Story here. I remember him primarily as one of Northern Ireland’s biggest hate mongers, but the article says he worked for unity toward the end.
Wow. I didn’t realize he worked for unity either. I only recall him as a bombastic hateful twit.
And this coming from a protestant who lived in Northern Ireland for three years back when the troubles were brewing.
“Unity” meaning what, exactly? That doesn’t remotely mean the same thing as working for peace. Both sides wanted unity, just different forms of unity, and that was the cause of the fighting.
Also, what does this have to do with Cafe Society?
Moved to Elections from Cafe Society.
One of the primary instigators of the Troubles. It’s a pity he didn’t die a long, long time ago.
There will be many a dry eye.
They don’t hold elections in whichever place he’s gone.
I shall mourn him as much as any other cromwellian MP; but, believe it or not, there were/are nastier Unionists than he; particularly way down the Shankill Road.
What has this to do with elections?
True, but this section is for all things political. in fact, I’ve thought the name of it should be changed from “Elections” to “Politics”.
I don’t doubt that but are there still any in parliament? Anyway, I’m an American so I’m not sure if my comparison is apt but Paisley always came across to me as the UK equivalent of southern race-baiting politicians like George Wallace, Strom Thurmond, and Jesse Helms. However, Paisley’s fear-and-hate-laden rhetoric made Wallace, Thurmond, and Helms seem like masters of subtlety. I won’t shed any tears for the old bigot and the fact he made it to 88 just reminds me of the Lewis Black line that the good die young “but pricks [seemingly] live forever.”
Well I am required by my anti-democracy religion to want all MPs to go bite the muzzle of a gun, if only for the impertinence of pretending they can represent others, but as they go, he was rather less vile than those Conservative MPs who last howled and hooted with laughter in the chamber at those people who attend food-banks. A new import, thanks to Tory handling of the economy.
And, as I’ve probably mentioned here before, I was informed by a serving soldier of the pastime of a gang of prottie Billy-Boys of holding a man down and dropping an engine block on his face.
Since, I have carefully avoided finding out what a car engine block looks like.
A bit of very foolish and pointless trivia – but it occurs to me that Paisley; and Queen Elizabeth II; and Fidel Castro; were all born in 1926 (well, there are suspicions of a slight bit of birth-certificate-fudging re Castro, but his official birth-year is '26; and if not so, it’s out by only a year). Talk about three extremely different prominent political figures…
Just why is this Proddy v. Papist thing even a thing, any more?
I don’t know how much it is a thing now in the north of Ireland/Six Counties/Northern Ireland/whatever, but people like Ian Paisley sure as hell did not make for peace, tolerance, unity, general good stuff, shared cake for all and fluffy bunnies, and good community feeling.
Hate-mongering bastard.
All the same, I am amused to learn today that, in addition to all the other humans he hated (Roman Catholics, gay people, etc., everyone not following his own home-made church, etc. he also hated line-dancing. Now, it’s not a thing I’ve ever felt moved to do, BUT I’d think it seemed harmless enough. Not to Ian Paisley, though.
But I thought line-dancing would actually have LESS in the way of terrible-very-bad-evil sexual touching than some other forms of dance, what with it being about dancing in a line? Oh well. :rolleyes:
If he had only been guilty of preaching hateful nonsense to his own mad church, and if they had all sat in church praying to their God and singing a few holy songs, then going quietly home for tea, he might had done less evil, but his political activites - and basically he was a terrorist leader - mean that he bears responsibility for much of the horrors of the cutely-named “Troubles” .
I hope, now that he is dead, he gets to meet God and finds that she’s female, gay, black and R.C. (or any religious group not of Paisley’s own making, obviously).
Yes, indeed. Buy shares in eye-drop company futures! 
Had the Republicans ( pIRA, oIRA, INLA etc. ) not been so poisonous, the protties could be universally blamed solely, and he especially. But they were all much of a muchness.
He was an easy-going hedonist compared to some of the Scottish calvinist traditions. By now the number of trotskyst split presbyterian communions is merely:
… the Church of Scotland, the Free Church of Scotland, the United Free Church of Scotland, the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing), the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, the Associated Presbyterian Church (Associated Presbyterian Churches), and the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland.
Wiki
The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, AKA The Wee Wee Frees, distinct from the more celebrated Wee Frees, is perhaps the most trad puritan.
Isle of Harris:
On this island, three churches hold sway: the Free Church of Scotland, known as the Wee Frees, the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, nicknamed the Wee Wee Frees, and the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing), which really should be dubbed the Wee Wee Wee Frees.
In the land of the Wee Frees, metrical psalms are sung in church without musical accompaniment, in services that last more than two hours - and you had better turn up in your best bib and tucker and prepare to be told you are a sinner.
When 226,000 people died in the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004, the Rev John MacLeod, a 74-year-old hellfire and brimstone Wee Wee Free, compared it to Noah’s flood and said the wave was sent to punish “pleasure seekers from all over the world” who broke the Sabbath.
On the day of holy rest, children should not play with toys, washing must not be hung out to dry in the wild Hebridean wind, newspapers and novels should not be read, and, of course, public transport must not be used.
In addition, there must be no running, singing, humming, whistling - or protesting.
I am always fond of American misconceptions of Scotland, or even Ireland, although there are only shamrocks and twinkling eyes and dancing maidens in the Irish version, if fewer kilts; to match thistles and tartans and whisky in the former.
All this stuff would have been mandatory for everyone under a permanent presbyterian dispensation. And so we used to kill them.
Note well: The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland is in no way connected officially theologically with Baron Bannside’s Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, founded by him in 1951 and from which he was expelled as moderator for laxity, following his becoming First Minister of Northern Ireland.
Going off at a bit of a trivial tangent re the late Rev. Mr. P.; but, I understand it to be a long-standing well-known thing that the more extreme end of the Presbyterian-church spectrum, is greatly opposed to any kind of dancing. As Celyn quotes: “a statement to be read to his congregation telling them ‘it clearly caters to the lust of the flesh.’ It continued: ‘The church regards the country and western style of dance, as as sinful as any other type of dancing, with its sexual gestures and touching’. “
This attitude can be seen as – for those holding it – consistent and, in their terms, making sense; however crazy it may be in most people’s view. To Paisley and those who see things his way, any sexual desire whatever toward anyone other than one’s lawfully-wedded spouse, is desperately sinful and wrong. Any situation of men and women dancing together, will inevitably do some stimulating of such sexual desire – however small and trivial and unimportant a degree of same, in most people’s eyes – plus, the notion of potential “opening the gate to worse sin”. The extremists in this particular Christian denomination, have made a big thing of this, for centuries. (Ancient Scottish joke: “Why are Calvinists opposed to copulation standing-up?” “Because it might lead to dancing.”)
Concerning dancing: other flavours of fervent fundamentalist Protestant Christian, are not merely tolerant of it, but strongly and vociferously pro-it. One feels disinclined to look for any overall sense in the whole business…
Simultaneous-posting-mess-up: Claverhouse, your post happened just to precede mine – I was unaware of it: sorry for any redundancy / repetition.
Being an uninformed yank, I’d heard the name, but had no idea who Ian Paisley was. Wikipedia mentioned his “superhuman lungs”, so I went looking for audio, found his sermon Fundamentalism vs. Apostasy and… ye gads, I’d thought only deep-thicket American gospel-shouters could carry on like that! That old boy would fit right in on any street corner in Pensacola.
There is something compelling about that kind of expository preaching. All nonsense of course, but the oratory performance itself can rise almost to an art form. Given my own upbringing in an atmosphere of strictest fundamentalism, I’ve seen some of the most accomplished. And this Paisley guy, regardless of his other er… attributes, ranks up there with the best of 'em 
One of Thatcher’s Lord Chancellors, Baron Mackay, was a Wee Wee Free, but they kicked him out after he went to a Catholic funeral of a judge.
Maybe some of the more knowledgeable among you can help in my Cafe Society Thread:
Fun fact! The illustrious list of Honorary Degree recipients from Bob Jones University includes:
[ul]
[li]Strom Thurmond, 1948[/li][li]George Wallace, 1964[/li][li]Ian Paisley, 1966[/li][li]Jess Helms, 1976[/li][/ul]