criminal gangs who use the political standing as a cover for their smuggling and racketeering. They do have their uses though, the area I lived in is free of petty criminals and drugs. Petty criminals and dealers are afraid to operate because of the paramilitary presence.

As the saying goes, "no criminals, just terrorists."

me227 · 7 Mar 2006 at 22:30

Just watched the video there and i'm sickened by the actions of these people. Whats so sad as well is that the majority of these people are more than likely just chavs attracted to a potential flashpoint like flies round ****.

Don't spoil Dublin with the Norths troubles.

WJA96 · 8 Mar 2006 at 23:58

Scuzi said:
I can understand where you are coming from, but being asked to leave a bar because of your accent/name is a thing that happens only in the North. People in the Republic (well, the vast majority anyway) couldn't care less and are more than wecloming.

You are right of course about the Republic. However, I can assure you that visiting a Gaeltacht as a 'Brit' is a pretty chilly experience.

Morlan · 9 Mar 2006 at 01:21

I think it's safe to say that the riots in Dublin have not tarnished the Republic's image. It was (I hope) a once off event that the Irish government can learn from. The Irish TV media paid no attention to the upcoming marches. It was only after the riots that there was two days of media coverage, nothing since then.

I do worry about the Queen visiting Dublin and the Loyalists proposing to march on the same day. I feel that the Loyalists want to march through the city to encourage more riots. If there are riots in Dublin during the Queen's visit, it would receive a lot of bad press and media coverage across the UK and the world. I believe that this is what the Loyalists are aiming for.

I don't mind the Queen visiting Dublin, but you're not going to see the Irish public waving Unions Jacks and singing 'God Save Her', welcoming her to the State. I do belive that it's a good jesture by the Irish government to further the positive relationship between Ireland and the UK. I'm not sure exactly what they Irish gov have planned, but I think her visit is going to be a private ceremony between the President, the Taoiseach and other government officials covered by the media only.

WJA96 said:
You are right of course about the Republic. However, I can assure you that visiting a Gaeltacht as a 'Brit' is a pretty chilly experience.

From my own experience, visiting An Ghaeltacht speaking in Irish with a Dublin accent can sometimes leave you with a chilling experience as well, it's not just the British. The majority of the peeps in the Gaeltacht don't care where you're from, though.

Spacky · 9 Mar 2006 at 10:00

Was in Dublin last weekend, no hints at any violence having taken place. Most I could see was a smashed window.

Other than that a very welcoming and warm city, nice to know St Patrick actually came from Wales mind

Also Garda is Gaelic or derived from the word Guardian, so I learn't.

Apart from the main protest/riot the side shots of a houses and cars looks like a bunch of kids just out to smash stuff up :/

Morlan · 9 Mar 2006 at 14:47

Spacky said:
Also Garda is Gaelic or derived from the word Guardian, so I learn't.

An Garda Síochána is Irish for "The Guardians of the Peace"

Orcish-Horde · 9 Mar 2006 at 17:37

Morlan said:
Loyalist, please don't cross the border again. Keep your problems and silly marches in your own country. I never thought I'd be ranting about this issue, I never had to, but as I was out shopping that day, the issue was shoved right in my face.

GO AWAY

An Ireland of equals where all are welcome just so long as your not one of them British ******** from up north.

No Surrender to the republicain death squads!

Scuzi · 9 Mar 2006 at 17:43

Don't lower the tone of this discussion to sectarian, bigoted insults as you quite frequently do. Discussions on such subjects usually progress fine until you show up with your deluded perspective.

Orcish-Horde · 9 Mar 2006 at 18:03

Scuzi said:
Don't lower the tone of this discussion to sectarian, bigoted insults as you quite frequently do. Discussions on such subjects usually progress fine until you show up with your deluded perspective.

Nothing sectarian in what I said but this thread is sectarain in its very nature which to me as a Unionist/loyalist says "You not welcome in our Ireland".

The Irish are without a doubt the most intolerant people this side of europe.