WHAT A DIFFERENCE 2 WEEKS MAKES!

 

Last year was a hard slog for Bohs fans in general – and even moreso for me, owing to me being born, reared and still living a stones throw from Tallaght Stadium.
I first started supporting Bohs since 1996 and at that point the 1992 FAI Cup Final was the only
notable success in a period stretching back over a decade.

Having got to know many  long term fans in that period, the pain felt by those who as nippers witnessed the 1978 League title was truly evident.
So when we finally won the league in 2001, it was they I was most happy for.

The club has in many ways come on leaps and bounds since that time.
To think that in the 2001 season we were top of the league, but still struggled to get 1000 into Dalymount to see Bohs play UCD.
The only Full Houses we had were the games against Shamrock Rovers and Shelbourne.

In tandem with full houses week in week out in Dalymount and a burgeoning youth setup, the expectations of fans are now higher than ever.
Last season was agonising beyond compare, as match after match, we dominated games, only to be singularly incapable of getting the ball into the opposition box, while letting is goals at the other end, softer than an Ice Cream served in 40c heat.
How we gnashed our teeth over and over as a ball flashed across the 6 yard box, begging to simply tapped in; followed by “Georgie Kelly/ Afolabi would have scored that!”
Last season over 36 games, we avoided the possibility of relegation by a mere 8 points.
I would remark to others “ we are awful, but lucky for us Dundalk and Drogheda are worse”
We’d dropped a hell of a lot from the heady days of 2008 where we win the league by a whopping 19 points.

With two weeks to Kick Off I was in conversation with a number of fellow friends I am good friends  Leinster Senior Cup and the wailing despair in our collective voices, was raised to a Peig Sayers-like crescendo.
The glacial pace of our transfer dealings had us predicting a mauling by Shamrock Rovers in our first game and another battle against relegation
As I and small band of away supports watched the Gypsies beat UCD action in Belfield, thee match was a mere blur in large part, as I war cabineted with others.
  We sounded the alarm as we mulled over the deficiencies in the squad  and fretted over further likely long trips back from Sligo made even longer, by another dispiriting performance.
The 1-0 loss in this competition against North End United only heightened this concern,

Well what a difference 3 weeks can make!

From that game in Wexford Town on January 18^th to now, Bohs fans were behaving like an audience member on the Oprah Show who just found out they were getting a week long Caribbean Cruise and $5000 spending money.
The club very much kept the best to last;
Like the person who knows what dress they will buy for the wedding, but who waits til everyone else in their circle buys their frock, before buying theirs.
It's like the club had the various players we signed firmly on the radar, but waited until our rivals had exhausted their transfer budgets, before finally swooping, guarentted no one would be snatched from under our noses.
We now had players of guaranteed polished quality in areas that previously were emptier than Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard.
When rumours began circulating that we were in the frame to possibly sign Lys Mousset, we immediately rubbished it.
Bohs might sign him (albeit aged 38 and close to retirement) on the computer game Football Manager, but certainly not in the Real World.
Every Close season someone would come onto the Bohs fans Facebook page swearing blind that
“Me Aunties Hairdressers’s next door neighbour is Alan Reynolds Sister and she swears we’re going to be signing “x” ( a  Republic of Ireland capped player) on Friday”
It never comes to anything and from outset people know it’s nonsense.

Once we did  a quick Google Search of Lys Mousset we instantly placed him firmly in that category and rubbished the rumours outright.
“Sure there are a myriad of top flight clubs in Central Europe or the English Championship, mired in a relegation battle who would sing him in a heartbeat” we thought.

So when it was announced we had a signed a player who was once so highly rated, (he scored 5 times in 8 appearance for France Under 21’s) we had to keep telling ourselves it’s not a dream as we scoured Google to find as many media article about his supposed signings, to convince ourselves it truly was true – it’s like a Hurricane instantly  giving way to sunny very calm waters.

John Mountey, Colm Whelan and Connor Parsons are also fantastic signings,

I personally stick my hands fully up and admit that I thought we would lose in The Aviva.
I thought we would give them a game of it, but thought that our team having the number of brand new singings still to properly find their feet, would find a Rovers team that had played loads of games up to now and should be well gelled and in sync -too much of a hill to climb.

Listening to the cockiness of the Rovers fans aboard the 77A bus we got from Tallaght to Ringsend Road and the stuff they said about us, had me burning to reply, but I saw better and bit my lip hard.

So I walked up South Lotts Road very much in deflated hope, albeit nowhere near as deflated as it was that day on the Tuesday, in the UCD Bowl.
While Rovers having a crisis up front, with some strikers injured, they still had a few players who could smack the back of the net from 20  yards out.

The first five minutes, Shamrock Rovers were all over us and I had a heavy lump in my throat.
However when the clock on the big screen arrived at 15 minutes, it was clear our boys had collectively had their shoelaces tightly tied and were purring like a well oiled machine,
Unlike the 3 little pigs, our house was made of very string stuff.
They kept seeking to knock at out door, but breach James Talbots goal, they could not.

To say I arrived in Dreamland on 25 minutes, would be the understatement of the century.
Within 90 seconds I was so hoarse I sounded like Louis Armstrong, so much screaming and dancing on the spot did I.
I had to keep looking at the scoreboard to remind myself we were actually winning,

In the Second Half it seemed as though we were playing for the 1-0 win and I oft found myself roaring in anger, as Rovers launched another salvo at our box.
“COME ON BOHS, GIVE US  A SECOND, GIVE US AN INSURANCE POLICY” I’d roar.

A few times the Hoops came close to scoring, watching the highlights when I got home, and seeing the reactions of their fans behind our goal, gave me a true appreciation of the Spartan warrior defence mounted by Cornwall, Mountney and Co.

The crazy celebrations that erupted on 96 minutes was a mixture of joy and disbelief.
We were  not entirely sure how we won the match, but we rejoiced in the fact that we did.

I’m 29 years supporting Da Boez and games against Shamrock Rovers will always leave me feeling like I did when I did The Leaving, on the days before it.
We had a great victory in The Aviva and by 22.00 next Friday, we will know if we can still try dare to dream, or are brought once more back to reality with a hard bump.

Here's hoping 17 months from now we will be hurriedly booking a Wizz Air flight from Budapest to Yerevan, as we hope we’ll get off the Ryanair flight from Dublin to Budapest in time to make the second flight as a cry of “ No one  likes us we don’t care” Ringing round Ferenc

NEWSFLASH: GENDER CRITICAL FOLK CAN BE SOCIALIST TOO

 

Hi all.
The vast majority of people who are reading this blog will know this already, but for those who do not - I am very passionate about my support for Women's Rights aka I'm Gender Critical.

I have not fallen for fairytale Gender woo-woo, I simply buy into straightforward facts:
There are only two Sexes - Male and Female
It is impossible for a person to change Sex - a Man cannot become a woman and a Woman cannot become a Man.
Yes, in some countries a Male born person can have it said on some documents that they are now Female;  But let's call a spade a spade here.
A person physically cannot change Sex, it is  simply impossible.
So some countries legally allowing Male born persons to change their designation to Female on some documents, would be akin to Belgium allowing Mr. Penguin - of Eurotrash fame -to state on their Passport, that they are a Penguin.

I am also a Marxist-Socialist, in that I believe the state should run things in the public intereest on a not for profit basis, be it building houses, Healthcare, college education free at the point of delivery and providing transportation services etc.

Last week a group of people living on the island of Ireland joined together in Belfast for an event headlined by prominent UK Campaigner Kellie Jay Keen aka Poise Parker.
I was unable to attend the event for personal reasons but I expressed by full solidarity online with those who did make it.
Suddenly I had people claiming that I was of the Far Right and others saying they were sad to see that I had aligned myself with the Far Right etc.
Why did they start saying this stuff?  The reason was because, out of the few hundred persons who had attended the Standing for Women event, at most a handful, were in fact Far Right agitators.
Any notion that I in anyway had any grá for members of the Far Right, is preposterous in the extreme.

Yes of course, it would be nice of a Fortune Teller was able to hand me a list of all those who were to attend an event, in advance of it happening, but that is never going to happen.
I have been on large scale marches on issues such as opposition to Water Charges, opposition to the Property Tax, against Austerity and more resent protests to do with housing.
Given the massive turnouts at these protests there were persons from all walks of life at them.
 This included people who would be regarded as being involved in Far Right activism.
Also on these protests were TD's and councillors from Far-Left parties.
Now using the yardstick, folks (involved in the same political parties as these elected representatives) used last Sunday, during and after the Belfast Standing for Women event; These Politicians are now Far-right sympathisers too.
 

Let's take the current issue of the housing crisis in the Republic of Ireland (I have recently become aware of there being a severe housing crisis in the UK too)

I thank the politicians in the Solidarity-People Before Profit party for the work they are doing, both in highlighting the homeless crisis in this country, while also trying to help those sadly living with no roof over their head.
As I have said, there have been recent protests held across Ireland on the housing issue.
This issue is of vital importance to many people, just as the issue of Women's safety while using public spaces, is important to many people too.
Should the Left Wing TD's and Councillors refrain from attending such protests because of the possibility that a tiny number of those present might be of a Far-right persuasion?
In my view; absolutely not.
I welcome the Left Wing TD's and Councillors attendance at these protests. The issue is far too important and urgent, that they should not turn up because a tiny number of Far Right elements sought (and as always, failed) to hijack the event for their own Neanderthal motivations.

I was recently reading a # thread on Twitter of people claiming that J.K. Rowling was Transphobic and/or in league with the Far Right.
However one - not one - of these Tweeters, when I asked them for proof to back up their allegations, could provide any.
As per usual, quite a few of them tried to put a false slant on my motivations for asking, before Blocking me.
Recap:  They made an allegation about someone.
All I did was ask them to back up this allegation with proof; no more no less.
The way some of the Trans Rights Activism side try to blindly place pins on imaginary Donkeys is something to behold.
 This analogy I'm going to use, might seem very far-fetched to you, but believe you me it. sadly, sums up where we are:

Imagine you go on Holiday and you visit a lovely Restaurant and the food and the service were excellent
You decide to ask the Waiter to get into a photo with you  and your companions and you put the photo online praising the food, the service from the Waiter and recommending that people visit said Restaurant.
Now fast forward a couple of months atfer your meal and what ops up online?  A video of this same waiter speaking at a Far Right Rally, saying things you never in a million years would agree with.
My money would be on somebody doing a collage of your  Restaurant photo and the video and declaring that this proves without doubt, that you have an affinity with the Far Right.
Honest to god folks, this is the level of imaginary straw clutching we have now reached.

Let me be abundantly clear:

I and 98% of the persons I have come across who declare themselves to be Gender Critical genuinely do recognise and respect a person's Right to live as Trans.
We have no problem saying Trans-women are Trans-women or that Trans-men are Trans-men.
But we will never go along with the falsehood of Male born persons becoming Women or Female born persons becoming men.
A Woman is an Adult Human Female, a Man is an Adult Human Male.

 

We recognise and respect a persons' Right to identify and live as Trans
Be it a Male born person as a Trans-woman or a Female born person as a Trans-man.
We simply oppose Male born persons - regardless of how they identify these days - or whatever, from entering Female single sex spaces (ladies toilets changing rooms  etc in a venue) and Female sports.

The vast majority of people I know who declare themselves to be Gender Critical are Left-Wing.
About 20% would be either Right wing or centrist on economic issues

The 80% of us Left Gender Critical folk believe the state should house ALL people who are in need of a house, be they Straight, Bisexual Gay/Lesbian or Trans.
98% of us, be it Left/Centre/Right Wing, genuinely welcome the fact that Transpersons continue to enjoy the same rights as you or I.
We wish it to remain that way.
 Just to further show how disparate people can be on issues; I have seen Trans-women on Twitter who are completely and utterly opposed to abortion and I have seen Trans-women who have been very active in their support for the Right to choose.
Same goes for Gender Critical persons.

I have read my Tweets from people on one side of the fence, saying they wish people would stop discussing the issue of Trans versus Women's Rights.
Another NEWSFLASH: If Male born persons would just stop trying to access Female single sex spaces and sports, 95% of the chatter would stop.

In the vast, vast majority of cases, when I head to a protest, I simply do not know how many people will turn up, or where most of them will have come from.
Some issues will have a very broad universal appeal.
Such as Women's Rights, or s the Poll Tax did in the UK in the 80's and the Water Charges issue did in Ireland, both North and South in the more recent past.
There were Far right people in northern Ireland who declared their opposition to Water Charges at the time of the mass struggle opposing them.
Did I for one nano-second think that this meant the left-wing groups at the forefront of the water Charges battle in the Six Counties where in anyway now aligned with the Far-Right?  No.

It is obvious the pink haired nose ring brigade can't bare to acknowledge our existence, but sorry to disappoint ye: Us Left Wing Gender Crits are very much here to stay!

 

WOMEN'S SPACE IRELAND EVENT IN DUBLIN:

 

Saturday November 11th 2022, witnessed an eclectic gathering of Women and their Male supporters, who came together to voice their opposition to efforts to undermine the status of and protections afforded to, Women in Ireland.

I was one of the attendees at this sold out event.
As well as gaining a lot from the various inspirational speakers, I was also delighted to hear of the great plans to further spread our message and fight back against the repressive ideology.

As the event continued apace, I took synopsised notes, detailing the various issues the speakers raised.

Here is my synopsis:

(N.B. due to the need to answer the call of nature etc I missed the chance to note a small bit of the speeches etc)

1ST SPEAKER ISEULT WHITE:

Iseult began her speech by firmly making it clear that she thought hate crime is awful.
It is awful for people to be targeted simply because they come from a particular country or are targeted due to their skin colour etc.
Also spoke of the hate she has personally received due to being Lesbian.
Only 7% of Hate Crime reports to the police are fully dealt with.
The  percentage of prosecutions is declining, while the number of reported alleged incidents is increasing.   
True hate crime incidents are going unpunished, while vexatious allegations are initially given credence by the powers that be; before being dropped.
She has serious concerns regarding the proposed Hate Speech laws in Ireland.
Many of the Heads of the Bill are very vague and the law could be very open to trget Women who speak up for their Rights.
Ironically; in the drive to supposedly being about a more diverse society, they are seeking to seriously clamp down on the diverse strands of speech and thought.
Iseult also spoke about the backlash the IRFU received when it announced moves designed to protect Females who play Rugby.
Regarding the planned Hate Crime law it is contradictory to say the least,
While it appears it -  thankfully - clearly defines a persons' Sex; when it comes to the area of Gender , it is a case f "Whatever you are having yourself".

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SPEAKER 2: CHRISTINA ELLINGTON:

Christina has appeared on court on Norway for merely saying "a Man cannot be a Woman, a Mother or a Lesbian"
Technically - under Norwegian Law - she could face 3 years in jail.
She was warned by Police that she was being investigated for "Hate Speech" under the Gender Identity Provisions of Norway's Hate Speech Law.
A Male born person who claims they are a Lesbian Mother and has a big hob with a leading Norwegian Trans Rights organisation, is the person who reported her to the Police.
She has now been interviewed by the Police for 9 hours in total, as they still deliberate over wheter or not she should be charged or not.
Remember - This is all because Christina simply and matter of factly stated that a Man cannot be a Woman, a Lesbian or a Mother!
Also remarked that a Male born person who claimed they were identifying and acting like a Woman because they supported Women's Rights; was akin to a person adopting Black Face and saying it was because they were Anti- Racist.

__________________________________________________________________________________

SPEAKER 3: ANYA PALMER:

Barrister Any Palmer spoke next and concentrated her speech on the legalistic ends of things.
She started off by listing the various changes in UK  Law to do with Women's Rights and Gender issues, since the 1970's.
Holding a Belief is absolutely protected in UK law but speaking about your beliefs does not.
It is qualified - a White Lie (E.G. saying to someone over the phone that your boss is not at his desk when they are) is not an issue - telling an egregious Lie is.
Anya then spoke about the machinations of the Forstater Case - of which she was one of the legal Representatives fighting on her behalf - and why it was that they won it.
EU Laws were a cornerstone in this case.

________________________________________________________________________________

 

SPEAKER 4: COLLETTE COLFER:

Collette began by telling those assembled about the time she stood up at an Open Mic Poetry Night and recited a poem she had written, about Women.
It resulted in other writers demanding the event refrain from allowing such persons to speak in the future.
When a lecturer colleague at the institution she works at recited her poem to his students, some students complained the campus authorities.
Collette remarked as to how speaking out against Gender Identity is now seen as the modern day equivalent of Blasphemy.
Saying a Man cannot be a Woman is now akin to Blasphemy.
 She then reminded us how back in the day the Witch Trials, persecution of Jews etc of the Middle Ages also had enjoyed widespread support.

______________________________________________________________________________

SPEAKER 5: HELEN JOYCE: 
Gender Ideology truly began seeping into the UK Education system about ten years ago.
We are now seeing the consequences of this, in the rising numbers of Girls and Boys who prior to 'coming out' had no issues of note -  now  identifying as Non-Binary or Trans.
A lot of lobby groups such as Stonewall and Gendered Intelligence etc, have been going into schools to promote Gender Ideology.
They are telling very young kids in schools that Doctors merely GUESSED what they were at Birth and that you cannot really tell if you are a Boy or a Girl until you are older.
Trying to diminish the importance of the issue that is ones' Sex and trying to make the only thing that matter is Gender - is another thing these groups say.
Helen spoke about the importance of Parents finding out what their childs' school is teaching them - if at all - with regards the area of Sex and Gender.

___________________________________________________________________________

SPEAKER 6: Professor Anne Lodge:

As well as being an instructor to educators, Anne is also a Church of Ireland Priest.
She spoke about the democratic  debates that are regularly  held at  church meetings and how it has steeled her in her determination to stand up and be counted on Gender Critical issues.
Anne then spoke of her concern that Gender Identity issues have been placed higher up a school's priority list than say the well being of disadvantaged pupils, or needs of students with a disability.
Also noted how a lot of school in Ireland, while being state funded are NOT state owned.
There are a lots of bodies with the status of "Educational partners", including Parents representative groups, organisations representing Teachers etc.
Various lobby groups dealing with Gender Ideology, have spent a lot of money and time trying to worm their way into schools.
 The NCCA and the INTO seem to have  very much fallen under their spell.
Some of these lobby groups are actively trying to encourage schools to NOT tell parents if thy find out a Pupil is seeking to Transition etc.
Like Helen,  Anne spoke about the importance of Parents checking out what their Childs school is doing - if anything - in relation to Sex and Gender issues.

____________________________________________________________________________

SPEAKER 7:  DOCTOR MADELAINE NI DHAILÍGH - GP FROM GALWAY
Madelaine was previously  a Medical Officer in Castlerea Prison.
This has given her a greater insight into the grave dangers Women Prisoner in Ireland face,due to the State housing violent Male prisoners in Women's jails.
Many Women who end up in Jail had experience of being sexually abused, by a Male or Males,  in the past.
She then spoke about how 238 Boys and Girls from Ireland, were referred to the Tavistock Clinic in London.
Many clinicians who sounded the alarm over the actions of the Tavistock; were mightily relieved when Doctor Peter Cass took note of their concerns.
Doctor Ni Dhailigh also echoed the need for the state to provider far greater supports, so that persons with Gender Dysphoria etc, can get vital help in a timely manner.

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SPEAKER 8: STELLA O MALLEY:

The decision of the National service in Loughlinstown Hospital  -from it's inception - to NOT follow the WPATH Guidelines - due to their dodgy advice,  needs to be applauded.
The dangerous advice given to Teens with issues E.G. Breast Binders are good for you,  yes you were born a boy but really you DO want to be a girl - is deeply troubling.
We really need to keep pushing back against the advice being peddled by various Gender Identity groups.
Stella then briefly touched on the issues around Anorexia and Bulimia and how and why issues that were once extraordinarily rare, had become common enough occurrences.
She referenced panic of schools and GP  Practices at the time, when the upward spike in Anorexia and Bulimia cases started -  many really hadn't a clue what to do.
The same scenario is now playing out with regards Pupils saying they are Non-Binary or Trans etc.
And just like Anorexia and Bulimia, it is becoming more bedded into society and is here to stay.
The Pile on's that are initiated online and elsewhere if people dare to espouse a differing view to the common consensus has made it harder for people to raise genuine concerns regarding the whole Gender debate,
Stella then told those assembled abut ho the Director of the programme on Gender issues that she made for Channel  4, has also made documentaries in various war zones over the years.  
He has told her that getting both sides of a war to talk face to face about the conflict was a lot easier than trying to get two opposing sides to debate the Gender vs Women's Rights issue.
She then spoke a bit about the Tavistock.
Many Trans Rights activists allege there has been a high suicide rate amongst the Trans population, that preventing Male born persons from accessing Female single sex spaces etc, will lead to many committing suicide etc.
However from 2010-2020 of the around 15,00 people who were seen by the Tavistok or were on a Waiting List to be seen, the number if persons who actually (sadly) took their own life was 4.
Stella spoke about  how each and every incidence of a person taking their own life was devastating and her heart went out to the family and friends of these people.
However the figures from the Tavistock are completely at odds with the mantra of various Trans Rights lobby groups. 

 

Written by Seán Heffernan