Fiolar, forget the Act of Settlement. It's not worth the paper it's written on, and would not stand being put to the test. A year or two before Di arrived on the scene the Daily Express had the front-page main headline: "Charles to marry Astrid - official" - Astrid being some European princess who happened to be Catholic. The story included reaction from constitutionalists, church leaders. politicians etc, all focusing on how the kids would be brought up - no concern at all that we could have a catholic queen (again). And that was more than 20 years ago - attitudes have progressed much farther since then.

InOBU, hostility to catholicism has certainly softened, but you've got to remember that the catholic church has softened, or rather has been forced to soften, its own stance in many ways. (But nowhere near enough for my liking.) And the Irish state has gone far to correct the monumental mistake it made in allowing a church so much influence in its affairs. (Another endorsement of my theory that almost every way, Collins would have served Ireland better than Dev.) I know this present Pope has even sided with Israel against communism, but I don't think he'd have been as quick as Pacelli to seek a concordat with Hitler.

Getting back to the thread, these hunger strikes are certainly a graphic endorsement of what our mums always told us: leave a clean plate, or you'll waste away.