Agreed, Greg B. I have always said that where one says there prayers has nothing to do with their Irishness. And I agree with the example you used. Where I suspect we disagree is on the resolution of the issue. One cannot deny the Irish their bitterness anymore than one cannot deny the Lenape theirs. And one cannot expect the descendants of the Plantation to give up their land. But that seems like a dodge to me, Greg, because no one on the Republican side is asking for that. What they have been asking for is a set of laws free of prejudice. What they have been asking for is to be able to raise their children in an environment free of horrid harassment, including having garbage thrown at them on their way to school. What they are asking for is a society in which their churches are not routinely defaced, and their neighborhoods forced to endure inflammatory parades designed to ridicule and jeer. And due to the committment of these folks, the process is now at a point where the force of the pen, and the rule of law has a chance to blossom. Ian Paisley, for chrissakes, sits in a government with Martin McGuinness. The Republicans stood firm, in the face of almost continual provocation, and the rule of law and politics, replaced the way of the gun.

So I will continue to sing songs about the Troubles, but unlike the Orange marchers, I certainly won't be doing it where it isn't appropriate. But if you are English, and you don't want to hear these songs, don't come into an Irish pub where they are sung. That would be like going to an Orange Hall and being pissed because they sang The Sash.

Mick