Northern Ireland Soccer Mob Beats Catholic Man to Death

My God, people - haven't we gotten past this???

From an AP story at Fox News:

Militant Protestant supporters of a Scottish soccer team beat to death a Roman Catholic man in the latest sign of how sports rivalries inspire sectarian bloodshed in Northern Ireland, police and politicians said Monday.

Witnesses said more than 20 Protestant supporters of Glasgow Rangers, many of them wearing the team's blue-and-white jerseys and scarves, drove into a Catholic district of the town of Coleraine after Rangers clinched the Scottish Premier League championship Sunday.

...Kevin McDaid, 49, was fatally bludgeoned while his wife, Evelyn, and a 46-year-old Catholic neighbor, Damien Fleming, were both injured. Fleming was reported in critical condition....

The victim is, of course, a fairly non-political model citizen and father. Police make usual calls for calm:

The officer leading the murder investigation, Detective Chief Inspector Frankie Taylor, appealed to the Catholic minority in the town not to retaliate.

Taylor said the dead man had four children, did volunteer youth work in the town, and had been encouraging local Catholics to cooperate with Northern Ireland's traditionally Protestant police. He described McDaid as "a man who would do anything for anybody."

Ever been to a bar where there was a sign that said "No Leather", or "No Colors"? Well, in Northern Ireland, it's a little different:

Both (Catholics and Protestants) like soccer — but rarely root for the same teams. In international competitions, Catholics back the Republic of Ireland soccer team, Protestants the Northern Ireland squad. Many Belfast pubs refuse to admit customers if they are wearing soccer jerseys or scarves, particularly the rival Glasgow colors, because of the likelihood it will spark a fight.

So, the next time the Red Sox win the pennant I guess I should go to a Yankee neighborhood and, I dunno, burn the garden gnomes or something. Maybe even put a Red Sox hat on the lawn jockeys. But attack a man because he probably supported the team that finished second place? How long until the "Real IRA" or some other such self-appointed guardians of Catholics find a Protestant father minding his own business and beat/stomp him to death?

Effin' heathens - the lot of them.