From the RTE archives -for Easter Week

[Jim]

Almost all British colonies and occupations that gained independance got worse after Britain pulled the plug, thats completely natural until there is enough development to fill the hole left by the "mother country".

I wouldn't say its unfair to say the British only wanted Ireland as a cheap source of labour, because they clearly did think that. Why try and talk to striking English men (the British disease as it became known) when you can put the stuff on a boat and have it arrive in Dublin or Belfast the next day and have the materials created in half the price?

I don't think Ireland prospered at all under the British, Belfast and Dublin was far behind cities like Glasgow, Liverpool and London and the only thing Belfast had going for it was ship-building to put it on the map, which Glasgow could do too. Ireland may have gotten a few benefits from being close to the Empire but even some parts of England got very little, everything went to London. Everything.

[Wasp]

Well if all that is true then London is paying for it now big time by keeping the rest of the UK, the scroungers, benefit cheats, immigrants etc afloat.

[Jim]

Not really, London is still one of the richest cities in the world, its one of four global cities along with Paris, New York and Tokyo. Its keeping no one afloat because the UK has become very decentralised in the past 30 years, cities like Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and now even Belfast are able to generate enough wealth without begging London.

[Wasp]

I disagree Jim, where there is no doubt that these areas support themselves in part, for the main it is London who carries the burden, not all of it but a huge chunk of it.

[Jim]

London needs to spend more money on itself than it does on other areas.

[Bilk]

wasp said:

I disagree Jim, where there is no doubt that these areas support themselves in part, for the main it is London who carries the burden, not all of it but a huge chunk of it.

Ah but WASP you fail to take into account the amount of money that flows into London, not just from Tax payers. The head office of almost every company in the UK is situated in London, therfore that is where the wealth of this country finishes up. Not because London made that money through work or profits. But because the profits of the vast majority of companies finish up in London one through their head offices being situated there. Outside of London and the south east, few areas would be self sufficient. Because their wealth gets sucks into coffers of one sort or another in London. Whether it be the taxpayers money or the profits from business.

[earl]

wasp said:

And look what happened to Ireland when the British let you run your own affairs.

Indeed WASP. Best place to live according to many reliable and credible sources, one of the richest countries in the EU, strong, vibrant culture celebrated and enjoyed the world over, and a heroic tale to any small nation that size doesn't matter once you have heart. Plus, our national holiday is a bit of a world event these days. Won't be too long now before it's a national holiday in the U.S.

[Wasp]

Earl I think you completely missed my point and the rest of my posts. Going by what I read here and elsewhere I would agree Ireland is now a great place to live and it should pride itself in what it has finally achieved.

But that was far from my point, like up here it was a shithole, although up here remains so where as Ireland hasn't.

Bilk I know that but it doesn't matter where the money comes from or how it get there, London still does as I said. As far as work is concerned millions go through the tubes etc everyday travelling to and from work and no other area within the UK can even come close to that.

[Wasp]

AH Setanta you also have completely missed my point and my posts.

[Wasp]

No you did not answer my comment in the context of my post, you answered to do with nowadays, not back then.

[earl]

As far as I know, we're still running our affairs, and have recovered from centuries of imperialism within 100 years. That's good going.

[Wasp]

Ok I should reword it for those who cannot grasp what I meant. Look what happened to Ireland AS SOON AND THE IMMEDIATE YEARS THAT FOLLOWED when the British let you run your own affairs.

Like when did Ireland stop being one of the poor mouths of Europe, when did it stop being such a backward shithole? That is what I meant, obviously I do not mean now and my posts will prove that.

Do I need to repost my posts on exactly what I said about Ireland nowadays?

[Jim]

What is your point Wasp are you trying to say that if we (most of us!) had of stayed with the Brits that there would never had been as many problems as there was? Britain put a huge debt in Irelands hands for its "part" in the Empire, even though it had no choice but be part of that Empire. This was diliberately done to keep Ireland down in the bogs for as many years as possible.

Ireland done quite poorly after the Brits left, why?
-It had a huge debt to pay off to the brits.
-It was after World War 1 and no one had much money. Even Britain was in tatters compared to 20 years earlier.
-Small nation with most of the industry up north, in British hands.
-Civil war.
-Much of the male population dead fighting for Belgium what they where being denied during WW1.

[earl]

-population still devastated from the famine and immigration.

-lack of investment by the British governemnt in Ireland and hangover from the pre-Catholic emancipation period left control of education in the hands of th Church.

- Black and tans targeted industries in their dirty little war, before they were shipped off to shoot Jews and arabs in British Palestine at a later date.

This place wasn't a shithole because the British left, it was a shithole because of the British. It took us the guts of 90 years to put centuries of colonial misrule right. It doesn't happen overnight.

[Wasp]

Maybe according to yourself it was a shithole because of the British, I won't argue that as their is no point. But it became an even bigger shithole after they left so there was perhaps a number of reasons for Ireland's backwardness.

Count yourself lucky you don't live in an even bigger shithole like up here.