Very interesting postings, phoaks. Mick, thanks for jumping in; we've been here before, eh? My original comment in this post was not intended in any way to cast aspersions on either side. As a woman and a mother, I am appalled at the killing and destruction by both factions and wish only for peace. Some of my heritage comes from Northern Ireland to Nova Scotia; don't know much more than that, except that I've always had an affinity for the Isle and its traditional heritage.

These days there is no reason to accuse others of not knowing the truth about things. We can get our news from around the world, from independent sources. Before writing an editorial, in 1998, on Portadown, I read many accounts from several sources for a better perspective. I quote from it:

That the Orangemen want to flaunt a victory from 1690 by parading through the Catholic neighborhood of Portadown is obscene, deadly and childish. Written just sixteen years after that battle, how ironic that the following by Jonathan Swift is so applicable to our times: "We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another".

Yes, we should honour those who have fallen in struggle and never forget them, but we should not glorify the wars that caused their deaths and use that as an excuse to continue hatred and violence.

kat