My home County of Cork is also the biggest in Ireland. The distance by road from its most easterly to westerly point is the same as the distance between Dublin and Cork. It is a large and varied county with much to recommend it.

During the War of Independence, Cork figured strongly. The flying columns were groups of armed men engaged in hit ‘n run attacks on much larger Crown Forces. They were so effective that they made several areas of the county a no-go for the British army, which was no mean feat. Each County in Ireland has adapted a nick-name over time and Cork is also known as, “The Rebel County.”

Locally we joke and call it the Lone Star State, the Texas of Ireland but the Rebel moniker is the one most used. This assumes greater importance in GAA circles when counties play against each other and never more so than at All Ireland time. Kildare are known as the Lily-Whites, Galway are known as the Tribesmen and Kerry is known as the ‘Kingdom,” and so one. Corkonians will always be the Rebels.

The Confederate States of America were also known as the rebels and the Confederate flag was the rebel flag. The Cork colours are red and white so on match day, for a bit of variety, Cork supporters will utilize anything red and ‘rebel-ey’ to wave in support of their team. This naturally includes the Confederate flag for obvious reasons. I have even seen a texan flag in the crowd as well, however obscure you may think that is. It’s a harmless piece of nonsense that appears to make great sense in the madness of the craic on match day but because of Charlottesville this week, there’s calls to have that flag banned at Cork games.

Now personally, I believe that offense is something that is taken, not given. The picture in that article shows someone in the Cork crowd waving a Confederate flag because it is red, (Cork), and denotes a rebel, (Cork again). It does not denote support for fascist nazi thugs who may drive a car into a peaceful protest. It is not a sign of approval for Donald Trump nor evidence of a desire that America should split up. They are simply cheering on the Cork hurling team.

Should I really need to offer that clarification? What kind of fucking dope/s out there want to believe the worst of their fellow man? Why can they not see the tongue-in-cheek nature of the display? Why is every silly stupid little thing blown up into a major crisis? Indeed, have they fuck-all else to be worrying about.

UP THE REBELS!