Northern Irish Quotes & Sayings

Look at every territorial dispute you care to mention. Northern Ireland, for instance." "Religion in that case," Jamie ventured. "Not just. Religion was the badge of identity, but it wasn't really about whether you went to Mass or to a tub-thumping Protestant chapel. It was a result of the movement of people. The Protestant planters - many of them Scots - replaced the native Irish, remember? Movement of people again. — Alexander McCall Smith

His grandma burst into his mum's hospital room ahead of him with a terrible question on her face. But there was a nurse inside who answered immediately. "It's okay," she said. "You're in time. — Patrick Ness

I speak with a Northern Irish accent with a tinge of New York. My wife has a bit of a Boston accent; my oldest daughter talks with a Denver accent, and my youngest has a true blue Aussie accent. It's complicated. — Adrian McKinty

When humanity truly learns that it is far better to help and love than hurt and destroy each other ... then we will all live in a better world! — Timothy Pina

On the Northern Ireland question, for instance, the British and Irish governments prohibit media contact with members of the IRA, but we have always gone ahead, believing in the right to information. — Kate Adie

I've always been fascinated with Ireland, especially Northern Ireland, having lived in London in the '80s when there was an Irish republican bombing campaign there. — John Gordon Sinclair

The basic policy of the British Government was that since the majority of people in Northern Ireland wished to remain in the United Kingdom, that was that. We asked what would happen if the majority wanted something else, if the majority wanted to see Irish unity. — John Hume

As I told Piers Morgan, 'Catholics have confession, whereas Northern Irish Protestants only have interviews.' — James Nesbitt

Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor. — Stephen Sondheim

There is not a single injustice in Northern Ireland that is worth the loss of a single British soldier or a single Irish citizen either. — James Callaghan

He was a peculiar sight. Tears rolling down his face, shouting to drown the sound of the singing rabbit; he said he needed help, pointed to a chicken, handed over some money, grabbed his parcel and bolted out the door in panic.
Boys, thought the butcher.
Drugs, thought the woman.
Justin Case, thought Dorothea. — Meg Rosoff

One of my greatest sadnesses at the prospective break-up of the Union is that it will set English, Welsh and Northern Irish against Scots in a bitter division of the debts and resources of the whole of the U.K. — Rory Bremner

The whole 'American Idol' way of looking at things is the antithesis of what I grew up with. There are a whole lot of kids wanting to be famous now, whereas if I'd even mentioned that word to one of my teachers, I would have got into a whole load of trouble. — Harry Connick Jr.

I am repeatedly asked in interviews exactly 'what's wrong' with me, and I always give them the same answer; I don't identify the name of my condition in an interview unless it's relevant to the context of the story. — Stella Young

However, the outcome is inconsistent with the general principle that people should not be punished in the absence of culpability, since one who acts on the basis of a reasonable mistake of law lacks moral blameworthiness. — Joshua Dressler

After all, in both languages we were dealing in large measure not with English and French, but with Scots and Irish, Bretons and Normans ... There could be no more eloquent illustration of the colonial mind-set than a bunch of Celts and Vikings in a distant northern territory insulting each other as les Anglais and the French as if they were the descendants of the people who had subjected and ruined them. — John Ralston Saul

I've been a legitimate fan of Keith Urban's for a long time and have been to a bunch of his concerts. — Nick Fradiani

The market is now factoring in that first-quarter earnings will likely be below consensus. And the reality is that economic growth is probably going to be between 3.5 percent and 4 percent, which is good but maybe not as strong as what some people were hoping for. — Subodh Kumar

The discovery of God begins at understanding that He ought to exist, and ends at knowing how He could exist. — Kedar Joshi

I've had support from all sides, from people who call themselves Irish, from Northern Irish, to the whole of the UK, to people in America, and it would be terrible for me to segregate myself from one of those groups that support me so much. — Rory McIlroy

The reality of life in Northern Ireland is that if you were Protestant, you learned British history, and if you were Catholic, you learned Irish history in school. — James Nesbitt

If you are a Northern Irish actor, maybe subconsciously more than consciously, you do have an instinctive responsibility at some point to tackle the recent history of where we have come from. It's not only a responsibility, but a privilege. — James Nesbitt

I am a proud product of Irish golf and the Golfing Union of Ireland and am hugely honoured to have come from very rich Irish sporting roots ... I am also a proud Ulsterman who grew up in Northern Ireland. That is my background and always will be. — Rory McIlroy

You look disappointed to see me, Zach," Macey teased. "Don't you like my jacket? — Ally Carter

Much is said about English severity, but not a word about Irish provocation. — Robert Peel

Humanism is the affirmation of man as a free and responsible being. Nothing degrades man more than the proclamation of irresponsibility. Man is responsible, animals and things are not. — Alija Izetbegovic

My Dad has been a feminist, way before I learnt how to spell the word. — Shahla Khan

I still hold two truths with equal and fundamental certainty. One: the British did terrible things to the Irish. Two: the Irish, had they the power, would have done equally terrible things to the British. And so also for any other paired adversaries I can imagine. The difficulty is to hold on to both truths with equal intensity, not let either one negate the other, and know when to emphasize one without forgetting the other. Our humanity is probably lost and gained in the necessary tension between them both. I hope, by the way, that I do not sound anti-British. It is impossible not to admire a people who gave up India and held on to Northern Ireland. That shows a truly Celtic sense of humor. — John Dominic Crossan

I like heroes, and would like to be a hero myself. I suppose we all want that. — John Rhys-Davies

The exuberant exaggerations of the Irish sagas are not for the northern gods; Freyja, Thor, Loki have the robust common sense which the Vikings themselves admired hugely, — Hilda Roderick Ellis Davidson

We could debate whether movies reflect or create the reality. It's clear to me they do both. — Alex Tizon