SINSULL and WYSIWYG/Susan have nailed this one. Thank you both.

I am the guest poster who accused "Ireland" of being a troll, hence this whinging thread, claiming intimidation and hatred. I believe he has joined as a member under this name merely to stir shit on the Northern Ireland threads.

This poster has posted in excess of 65 posts since 6 October under the Mudcat member name "Ireland". Of those posts, all but one or two were to threads on Northern Ireland. In those threads, he has been expressing a very controversial point of view, arguing with some well respected Mudcat members who happen to be very knowledgeable about Northern Ireland. Nothing to do with music, folk, blues or otherwise.

The arguments he is making reflect the position of someone associated with Ian Paisley's UDP, and it's shadow paramilitary organization the LVF. If you know anything about Northern Ireland, you understand just how controversial these opinions might be. If you don't know anything about Northern Ireland, I'll give a quick equivalent, which I also used in the Northern Ireland thread. "Ireland's" position is roughly equivalent to a South African Afrikaaner claiming that because the ANC was a "terrorist" organization, the Sharpeville massacre was justified.

When someone comes into this forum and posts ONLY to controversial political threads, making highly controversial statements as "Ireland" has been doing, I view them as nothing more than a troll. I said so. The entire Mudcat membership is free to disagree with me. But saying so is neither intimidation or hate.

But then, Mudcat prejudices against anon guests blind most members to the facts in cases like this. "Ireland" joined as a member quite cleverly--to get Mudcat members on his side merely by the fact of his membership. He has been politely and nicely saying things intended to hurt and wound Irish nationalist Mudcat members, and push our buttons. He also claims to have been disabled by the IRA. So just what sort of an agenda does everyone suppose this guy is here to push?

If the Mudcat membership wishes to welcome people of that ilk, it is of course their prerogative to do so.

Congratulations on being duped by, I'm guessing by the posts, Conrad Bladey, the Internet's most notorious Orange bigot, and exploiter of "Irish traditions". He even has his so-called books for same at Amazon, folks--copied almost word for word (without due credit, and likely in violation of copyright I might add) from books published by now long dead Irish folklorists.