britain

mountainyman

Homosexual behaviour is compulsory but not every day ONLY ON WEDNESDAYS and SATURDAYS.

The rest of the week you can shag girls or boys (if you are a girl).

Also they check your underpants for stains there.

MM

Ajnag

So you have joined us in all this pointless speculation (you are right it is a bit silly, but fun).

Of course

Ireland developed little until Lemas opened us up. Under british rule our ecomony would have been better off. Our economy has always been dependant on the British and still is now, although to a lesser extent. We would not have had dev and the isolationists keeping us away culturally from Europe and America, and probably would have enjoyed the sixties a lot more.

I was mindfull of those facts when I posted but that's why I said development in a contextless way. Under British rule our economy was never developed in any substantive way, We were simply seen as a resource and afaik, attempt's to develop the Irish economy had been thwarted up until independance. Based on history we can only assume that the status quo would not have changed until at least the thirtys if not until post ww2.

I agree the isolationists did us no favors, However despite the lack of economic developement during the first 40 years of independance we did get to develop other things of benefit. Our legal system and constitution was refined and changed to reflect Irish realitys, Some basic Infrastructure was also developed, Our independance gave us one of the most comfortable postions in europe during ww2, and we began to establish our international relations and take our place in the world as an independant country.

Had we remained in the union, we would probably have gained our independance after ww2 given britians policy of releasing its colonys. This would have left us at a disadvantage in that much of what had been done wouldnt exist. We would also have been involved more in ww2 having lost people and resources to the war, and there is no guarentee that we would have been involved in the efforts to rebuild europe.

Lol, now I just have to stand back and laugh, cos no matter how hard I try to rationalise my arguements, I just know that there is no way to quantify supposition

Some other food for thought:
Because of history turning out the way it did, we werent involved in the industrial revoloution to the extent of other european countrys with the result that we now enjoy some of the most pristine land in europe. Our late industrial development means we avoided the costly lessons of earlier industrial developement.
Whatya think?

mountainyman

Ireland developed little until Lemass opened us up.

Yeah we were golden until 1922. And how could we have failed to profit from the twenties and thirties oh those golden booming years?

Lemass opened the economy up and only 50 years later we're golden.

Take a minute to think about it.

MM

Cronus333

secret_squirrel wrote:

If you look at european history over the same time period its been a huge melting pot. Many nations that we take for granted now have only been around a relatively short time.

I think even if Ireland had remained un- molested (unlike imo) at best it would have been a shifting mass of nation-states and small kingdoms until very recent history. (bit like germany infact).

Don't forget Italy!

True. Belgium is only 150 years old I think, as is Greece, Romania and Bulgaria. And Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Poland were only created after WW1.

Your meaningless fact for the day!

shedseven

Just a question from an Englishman if I may. Has the Queen visited Ireland during her reign? Or was Queen Victoria the last reigning Monarch to visit Ireland?

cyclopath2001

shedseven wrote:

Just a question from an Englishman if I may. Has the Queen visited Ireland during her reign? Or was Queen Victoria the last reigning Monarch to visit Ireland?

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has indeed visited Ireland on a number of occasions.

She may one day visit Dublin.

LordSutch

shedseven wrote:

Just a question from an Englishman if I may. Has the Queen visited Ireland during her reign? Or was Queen Victoria the last reigning Monarch to visit Ireland?

Queen Victoria was indeen the last reigning Monarch to visit the "Republic" although, Prince Charles, Princess Ann, and other Royal members holiday & visit here on a regular basis, needless to say the current Queen makes regular trips to the North!
To commerate Queen Victoria's visit in 1900 a permanent monument/fountain was erected in Dun Laoghaire - a replica fountain now marks the spot at the bottom of Marine Road (The original was vandalised in 1981).

Hotblack Desiato

Actually that's not correct, the last reigning UK monarch to visit the 26 counties was King George V in 1911.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/211624.stm

The Duke of Edinburgh has made his first trip to the Irish Republic, raising the prospect of an historic state visit by the Queen. ... His visit marked the highest-ranking royal visit since King George V and Queen Mary were there in 1911, 10 years before the country became independent.

Edit: This visit was depicted in an episode of the series Strumpet City.

LordSutch

ninja900 wrote:

Actually that's not correct, the last reigning UK monarch to visit the 26 counties was King George V in 1911.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/211624.stm
Edit: This visit was depicted in an episode of the series Strumpet City.

Sorry Ninja - I stand corrected!

secret_squirrel

The Duke of Edinburgh has made his first trip to the Irish Republic

And he managed it without creating a major diplomatic incident :eek:

He must be going soft in his old age.

poneill

ArthurF wrote:

Queen Victoria was indeen the last reigning Monarch to visit the "Republic"

The free state was formed in 1921, Queen Victoria was dead 20 years before the formation of the free state . Much as it probably disappointed the free staters a visit from a corpse was not feasible so they had to pass on the frisson of excitement such an event would have brought to that drab little place.

Kings Edward and George both visited the territory of the free state as reigning monarchs after she died to the delight of the 'jackeen' who is named after the antics of his ancestors on those occasions.