The Irish Political Thread

[odlum833]

So this is, in effect, the Irish politics thread.

[saoró...]

Theres already 1 too many bananas -_-

[mikey23]

Yay another skybar where i can bump up my post count : P

[Zim Flyer]

What this thread needs is some controversy to get you going. Right I'll start you of, should Ireland rejoin the UK

- I'm joking, I'm joking

Seriously though I will be popping in from time to time to say hello and check out your transport threads etc (when they appear).

[937delta]

should Ireland rejoin the UK

You see confusion already with the 'geographic' Ireland, as part of Ireland is already in the UK.

[XenonII]

Originally Posted by 937delta

should Ireland rejoin the UK

You see confusion already with the 'geographic' Ireland, as part of Ireland is already in the UK.

These are the same people that get all twisted out of shape when someone calls Northern Ireland Ulster. Pot meet kettle.

[odlum833]

Originally Posted by Zim Flyer

Right I'll start you of, should Ireland rejoin the UK

*can open, worms everywhere*



I dont see any reason why things should change. The relationship between Britain and Ireland is strong. Of course being independent means taking on alot of responsibility - sometimes times will be good, other times bad. The South has always shouldered the consequences of its decisions economically up until the 90's when things were pretty dire. Since the early 90's up till recently its been full steam ahead. There are challenges today of course as we all know. Ireland has remarkably similar problems to the UK and Spain right now but hopefully we will all get through it intact.

[XenonII]

Originally Posted by odlum833

*can open, worms everywhere*



I dont see any reason why things should change. The relationship between Britain and Ireland is strong. Of course being independent means taking on alot of responsibility - sometimes times will be good, other times bad. The South has always shouldered the consequences of its decisions economically up until the 90's when things were pretty dire. Since the early 90's up till recently its been full steam ahead. There are challenges today of course as we all know. Ireland has remarkably similar problems to the UK and Spain right now but hopefully we will all get through it intact.

Well I do. To right a wrong from the past and to correct an injustice. Ireland should be playing its full role at Westminster alongside its fellow nations in the Union. We are stronger together than apart. The Irish never wanted independence. They wanted home rule. Well they can have that now. They can have a parliament in Dublin representing the whole of the island that concerns itself with domestic matters and they can send MPs to the Westminster parliament, best of both worlds and all for the giving up of a little independence that they never really wanted to begin with. They would become a major player on the world stage and have real input into the decisions made by the Westminster parliament. It is a win win situation for all. The UK has even become a more Catholic country (thanks to Polish immigration) and almost all discrimination against Catholics has long been abolished.

[PB-1888]

"Should Ireland rejoin the UK?"

20 years ago I would have said yes. The South's economy then was a joke. Even with everyone in NI doing their best at tearing the place apart it still had a much better infrastructure with much better per person GDP and standard of living, although mostly subsidised by London. Since then, the Celtic Tiger roared and Dublin has shown how successful a small independent European state with an educated English speaking population can be. Northern Ireland has now been left behind in comparison and with our recent debate over corporation tax is arguably being held back by London.

Regarding the future of the UK as it is, it is clear that a large chunk of the Scots have looked across the Irish Sea and have wondered if they too, with a similar sized English speaking population, better universities and also with strong links to the US, not too mention oil and gas reserves could emulate Dublin. The answer to that is a no brainer in my opinion.

So should Ireland rejoin the UK? No, not now. The more relevant question is; what is the future for the UK assuming the current trajectory in Scotland comes to its eventual logical conclusion. Where does that leave Northern Ireland????

[XenonII]

Originally Posted by PB-1888

"Should Ireland rejoin the UK?"

20 years ago I would have said yes. The South's economy then was a joke. Even with everyone in NI doing their best at tearing the place apart it still had a much better infrastructure with much better per person GDP and standard of living, although mostly subsidised by London. Since then, the Celtic Tiger roared and Dublin has shown how successful a small independent European state with an educated English speaking population can be. Northern Ireland has now been left behind in comparison and with our recent debate over corporation tax is arguably being held back by London.

Regarding the future of the UK as it is, it is clear that a large chunk of the Scots have looked across the Irish Sea and have wondered if they too, with a similar sized English speaking population, better universities and also with strong links to the US, not too mention oil and gas reserves could emulate Dublin. The answer to that is a no brainer in my opinion.

So should Ireland rejoin the UK? No, not now. The more relevant question is; what is the future for the UK assuming the current trajectory in Scotland comes to its eventual logical conclusion. Where does that leave Northern Ireland????

There's no chance of Scotland becoming independent in the forseable future anymore than Ulster's withdrawl from the Union. It just aint gonna happen. We know of course why the Irish separatist is so keen on the idea: because it gives legitimacy to their current political situation and because they think it will make it much more easier to get their hands on Ulster. I think Ulster would rather join an independent Scotland, which it has more culturally in common with after all than join an Irish republic. Especially when you consider even those clamoring for Scottish independence still want to keep the monarchy, something most people of Ulster hold dear.

I'm sure Ireland could do just as well in the UK as it is doing out and Northern Ireland has never been in better shape or the future looked so bright for the province. Northern Ireland is certainly not the UK's poorest region either, I believe that may be Cornwall. If Northern Ireland is really doing so terrible because it is not in union with southern Ireland, then that just sounds like another reason for southern Ireland to rejoin the UK to me! Doesn't it seem rather strange that England, Scotland, Wales and Ulster are all successfully united, but part of Ireland is still out in the cold after all these decades? What makes Ireland so "special" or "unique"?

As far as I'm concerned Ireland is part of Britain and always has been (Britain is not synomnous with Great Britain otherwise Great Britain would've been called Britain) and the British Isles are far two small to be divided like it is at present, but I view that as only a temporary "solution" and reunification will come eventually. The Union is not gonna fracture any further and one day and I hope not to far in the distant future it will be restored. Like it should be.

So just because there may be no apparent economic reason to rejoin (which is debateable) is no reason not to rejoin. The people should not be divided period.

[PB-1888]

Ok, maybe I'm playing with fire with that one. No one seems to want to bite.

Best City in Ireland? Belfast, obviously.

Few of the current gold medals are:

Tallest office building in Ireland - Belfast (Windsor House)
Tallest residential building in Ireland - Belfast (Divis Tower)
Tallest hospital in Ireland - Belfast (City Hospital Tower Block)
Tallest hotel in Ireland - Belfast (Hilton at Laganside)
Biggest brownfield site redevelopment - Belfast (Titanic quarter)
Widest motorway in Ireland - Belfast (M2 Foreshore)

I'm obviously talking about what currently exists, not whats in the pipeline.

[Onoudidnt]

i wouldnt say that having the widest motorway or tallest building makes a city great. for me its street life; and the best place in ireland to find this is dublin

[Boba Fett22]

Originally Posted by Onoudidnt

i wouldnt say that having the widest motorway or tallest building makes a city great.

True, but I think PB is sorta joking.

[odlum833]

Originally Posted by PB-1888

Ok, maybe I'm playing with fire with that one. No one seems to want to bite.

Best City in Ireland? Belfast, obviously.

Few of the current gold medals are:

Tallest office building in Ireland - Belfast (Windsor House)
Tallest residential building in Ireland - Belfast (Divis Tower)
Tallest hospital in Ireland - Belfast (City Hospital Tower Block)
Tallest hotel in Ireland - Belfast (Hilton at Laganside)
Biggest brownfield site redevelopment - Belfast (Titanic quarter)
Widest motorway in Ireland - Belfast (M2 Foreshore)

I'm obviously talking about what currently exists, not whats in the pipeline.

Dublin is a bigger city then Belfast though with very lofty ambitions. The tallest office and residential buildings planned are in Dublin. The first of these is under construction where the Point Depot use to be. As for having the widest motorway - currently there is 53kms of Motorway in Dublin (the M1/M50 and M11). If we expand that to Co Dublin there is around 70kms with 10km's of the M3 under construction. The M50 is eight lanes wide but expands to 6 at some junctions after the upgrade. How many km's of motorway in Belfast?

Now the largest 'Brownfield site' is Dublin Docklands Authority land - 'Titanic Quarter' is no where near as big - even though it is a big site - unless you are talking about a single development site with a single aim.


Lets move on to transport shall we?

Dublin in 6 years:

Metro
DART
DART interconnector
Luas
Suburban Rail
Bus
Taxi


Belfast in 6 years

Suburban Rail
Bus
Taxi


So to sum up the 'tallest building' status will be gone by 2010 in Belfast - 120m - that could possibly be broken again but unlikely. The U2 tower at 180m - game, set, match.


BTW id just like to draw your attention to the fact that Divis Tower and Windsor House are unbelievably ugly and I would not want anything like them within 100 miles of Dublin!


Temple Bar is no longer attracting the same level of stag parties because that social group tend not to be able to afford the prices here. Temple Bar is just tacky and I dont really like it.

[937delta]

So to sum up the 'tallest building' status will be gone by 2010 in Belfast - 120m - that could possibly be broken again but unlikely. The U2 tower at 180m - game, set, match.

Bearing in mind 'masts' or 'spires' on top of buildings do not count, its liveable floor space, how tall is this U2 tower. When will this U2 tower actually be built. Anyway Belfast cannot have a building over 109m due to flight path at city airport, so we cannot get around this.

Metro
DART
DART interconnector
Luas
Suburban Rail
Bus
Taxi

Still congested as hell!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Zim Flyer]

ahh but Dublin has trams and that is a big plus for any city.

[PB-1888]

Yes of course. I forgot how all those stag and hen parties from Newcastle (no offence intended) make Dublin's street life undoubtedly the best in Ireland.

[hcrosskey]

Great to see there is now a forum for Ireland's projects. Just one thing though..

When is the term 'Southern Ireland' ever used? The only times i ever hear it used are when I’m trying to buy a stamp in a Post Office and the server isn't sure if Dublin is in the Republic or the UK lol! I'm not going to blab on about it as the decision has been made, but i would have left out the 'Southern' part in the title.

[hcrosskey]

The Stag and Hen parties thankfully head to the Temple Bar part of Dublin city centre. Which is basically an area regenerated for tourists who want to visit a 'traditional' Irish bar/pub. Most Dubliners avoid the area like the plague on a night out. It is quite possible to have a night out in the centre without having to mix with drunken Stag and Hen's.

[cubix]

For u2 tower the architects specified a tower of 120 m with possible inclusion of a energy centre that would increase height by 50m but this is subject to planning permission,which has already been granted for a 120m tower,i doubt very much this energy contraption will go ahead although some ppl beleive it will.