Rugby Union decides that Belfast isn't in Ireland

The Irish Rugby Football Union has decided that Belfast is not in Ireland. Here's how it happened. The Irish rugby team is drawn from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and they play as "Ireland." In Northern Ireland rugby is predominantly played by middle-class Protestants; in the Republic of Ireland it is predominantly played by middle-class people, whether Catholic or Protestant. It -- along with rowing and a few others -- is one of the few sports that is played on an all-island basis. Gaelic football and hurling is also an all-island game, but it's dominated by Catholics/nationalists. Soccer and athletics have two associations, one for the north and one for the south. The pigeon racers have a couple of federations, including one Republic of Ireland club that seceded and joined the British pigeon racing federation. But that's another story entirely. Back to the matter at hand. The Irish rugby team is a mixture of Catholic/nationalist and Protestant/unionists. To avoid offending anybody, the rugby union has a rule that when games are played "at home," the national anthem is played, but when they play abroad, "Ireland's Call" -- a non-political rugby anthem -- is played. For the past 50 years, all home international games were played in Dublin and the anthem of the Irish Republic -- Amhran na bhFiann -- was played. But for a variety of reasons, they are about to play an international game in Belfast and the rugby union has decided that "Ireland's Call" should be played. The DUP was upset and went on Newstalk 106 in Dublin to give their point of view in a polite and logical way. Personally I'm no particular fan of the DUP. Having said that, I would also never bother watching a rugby match. Ian Paisley Junior -- normally an abrasive character -- made his point, politely and logically on Newstalk. If the national anthem is played "at home" and if it's an Irish team, and if the national anthem in Belfast is God Save the Queen, then by golly, that's what should be played in Belfast. It's hard to argue with that, except with a good old traditional howl of "over my stiff cold Fenian corpse," which really doesn't promote healing and understanding on the island, even if it has a certain feel-good factor. Here's a rant along those lines from Chris Gaskin. After Ian Paisley junior had made his point, the interviewer sneeringly played God Save the Queen -- the Sex Pistols version. Which wasn't really very nice, now was it? Show a little class Newstalk!! But what I wonder is, where does the rugby union get off, designating Belfast as "abroad."