Ireland - Travel Alerts
Oct 4th, 2010, 10:00 PM
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Ireland - Travel Alerts
Also wondering about travel alerts for the area - our daughter is due to leave this Friday, Oct 8th for a 10 day tour, includes one day in Belfast, the remainder of the tour heads to southern Ireland. Can anyone please advise? All info is greatly appreciated.
Oct 4th, 2010, 11:23 PM
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There's no known current security risk in the Republic.
In Northern Ireland, the official MI5 risk rating for Irish-related terrorism ("severe": an attack is highly likely) is currently identical to its rating of mainland Britain for international terrorism.
<b> But that rating is highky misleading, and you really need to understand the psychology of NI's terrorist fringe</b>
The risk to an individual of injury through violence in NI is substantially lower, even during the highest risk levels, than the risk most people in more violent societies (practically every nation on earth has higher murder rates than NI) face every day.
Unless you're Japanese or Swedish, your daughter is almost certainly statistically safer in NI, even during a "severe" risk rating, than staying at home. And, even in NI, she's far more likely to be hurt by careless drivers than by bombers.
Unlike convenience store raiders, disturbed university students with a gun or boy racer drivers, NI terrorists have clear objectives. ALWAYS, that's either to attack known opponents, or to undermine the security system. Unlike Islamist terrorists, NI's psychopaths understand the damage to their cause of "innocent" deaths - and the damage to themselves since terrorists who mess up attacks and hurt bystanders get court-martialled and sometimes executed.
The result is a process everyone in NI understands perfectly. Bad guys plant a car bomb outside a police station, phone a warning (their execution is almost certain if they don't do so, in time), and the area's evacuated. The bomb goes off, windows get broken and another bunch of racketeers move in to make a fortune (out of my taxes) from the resultant repair contracts.
All four sides - Prod murderers, Catholic murders, ordinary decent citizens and the poor bloody heroes who police all this nonsense - know the system and what to do. Sometimes police or soldiers get hurt: sometimes the terrorist scum kill themselves through their incompetence - but for the neighbours, it's just another few hours of general disruption.
Try to keep your child away, and you really are increasing the danger she's exposed to (even on Sep 11, 2001, three quarters of all deaths in the US had nothing to do with Islamist terrorism). What's important is that she knows what to do. Don't go off by herself round the Catholic or Protestant heartlands: obey all security instructions totally and implicitly, and don't hang around photographing or emoting if there's a warning.
A terrorist attack IS more likely in NI over the next few weeks than in Connecticut (there was one a few hours ago). But the likelihood a attack will hurt a civilian is infinitely less than the near certainty the next car crash in your neighbourhood will injure someone. No-one was hurt in last night's, for example
In Northern Ireland, the official MI5 risk rating for Irish-related terrorism ("severe": an attack is highly likely) is currently identical to its rating of mainland Britain for international terrorism.
<b> But that rating is highky misleading, and you really need to understand the psychology of NI's terrorist fringe</b>
The risk to an individual of injury through violence in NI is substantially lower, even during the highest risk levels, than the risk most people in more violent societies (practically every nation on earth has higher murder rates than NI) face every day.
Unless you're Japanese or Swedish, your daughter is almost certainly statistically safer in NI, even during a "severe" risk rating, than staying at home. And, even in NI, she's far more likely to be hurt by careless drivers than by bombers.
Unlike convenience store raiders, disturbed university students with a gun or boy racer drivers, NI terrorists have clear objectives. ALWAYS, that's either to attack known opponents, or to undermine the security system. Unlike Islamist terrorists, NI's psychopaths understand the damage to their cause of "innocent" deaths - and the damage to themselves since terrorists who mess up attacks and hurt bystanders get court-martialled and sometimes executed.
The result is a process everyone in NI understands perfectly. Bad guys plant a car bomb outside a police station, phone a warning (their execution is almost certain if they don't do so, in time), and the area's evacuated. The bomb goes off, windows get broken and another bunch of racketeers move in to make a fortune (out of my taxes) from the resultant repair contracts.
All four sides - Prod murderers, Catholic murders, ordinary decent citizens and the poor bloody heroes who police all this nonsense - know the system and what to do. Sometimes police or soldiers get hurt: sometimes the terrorist scum kill themselves through their incompetence - but for the neighbours, it's just another few hours of general disruption.
Try to keep your child away, and you really are increasing the danger she's exposed to (even on Sep 11, 2001, three quarters of all deaths in the US had nothing to do with Islamist terrorism). What's important is that she knows what to do. Don't go off by herself round the Catholic or Protestant heartlands: obey all security instructions totally and implicitly, and don't hang around photographing or emoting if there's a warning.
A terrorist attack IS more likely in NI over the next few weeks than in Connecticut (there was one a few hours ago). But the likelihood a attack will hurt a civilian is infinitely less than the near certainty the next car crash in your neighbourhood will injure someone. No-one was hurt in last night's, for example
Oct 5th, 2010, 12:34 AM
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Flanneruk ~~ thanks for your above post. As a parent of a 20 yr old heading off solo, I can't help but be concerned. I received e-mails all day yesterday, warning that she should postpone. She needs to be smart, aware of her surroundings and stay with the group. If you can impart any other words of wisdom, bring em on!!! Thanks!
Oct 5th, 2010, 02:00 AM
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"If you can impart any other words of wisdom, bring em on!!! "
How many of those emails know anything at all about the security position in NI?
If they can't tell you how the statistical likelihood of suffering violence in NI compares with being in your native city, their advice is worse than worthless.
The people of Northern Ireland have been living through this nonsense for nearly half a century. They have unlimited rights to settle in mainland Britain or the Irish Republic (or almost anywhere else in Europe) if they want to.
Virtually none have. They live more safely than most other Europeans (or Americans, or...).
How many of those emails know anything at all about the security position in NI?
If they can't tell you how the statistical likelihood of suffering violence in NI compares with being in your native city, their advice is worse than worthless.
The people of Northern Ireland have been living through this nonsense for nearly half a century. They have unlimited rights to settle in mainland Britain or the Irish Republic (or almost anywhere else in Europe) if they want to.
Virtually none have. They live more safely than most other Europeans (or Americans, or...).
Oct 5th, 2010, 04:06 AM
#6
I was in coleraine a few weeks ago (just up from Londonderry, sorry Derry) flanner says it all. This is gangsterism, and unfortunatly still partially funded from the US.
Ireland right now is lovely and she should just enjoy.
Ireland right now is lovely and she should just enjoy.
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