No Scots in GB Olympic football team

[Barrel of Fun]

If I was a sceptic, I would say they did it to save face. However, they are very independant and I never expected them to agree.

 

[enigma]

Fletcher would have been

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Fletcher would have been

Would he?
maybe

 

[Spearritt of the Albion]

Just means they didn't rename the team after 1922, basically. Ah well, that means refering to it as "Great Britain" is wrong then

Confusing isn't it? People from Northern Ireland are British - try telling my old man that he isn't! They hold British passports by right. 'Great Britain' is the big Island that incorporates England, Scotland and Wales plus all the smaller islands surrounding it. The full name of the United Kingdom is actually the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. For some stupid reason we enter the Olympics as Great Britain rather than Britain or the United Kingdom. However, I believe Mary Peters(from Northern Ireland) was gratefully accepted as British when she won her Gold Medal.

One last, extremely important, point. How come all those men from Northern Ireland were killed during the two world wars if they weren't British? Southern Ireland was neutral so their men did not fight. Just remember this Sunday, during your minutes silence, that Northern Ireland had the highest percentage of casualties of the British nations (as far as I am aware) and they weren't fighting for the honour of Dublin!

Rant over!

 

[London Irish]

I think we all know i now RULE

All kiss my feet

If you'd have said Great Britain and Northern Ireland, you'd have been right, but you didn't.

So go and sit in the corner with this on.

 

[London Irish]

Confusing isn't it? People from Northern Ireland are British

No they are not. They are Irish. But citizens/subjects of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

 

[Cian]

Southern Ireland was neutral so their men did not fight.

Entirely untrue, I'd invite you to go round the Islandbridge War Memorial Gardens, which contain the bodies of or memorials to citizens of either Ireland, Southern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland who have died fighting 'foreign wars'* since about 1910, and take a look at the sections for those who died serving in the British Army in World War Two right up to the current war you're at.

They weren't conscripted, but huge numbers of them fought anyway, mainly on the basis that it was the "Right thing to do".

*those who died fighting for independence have a seperate, far, far smaller memorial gardens in the city. Which is limited to prior to 1923 deaths, so the kind of idiots who blew themselves up in chippers in unionist areas in the 1970's don't get a mention, because they don't deseve one.

 

[London Irish]

Announced tonight that the Scottish Football Association won't allow any players to take part in a Great Britain team at the Olympics. Which is good of them...

Vaguely reminds me of the story about Lester Piggott finishing second on a horse for some complete no-mark trainer after finding trouble in running. The trainer ran up to him as he came back to unsaddle and shouted: "You'll never ride for me again."

To which Lester replied: "That's me finished, then."

Good for the Scots, let's hope the Welsh and Northern Irish FAs quickly follow this example

 

[Pavilionaire]

Maybe I'm being a bit dim here,but if you were going to suggest having a GB football team maybe it's a good idea to get the FAs of all 4 countries onside before announcing the idea?

Just who are these people?

 

[London Irish]

Entirely untrue, I'd invite you to go round the Islandbridge War Memorial Gardens, which contain the bodies of or memorials to citizens of either Ireland, Southern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland who have died fighting 'foreign wars'* since about 1910, and take a look at the sections for those who died serving in the British Army in World War Two right up to the current war you're at.

They weren't conscripted, but huge numbers of them fought anyway, mainly on the basis that it was the "Right thing to do".

*those who died fighting for independence have a seperate, far, far smaller memorial gardens in the city.

Yes, agreed, there was no consistent picture and it's a myth that everyone in Ireland did the same thing, for example, my family from Tipp mainly joined the British Army, my lot from Donegal stayed more sympathetic to the Irish Republican Army (Officials)

 

[Cian]

Can't get any figures for after WW1, but it has the names of 49,400 Irish soldiers who died in World War One in the book rooms.

Probably the vast majority of them weren't from the 6 counties of Ulster that became Northern Ireland.

Every time I get a train into the city centre I walk past the plaque put up by the train company to its staff that died - and while the WWII section is smaller (no Northern Irish staff by that stage...) than the WWI section, its stiull large enough.