College Green World Cup homecoming tomorrow - Gardai come clean!

by Mags Mon Jun 17, 2002 16:59

No realistic reason has been given at all for the refusal to have the event in the city centre. Compare an hour or so of a football celebration with 5-6 hours of complete closedown of the south city for the various marathons. Why can't they be held in the more sensible and safe environs of the Phoenix Park. How is it that whole squares can be blocked off at random for meaningless (and badly attended) 'spectaculars' by such dross as 'Westlife'. Wouldn't be anything to do with sponsorship, etc., would it? Or the drugfest masquerading as the 'Tour De France' as few years ago. Bet someone pocketed a lot out of that.
Yes, Dublin's streets are incredibly unsafe. Apart from the traffic there are several very large abandoned holes in O Connell street for the past six weeks. This is the fault of the Corpo, or Luas, or the company they have subbed the work to. Or just someone, undefined. But Joe Public just shrugs and gets on with life.
However I think the real reason is the dislike the authorities and the cops have of large number of people who aren't partcularly interested in respecting authority. Working class football fans fall into this category (even though there is no liklihood of trouble at all). They just don't like these people getting together in large numbers. In most other European cities the civic authorities put up huge screens so the population could see the games. OK, there was one nasty riot in Moscow but in general things passed of peacefully. Berlin had a big screen in a square and Irish music and stuff after the Germany game. Can anyone imagine Dublin Corporation doing such a thing... of course they wouldn't be in the pockets of the publicans, would they?

by Sam Lyons - PlugMedia Mon Jun 17, 2002 17:17 sam at plugmedia dot net 086 8098528

We have a duty to give our 22 heroes a heroes
welcome in the capital city of Dublin. What we all
saw on Sunday afternoon was character, team work
and belief between a group of admirable young men.
Do we all herd up to the Phoenix like sheep
because the Gardai are worried that they are
losing control. Let the Irish army police the
event if the Gardai can't control the situation.
I as an Irish citizen am digusted that once again
we are treated like children. Every person that
has spoken out has wished this home coming event
for our heroes to be held in the city were it
deservedly must be. The players themselves have
asked for it. What do they deserve after the
battle they fought? What type of society do we
live in? Democracy? Democracy my arse. Another
push off where the people of this country have no
choice. What use is there in having the right to
vote, if nothing we as the people of Ireland
believe is considered or accepted. We are sheep.
Robots to the giant capitalist machine that churns
out profits for the ever increasing and power
hungry companies that control what we see, do and
say.

Perhaps they are scared of another Russian
outcome. When I saw the result yesterday I was in
shock for the rest of the day. Although I was very
upset by the result, I was never more proud of a
group of Irish young men. What they showed was
perseverance, strength and a true Irish spirit.
They never lost hope. We as fans were there with
them for every nail-biting moment. I beleive that
people wish they can give these proud guys a true
welcome home as they pass through the city of
Dublin. What type of atmosphere can they have
standing on a stage in the Phoenix park? Are the
Irish gardai expecting the people of Ireland to
be so overwhelmed with grief that they will start
burning out cars and stabbing each other? We want
to celebrate these guys of Ireland for the hard
work they've done.

If we had more time we could have made public
announcements by radio, TV and whatever means.
We stand for our heroes outside College Green.
We tell everyone to ignore where the party is
supposed to be. As a crowd we wait. If enough
people stood and waited our heroes will
so clearly recognise their own spirit and
join us. STOP being a Robot beacause your meant
to. Stand up for your rights.

Sam :)

by Paul Kinsella - Various Mon Jun 17, 2002 20:32 paulkinsella53 at yahoo dot com 53 Lorcan Grove, Santry, Dublin 9, Eire 087-9748511

I should also add that I bet that they wouldn't stop the Pope speaking at College Green - And what about the Patrick's Day parade? But then of course one is sponsored by the self-same 'merchant prince' corporate capitalists who played a key role in forcing the Irish team's homecoming to be moved to the Phoenix Park from College Green and the other one would be an agent of what was the real government of Ireland until very recently - and which still wields a considerable influence on the Irish government - Namely the undemocratic, unelected Roman Catholic Church. It's no secret at all that the Irish team themselves want to go to College Green and not to the Phoenix Park.

by amanda Mon Jun 17, 2002 23:05

First off dont get me wrong. I think that the open top bus through the city would be great and the Gardai are as usual acting as a mouth piece for the corporate state. But lets be honest, football is no less corporate than a Westlife concert. The Irish team is sponsored by Eircom, before that Opel. Whenever you watch a match you can't help but see the adverts all along the side of the pitch, and when it comes to club level football the teams that perform the best are also the ones with the most money.
Trust me tomorrow you are going to see more Eircom logos than anything else and if you are wearing a team jersey you will be wearing one yourself.