Now that a few days have passed and a few facts have come to light, I thought I'd give a short reaction and perhaps stimulate a bit of debate as I'd like to hear the opinions of others on the whole affair (that's if you are not fed up already).

When I initially heard reports of the riots on Saturday I wasn't surprised. But I was shocked by their ferocity. Without knowing the facts, I immediately pointed the finger at Sinn Fein supporters. While there may have been some level of organisation from elements of Republican Sinn Fein, there is certainly no conclusive evidence to indicate that this was a highly-organised, well co-ordinated effort on their part. I read yesterday in one tabloid that "Sinn Fein were up to their necks in this". Where is the evidence?

I also read that many of the people involved in the rioting were known to Gardai and journalists. However last night both David Norris and another journalist from the Irish Times, who both witnessed the riots, said this was untrue. To date, none of the people arrested have had any links with Sinn Fein or other republican elements. Personal accounts I have heard from people who got caught up in the trouble reveal that the majority of crowd were young local thugs who know as much about a Republic as George Bush knows about renewable energy.

To call these bar stool, "ooh ahh up the RA" singing fascists republicans is an offence to decent minded folk of this country who genuinely seek a united Ireland through peaceful means. However, while these people may not be members of Sinn Fein, I believe these are the people who will help vote SF into a possible power-holding position after the next election. Surely this is worrying.

Overall, I feel utterly sickened by what occurred on Saturday. Destroying your own city and attacking its guardians to make some point to Ulster Unionists, then chanting "We Won, We Won" is utter mindlessness. We are a democratic society, one in which the right to free speech is paramount and where all cultures must be treated as equal. It is imperative that we uphold these beliefs and show these thugs that their actions were pointless. To do this, the Love Ulster march should be re-organised sooner rather than later.

Published by Padraig.