Did you wake up Saturday morning worrying about how the UK Orange Order was coping with the prospect of an independent Scotland?
No, neither did I but RTE insisted on informing us that a UK Orange Order parade was taking place in Edinburgh in support of the NO vote.
How many Irish citizens even know, or care, that a UK Orange Order exists?
It’s all part of RTEs chronic obsession with all things Northern Ireland.
When Paisley died Friday morning, RTE went into meltdown. Even though they’ve been preparing for his death for years they still panicked.
At 1250, regular transmissions on radio one were suspended. They simply couldn’t wait another ten minutes for the scheduled news broadcast.
It’s been pretty much RTE Paisley radio since then.
The entire One O’Clock news, Liveline, Drivetime. Six One News, Nine News – all effectively dedications in honour of a man whose greatest talent was his ability to fill others with such hatred that they willingly went out and brutally murdered fellow humans in the name of his particular god and country.
The RTE Paisley show continued on the Marian Finucane Show Saturday morning with at least one scheduled item cancelled in order to tell the nation, yet again, what a great man the bigot was.
No prizes will be awarded for guessing the content of RTEs This Week programme later today.
So what about Paisley’s home country, how did the UK media react to his passing?
Channel 4: No mention whatsoever in the headlines. May have been mentioned later but clearly the event was not seen as earthshaking.
ITV: Paisley’s death was the third item on the evening news.
BBC 4: His death was the fourth, and last, item on the headlines.
I believe Paisley was the real reason that peace came about and why it pertains. The Order did not respect him in the end.
He did us all a power of good.
Blessed are the peacemakers.