Everything Ulster - Election 2005

Today the Direct Misrule minister for finance, Ian Pearson, Labour MP for Dudley South announced that the Maze site was the only viable proposal for Northern Ireland's new stadium.

Despite opposition from sports fans across Northern Ireland, from Belfast to Londonderry, to Bangor, to Drumahoe, the government have decided to land Northern Ireland with a stadium in the backend of nowhere, against the wishes of Northern Ireland football fans and Ulster Rugby fans. It's true the site is only a few miles form the City* of Lisburn, but as the Millenium Stadim and Lansdowne Road (remember the Bertie Bowl?) testify, to get any kind of decent atmosphere about a city on the day of a big game, the stadium must be located in the city centre. The arguments for this have been made ad nauseum and I won't go into them here.

I'd love to see the reports on the viability of the sites (if such reports even exist) just to compare and contrast how far the government went to investigate the potential for the other sites. We were always going to be told the Maze site was the only show in town. Unofficial sources have been saying this for months, now we know.

It would certainly seem plausible that Ian Pearson and his friend Angela Smith, have been lying from day one on this. Why is the Maze the only viable option? Was it really about the money? Did they genuinely try and overcome this? Or was the site selection simply about the career of a few jumped up Labour government ministers, attempting to make a name for themselves?

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Think about it.. who wouldn't love to have, in the middle of their CV, "Transformed former site of prison, representing decades of sectarian hatred and oppression into cross-community sports stadium encompassing 'Conflict Transformation Centre'"? It'll really be something to be proud of if/when it turns into Northern Ireland's very own Millenium Dome. But of course it won't matter by then, because Mr Pearson and his friends will be moved on to a much more important job than Northern Ireland secretary. Check out Ian Pearson's website and see if you can find one reference to Northern Ireland or his job there? The most senior man in Northern Ireland politics, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Paul Murphy has been ominously quiet on the issue. Perhaps he is also predicting the Maze site to be a big mistake.

I never had a problem with "Direct MisRule" before. It always seemed like it made more sense than paying 100 people £40k a year to argue with each other over flags and shit like that. Christ, I could do that for half that salary!! (In fact, once the elections gone I'll probably do it for nothing, right here on Everything Ulster!!)

But it's clear we need someone in government, making decisions for us, who actually know and care about Northern Ireland.

Realistically what this means we need people who can treat people with respect, despite their differing opinions. These people are not the dogmatic fanatical mopes in Sinn Fein, nor the religious dinosaurs in the DUP. So long as these 2 hold majorities, this country will move nowhere and decisions will continue to be made by people who have probably never been to Northern Ireland in their lives, and once they get a better job, will never be back.

This will not solve all our woes, for example we could still end up with Sinn Fein education ministers determined to destroy our education system in Northern Ireland due to their own bitterness at leaving school decades ago with no O-levels! But the Direct MisRule ministers are going to do that anyway sure, they've already fucked up the mainland's schools, why not drag Northern Ireland down with them?

I apologise if this article lacks direction but this sham of a decision has pissed me off no end.

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* - (I seriously cringe everytime I hear the term 'City' applied to Lisburn or Newry, especially in the damn cheesy shopping adverts where they emphasise CITY - STOP FUCKING PRETENDING! Its only with reluctance I accept it in reference to Armagh!)