Michael D Higgins insists he is President of Ireland, refuses to commemorate partition

Fortunately it looks as if the next assembly election will return a more moderate face of Unionism to power and hopefully that will stop the posturing and tantrum throwing of the DUP from capturing all the attention in the north. Maybe then some real progress can be made towards peace and reconciliation.

I feel strongly that the people of the North will look on another collapse of the assembly, as the DUP threaten, very unfavorably. The one thing that was almost universal last time was all my Northern friends said that if the assembly members weren't working for them then they shouldn't get paid.

Treasonous to whom?

Ha this is so off the mark on the UK-Ireland relations stuff.

This is absolute storm in a teacup stuff that the vast majority of people dont have time to be worrying about. But Ide say this is all about you not liking Higgins and nothing to do with him skipping a mass

His reason for not going is that it had become too political. DuP and SF all over this. Many comments online such as this current affairs forum. So yes it is political whether he goes or not and it is not just a church event. He has also turned down events he thought were too political such as an Easter rising commemoration.

Who is "we" in your first sentence. All of the North's population?

I thought it was obvious I was referring to the British in ni. It would be a silly thing to say about the Portuguese, polish or Irish living in ni.

If the government, as the director of state policy, was concerned about this they would have told him to go when he got in touch with the department. How he can be a traitor when he doesn't make policy and when he asked those who do, he was effectively told to do what he likes?

And trots being nasty is nothing new and no basis on how the President should conduct himself. As regards the "lie" about one term. People had the chance to judge this for themselves at the ballot box and an overwhelming majority decided he was the best candidate for the job regardless.

No it's not and I'm not just talking about nationalists

Agreed, but I was just referring to those who regard themselves as British

Just as some will only acknowledge that the state of Palestine is the only legitimate state of the levant, no amount of time will legitimize the colonization and subsequent partition of their homeland.

The reality is though that those Unionists of the North have far more in common with their Irish brothers in the south than they ever will have with the British. They will always be welcome with their fellow Irish.

Yeah and if the small militant group that wanted ‘blood sacrifice’ had let Redmond do his thing history could have been completely different. We will never know. But I stand by point this issue is caused by delusion. But many do not even realise it at this stage! Saying the name of states on this island is the start of reconciliation and growth as a populace who have to live together. Anything else is playing ‘cute’ and/or people codding themselves.

Just to say is is not only those on the island of Ireland who suffer from the semantics of names and ignoring reality. A poster has already referenced Palestine. The Malvinas/Falklands is another one. It is no accident that many Irish Republicans tie themselves to this. Not for them ‘The Falkland’s’ etc.

The British have also done this in WW1. Saxe-Coburg was erased from history. Windsor was manufactured to sound more British. The German Shepard dog started to be called the Alsatian by the British. Same thing semantics, delusion and unwillingness to accept reality.

Same issue here with Michael D and many ‘chest thumping’ Republicans on this thread it is playing a game with words. Both sides on the island of Ireland have done so and will always do so. Blinkered stuff.

Redmond's big mistake is that he ignored unionists and made no effort to win their hearts and minds.