50 years and four days in the European Union today

You keep telling yourself that Mr Intolerant...all a beautiful part of a democracy, we can have different views!!

no, we didn't have to run referendums over and over again until we got the right result.

what we did have to do is have referendums when the original deals we rejected were changed, which is a good thing as what was being voted on changed.

I will remark that I have not heard many Irish people throwing up their hands and coming out with shibboleths like "oh we just can't govern ourselves". It's something "we" have had to learn on the fly post independence but we have not done too badly.

Yeah, we criticise our politicans and administrators like everyone does in a democracy, and I admit myself there have been times I have been very glad our EU membership constrains their actions, or has pointed them in the right direction to my view...but not to extent of an old British colonial "oh those dumb natives can't govern themselves" law of nature.

If person who says that is Irish and engaging honestly, maybe develop a little bit of self respect + get up off the knees.

Criticize our politicians?? One of the most corrupt leaders in the EU was voted into to power three times by us!!! The man was handling sackfuls of cash that he couldn't explain, and what did he get, a slap on the wrist even?? That wasn't that long ago.

It serves no purpose ignoring our past. It's a weird cultural chink in our collective personality, we love admiring ourselves in the mirror but we get vicious if anyone criticizes us.

Well, I don't have the rose tinted glasses on...we were a basket case, socially, politically and economically nobody in their right mind would have immigrated here up until the late 90s. Yet we sent waves of generations of young people to more stable countries since the foundation of our State...and who knows, we may lose another generation in the future.

Let's not kid ourselves here, lest we do it again!!

Ah...it's the Brits fault...I keep forgetting....tell me, can we blame the Brits for the endemic political corruption that has done enormous damage to the infrastructure of our Capital city?

We don't have endemic political corruption?

Ah now...this is delusional. Are we endemically corrupt today, I don't think so, was Dublin city damaged by endemic political corruption by Senior Politicial figures in it's planning department...only a fool would suggest otherwise!

Ok, tell me about this well run state pre EU membership then?

That’s because SF see the benefit of unrestricted immigration to their agenda succeeding…They need and want those votes. So much so that they are actively cheerleading now our EU membership.

when Ursula Von Der Leyen showed up here McDonald was basically in raptures of excitement…she said…

“I warmly welcome European Commission President von der Leyen here today. 

Through your work on the Commission you have been a good friend to Ireland and demonstrated your desire to work with Ireland towards these common goals.

This year, Europe has shown the power of its unity and its solidarity in standing squarely with the people of Ukraine. “

soooo yeah….

lots of quite moderate people are beginning to question Ireland’s EU membership….the problem isn’t with those questioning it, they arnt ‘far’ anything… the problem is the EU…. Which as a political and economic ‘union‘….is instead severely and possibly irreparably disengaged from the needs, concerns and challenges of EU citizens…. Those of us whom they should be prioritising. Too busy focusing on events… further east.

Ukranian flags already fly outside EU in Brussels and the building is lit in blue and yellow at night….. democracy eh..