https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/al-assad-social-post-not-targeted-at-ulster-protestants-says-irish-academic/a81121579.html

An online post which compared Syria’s Al-Assad family to Co Fermanagh Presbyterians was not targeted at Ulster Protestants, its author has said.
The post, uploaded to X by DCU political science lecturer Eoin O’Malley on Sunday evening, reposted a photograph of the al-Assad family from another account.

Mr O’Malley added: “They look like a family of Presbyterians from Fermanagh”.

The post has been viewed more than 128,000 times.

It comes just days after the demise of Syria’s Assad government after 13 years of civil war sparked by president Bashar Assad’s violent crackdown on pro-democracy protestors following the Arab Spring.

A coalition of rebels seized control of the capital Damascus in a lightning offensive overnight on Sunday, 11 days after launching a major operation.

Mr Assad has been granted asylum by Russia, according to the Tass state news agency, where he met his British-born wife Asma and their children – who had already fled Syria.

Mr O’Malley's apparent comparison of the Al-Assad family with Co Fermanagh Presbyterians sparked a reaction from former NI First Minister and DUP leader Arlene Foster.

Mrs Foster reposted the content, tagging DCU and Mr O’Malley, adding: “Apparently this man is an academic. He likens Fermanagh Presbyterians to the family of Bashar Al-Assad. So much sectarianism in one short tweet. Shame on you.”

The post also prompted a reaction from former DUP Education Minister Peter Weir, who said it was “nasty and bigoted”.

"If you had any respect for anyone else you should remove the comment and apologise for it,” he added.

Defending the post online, Mr O’Malley said it was an “observation on how banal the Al-Assad family look” and disagreed with those claiming it was an “insult to Ulster Protestants”.

"My tweet is clearly an observation on how ordinary looking the al-Assad family appeared in the photo,” he told the Belfast Telegraph.

"It was not an attempt to compare the Assads' behaviour or outlook to anyone. The target of the observation was clearly the al-Assads, and not Ulster Protestants.

"Anyone who knows anything about me or my politics knows that I have nothing but sympathy for the victims of political violence, and so I find it odd that people suggest this is an attack on victims of violence.”

The demise of the Assad regime has been welcomed by PM Keir Starmer, who said it was long overdue.

The Syrian people have suffered under Assad’s barbaric regime for too long and we welcome his departure,” he said.

"Our focus is now on ensuring a political solution prevails, and peace and stability is restored.

"It’s very early days at the moment. We do need a political solution, and that’s what we are talking to regional allies about. It is a good thing that Assad has gone, a very good thing for the Syrian people.”

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner had earlier told broadcasters the Foreign Office “had a plan to ensure that people were evacuated ahead of what’s happened”, but did not reveal how many UK nationals had been helped.

by WrongdoerGold1683

31 comments

  2. Blatant sectarianism, but because it’s anti-protestant it’ll be forgotten in hours.

  3. Total nonsense from the Dublin academic, clearly Assad has more of a papish look about him, eyebrows are a dead give away…

  5. Can’t disagree with what yer man tweeted , they look dour and joyless. Like free presbyterians

    The men look like church elders and would chain swings up on Sundays, miserable

  6. Pure Tyrone jealousy as usual.

    O’Malley (mother was a McAleer from Tyrone) is only raging their Tyrone Presbyterians aren’t as good looking as our Fermanagh Presbyterians.

  9. Absolute disgrace. Clearly have a whiff of North Antrim about them.

  12. At least he’s comparing Presbyterians to other humans as opposed to Foster who saw no problem with comparing Catholics to crocodiles.

  13. It’s not like they could be Republicans, it’s a well-known fact that they are unable to grow mustaches.

  14. Haha I wanted to be offended by this until I seen the picture 😂 great comment by this Omally character

  15. That he defends it so further underlines his petty, but so deeply ingrained (that he doesn’t even know what it is) sectarian attitude.

    There’s no win for anyone Irish in this behaviour.

  16. Class, more sectarianism from the Ethno-nationalists of r/northernireland.

  17. They *do* look like a Conservative Presbyterian family – it’s a funny observation, it’s really not that deep.

  18. The surviving Assad (Bashir) who was just deposed has more of an Alexander the Meerkat meets Borat vibe tbh.

    The picture used by the telegraph must be over 25/30 years old though..

    The Assad patriarch Hefez died in the late 90s / millennium mark – 2 of his three sons are also long dead. Bassel in 1994, Majd sometime in the early 2000s (Both appear in the portrait) That and the bad 80s fashion dates the picture from late 80s to very early 90s.

    Edit. The portrait appears to be from 1992/1993.

    Going by various snippets of footage and pictures of that time. Everyone over 30 in the early 90s looked like they were stuck in an 80s hangover until at least the mid 90s (Bad perms, bad dye jobs, bad Tom Selleck moustaches, crap boxy clothing designed to exaggerate shoulders, ugly loud or brash colours or polkadot / Paisley prints etc)..

    Conversely. It probably wouldn’t be difficult to find pictures of figures in either local or national Irish government in 92/93 who looked similarly poe faced with perms, moustaches and overly starched boxy 80s outfits…

    Weird comment considering.

  19. the old boy in the photo is called Sammy and is saying ‘them feenyunz gets everything’ under his breath. Ask the rest are 1980s UDR reservists

  21. Thought* exercise. How much fun and laughter would there be if a Protestant / unionist posted a picture of a family of mass murderers and said they looked like typical NI Catholics ? (Any reply including the words ‘but we have a sense of humour’ is instantly disqualified, on the evidential basis of the tsunami of moaning which accompanies every vaguely political post on this sub.)

    *difficult for many on here, I know.

  22. This is the same level of humour of saying curry my can coca cola.

  23. Is he aware that Alawites do Mass? Full-on transubstantiated Mass with holy corpse and divine blood all over the place.

  25. Aw ye gotta love the DUP crying sectarianism when it’s literally the petrol that keeps them running. And the irony is lost on them too. BALLOONS!

  27. This might be the most manufactured outrage I have ever seen. There is literally nothing sectarian about that post. An appalling attempted at low grade manufactured consent.

  28. If big Arlene had said that they look like your average Fermanagh Catholic family I think the responses would be very different here

  31. Classic r/NorthernIreland post with the casual prod bashing , followed by the “awk it’s just a joke” and the random pick me protestant ” I’m a prod and this is funny” nonsense. The sectarian rhetoric against one side on this sub is just blatantly obvious now.

Comments are closed.