Ian Paisley wants Independence for Northern Ireland, 1974

[@TheAnthraxBiology]

The rehabilitation of this man's imagine in the 2000s was mad. He had more paramilitary links than anyone in politics, and was so brazen about it he wouldn't even sign the GFA, posed with paramilitaries in video footage in the 1970s too, and then became known as a "peacemaker" for...not signing a peace treaty?

[@SuperWang-k2c]

All this for cheese and pineapple on a stick .

[@PatDeeTravels]

🤣🤣🤣

[@krisscanlon4051]

Hahaha harry enfield

[@johnomahoney7755]

Trouble maker

[@gerardjames9971]

A complex and stubborn man. He was on a chat show in Southern Ireland once and the audience loved him. Funny, charming, great sense of humour and well able to laugh at himself. He could have done so much for peace in Ulster in the 1970s and 1980s because people listened to him.

[@jamesbradshaw3389]

He fooled a lot of people, he covered him many thousands crimes of instructing and preaching violence and his deepest heathered of Catholics and the Irish people with his jokes, his false laughter, he carried out the devil's work for many long years wearing the collar of a victor, but he was not much better than Putin

[@marble296]

Not complex. Arch demagogue, very simple. He might be charming but he says what he needs to get ahead, didn't mind changing his views when he seen there was more power in peace. It's that simple.

[@patrickkelly5609]

Southern Ireland ?

[@ciatangallaghe2485]

Like Cork?

[@ciaranloughran9314]

Ian paisley openly hated catholics and didn’t want them to have any position in government or civil service

[@DA-og4px]

Presumably this independent Ulster would have had the British monarch as head of State, and would have been a member of the Conmonwealth??

[@Kmc1qlAq8Dt6tpVC]

Rhodesia declared independence and proclaimed the queen as head of state, but Britain never recognised it and supported it so they got rid of the monarchy and became a republic.

[@cedricliggins7528]

Duh. Just like Canada and Jamaica

[@philipcorr8225]

Is the king of england not the head of state in canada?

[@DA-og4px]

@@philipcorr8225 There hasn't been a King of England in centuries, in fact. The head of State in Canada is the King of Canada. That monarch is also the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

[@philipcorr8225]

@@DA-og4px so, canada is not a republic

[@philipcorr8225]

This was one of the proposals that came out of the new ireland forum that he famously rejected with his never never never comment in the early 80s

[@Charro76]

Ian played that old orange fiddle for yesrs; Then he got what he was a playing for all along, ie. Ian, 1st minister of N.Ireland. Then, he kinda mellowed somewhat.

[@jamesbradshaw3389]

Check out his full history, the sea of destruction, the brutality he preached, the lives lost and badly damaged, the homes burnt to the ground, see the facts, and don't be fooled by the howling laughter of an evil brutal man, just like Trump, people also love that Wako to

[@GAMER123GAMING]

@@jamesbradshaw3389 Ireland definitely needs more American politics. TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP!!!! the evil bad guy... whos doing something in Ireland i think

[@jackietreehorn5561]

​@@GAMER123GAMINGtrump gets his hair dye there

[@runningamok2825]

@@jamesbradshaw3389 his supporters verifiably burned down bombay street. no accountability either, ever.

[@davidh6543]

God almighty imagine an independent NI with 1974 demographics, UDR and RUC.... Catholics would have been in concentration camps in no time.

[@Defaultname0000]

Makes me moist.

[@Charro76]

There were Catholics in concentration camps in 1974. It was called 'Internment' -- without a trial. Bad old days then. 😮

[@TheAnthraxBiology]

They were...it was called internment. On the first night of operation motorman hundreds of catholics were interned and not a single one was in the IRA.

[@niallcnoc9646]

Never, never, never.

[@stuartpenman6387]

I don't care which side you are on, you knew where you stood with him, wish we had more like him today in politics

[@fintanmccann1128]

That’s pretty ignorant, considering you could say the same thing for a number of bigots. The man purposefully shamed Bobby sands funeral by holding his own vigil.

[@stuartpenman6387]

@@fintanmccann1128 get well or better educated soon

[@fintanmccann1128]

@@stuartpenman6387 The man blocked the road to peace almost his whole life, until he became old and exhausted or something slightly resembling wisdom through a lifetime of hatred. Could you be more specific on what to educate myself on if I am wrong.

[@stuartpenman6387]

@@fintanmccann1128 no he didn't , he fought what he thought was right , learn that 1st and then i can teach the rest of being an adult

[@tc2664]

@@stuartpenman6387 Hitler also fought for what he thought was right and the world knew where they stood with him. I'm sure the Unionists wish they had more like him in politics today.

[@brendanoreilly1]

How long was he on holidays in Ireland for

[@patlynch9969]

All his life.

[@Neilhuny]

I'm not sure if Ian Paisley said it, (shouted it) or if it was a pastiche by Spitting Image - "I'll be a giant spanner in the workings of Catholicism" My family were nominally Unionist but would have nothing to do with that debate and thought Paisley was the single most dangerous man in Northern Ireland - more people died because of him, his rhetoric, than because of the IRA; he caused many deaths on both sides. Still, he could be quite charismatic - just like Hitler, as others have already pointed out

[@runningamok2825]

made a compromise NI situation impossible for almost his whole life then venerated for a fraction of his life, when he just happened to finally compromise coincidentally right as he was offered the top spot he coveted his entire life.

[@colmcarrigg]

It's like hearing Adolf Hitler deliver a speech in English.

[@rob0576a]

You are wrong in such comparisons. You cannot conflate a dictator with paisley who has been a Democrat his whole life. Do your homework and don't spout ignorance

[@ciatangallaghe2485]

Ian paisley : Gay Icon.

[@johntheball]

Definatly repressed bottom...he would look great ina pinny..😂

[@craigrobertson2193]

Yeah he really loved God that's for sure he said you have to be on your hands and knees for god

[@seansweeney8911]

Shut up

[@GAMER123GAMING]

@cicero8271 No its not stop acting like a retard

[@oscarman58]

Ian was a man ahead of his time. Independence from the UK would have been a step towards a united Ireland for cooler and more reasonable heads.

[@j377yb33n]

Maybe not with how the unionists were holding power. This wasn't long before they would have gotten an influx of rhodesians

[@ciaranloughran9314]

Hope people get the satire

[@jamescopen9817]

..and the irony of it all ...his ancestors who came from scotland ...yes the same scotland who now want rid of the crown ......how the snake has turned .....

[@fintonmainz7845]

So they're not loyalists and they are sectarian.

[@Charro76]

You tell 'em, big man.😅 . Hang on a mo'. S..t! look at where we are now. 😢

[@WilliamJohnWilkinson]

Paisley and Trimble sold the loyalist people out

[@shutup2751]

if people think SF won't go into coalition with FF/FG just remember they went into coalition with this bigot

[@adamtier3263]

SF sail which ever way the winds blows and whoever will line there pockets!

[@lfcgero35]

​@@ChristianPatriarchywhats with the capitals pal we all know what dev was Collins however was a true irishman unlike de valera an american.

[@shutup2751]

@@ChristianPatriarchy he was indeed a bigot, my grandmother is protestant, the leaders of 1916 envisioned this country where protestants were treated exact same as catholics

[@MartinMartinm]

People on here bad mouthing and disrespecting a patriotic hero like Éamon de Valera need to hang their heads in shame. An honourable man who put his life on the line only for people to belittle him a century later. Politics isn't always straightforward and the people criticising him would never fill his boots.

[@lfcgero35]

@@MartinMartinm Collins was 100 times the man dev was. He let the church seize control and with that control and power we all know what happened. He sent condolences to the German minister Edouard Hempel as news of hitlers death was revealed. He did this to piss off gray the american minister to ireland for trying to influence public opinion against him. But the most unforgivable cowardice act he did was sending collins to london to sign a treaty he knew would never be agreed to by the british. Not only using good men like collins for scapegoats he also unveiled collins identity as up to then the british had no clue what he actually looked like. He also played a massive part in starting the irish civil war considering he knew what deal collins was going to receive in london and yet he still resigned from government when the vote came to the dail in regards to accepting partition. He ordered liam deasy commander of the ambush to kill Collins at Béal na Bláth. He was shot once through the head by a dum dum bullet fired by Denis sonny O'Neill. He was the only leader not to be executed in 1916 as he was an american citizen while the real irish leaders died for their country. He was not a leader and only thought about his own legacy and everyone else was irrelevant and replaceable. He was the only man to hold the the office of taoiseach twice and president and was easily the worst for both positions in irelands short independent history. Slainte pal.

[@Charro76]

Yea he used to be.But, he wasn't a bigot then😮

[@123brownjames]

I thought he wanted it to be Bretish………

[@King.Mark.]

you are what you do

[@seannolan8615]

When i was a kid I thought that he was some kind of dog 🐕 when I heard him on the news, never knew what he was saying, all i could hear was rar rar rar .

[@KimPhilby203]

Irish Catholic and love him.. great man❤

[@GJ1607.]

Why would an irish Catholic like yourself love this man when he attacked our religion ? I am an irish Catholic who lived through the troubles. This man has blood on his hands

[@Irish780]

Unfortunately he caused a lot of trouble

[@paulgalligan1916]

Jaysus Ian what ye shouting for 😅

[@Chris-zh1ff]

Jehova rules the universe😊ah

[@augustinedennis4865]

Eejet

[@davidbeavan9521]

Have bit of sence

[@hangedups2608]

UTTER MUG

[@MartinMartinm]

Paisley was the best of a bad bunch. Criticised by everyone but, represented and stayed loyal to his people.

[@liamg1706]

He caused the whole conflict. What are you talking about

[@MartinMartinm]

@@liamg1706 laughable. Many things led to the conflict. The discrimination, political bias, American progressive influences just to name a few. Paisley was not a violent man who wished bad upon people. He just politically represented his people even though I'm anti loyalist myself and don't support the politics.

[@ciaranloughran9314]

@@MartinMartinm I’m pretty sure it came out that Ian paisley bought guns and gave them to loyalist paramilitaries. He got them from Isreal and African countries under the guise of using them for border protection

[@liamg1706]

@@MartinMartinm he certainly played a huge part. Far from laughable if you know what talking about. Of course there were major underlying factors . But paisley stirred up the flames of hate and is widely suspected in being involved in a uvf bombing campaign which aimed to get the dormant IRA of the time the blame for a serious of bombs attacks to whip up fear and anger by the protestant community in the North. Things like this and his hate filled rhetoric is what mobilised hate filled brainwashed mobs of protestants taking to the streets burning catholics out there homes. Which is how the conflict started. Do some research you "anti loyalist"haha American im guessing using that kind of lingo that nobody here would use.

[@MartinMartinm]

​@@ciaranloughran9314''pretty sure'', never happened.

[@Scotia6261]

The Reverend Buddy Ca$h.himself.

[@Theeirishman74]

Bitter jaffa