Sam McBride: The guns are now silent, but entrenched hatreds persist in Northern Ireland

Posted on June 23, 2024 by angelo

Sam McBride: The guns are now silent, but entrenched hatreds persist in Northern Ireland

I desperately hope that my children will grow up in a peaceful Northern Ireland and that the Troubles will never return.

A fortnight ago I was on my way to play football at a leisure center in Belfast where I have played for 15 years when something happened that I had never experienced before.

Three young boys, no more than 10 years old, started chanting at me: “Up the Ra”. After some initial bewilderment, I quickly realized it was because I was wearing an old English cricket top.