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The
Orange Order & The 12th of July
The 12th of July means a lot of different things to a lot of different people and in Northern Ireland one thing is for certain, seemingly everyone has an opinion, whether positive or negative, with regard to the 12th of July and the ‘celebrations’ that take place on this day. For some, predominantly members of the Protestant-Unionist-Loyalist community, the 12th conjures up images of colourful celebration and joy, for others, predominantly members of the Roman-Catholic-Nationalist community, the reverse is the case. The problem lies largely with the perception of the Orange Order by the media system and by the Roman-Catholic-Nationalist community. The ideological frameworks that people have imbibed structures perception; their beliefs are in many cases fronts for their own perceived sectional interests, representing the ideational structures of their civil society and the attempts of powerful total-institutions such as the Roman-Catholic Church to maintain hegemony. It should be said that some notable ‘Roman-Catholic’ scholars are able to, so to speak, step outside the structures of their upbringing and render a more accurate account of the Orange Order. Writers in this class would be the excellent work of Ruth Dudley Edwards who has contributed greatly towards a more accurate and unbiased account of the Orange Order and the 12th of July cultural celebrations. This short political article, within the confines set by such texts, will attempt to render an accurate account of the 12th of July and the Orange Orders role within society and in terms of the cultural events that take place on this day as well as hopefully clearing up a few misconceptions.
The Misconceptions
The Orange
Order is a Bigoted and Racist Organisation?
“During the past few years, as I researched this
book, I have met hundreds of members of the loyal institutions: the Apprentice
Boys, the Orange Order and the Royal Black Institution. I have never meet a
community so misrepresented and traduced…”
Ruth
Dudley Edwards, “The Faithful Tribe”
One of the usual slurs made against the Orange Order and
the other Loyal Institutions is that they are not only bigoted and sectarian but
also racist. The Orange Order is not a bigoted organisation although there is
undoubtedly a very small minority within the organisation who display bigoted
views and it is most certainly not a racist organisation in any shape or form.
On the question of the Orange Orders alleged sectarianism the Orange Order
defines itself, and indeed the ethos of the organisation is such, of a positive
promotion of the Protestant faith. The Orange Order is not anti-Roman Catholic
but pro-Protestant. Here is a quote from the ‘Qualifications of an
Orangeman’:
“He (members of the Orange Order) should love,
uphold, defend the Protestant religion, and sincerely desire to propagate its
doctrines and precepts…”
Thus we can see that what is expected of any potential
member of the Orange Order is not anti-Catholicism but pro-Protestantism to the
extent that the ‘doctrines’ and ‘precepts’ of Protestantism should be
propagated and defended against encroachment from the Roman-Catholic Church or
from indeed any other source. This of course does not clarify fully the issue of
how Orange Order members should seek to ‘uphold, defend’ Protestantism.
According to the ‘Qualification of an Orangeman’ it states:
“He should, by all lawful means, resist the
ascendancy of the of that Church (Roman- Catholic), its encroachments and the
extension of its power, ever abstaining from all uncharitable words, actions or
sentiment towards Roman Catholics…”
As the Orange Order is a democratic organisation as
opposed to authoritarian there is always the chance that an undesirable element
will get in but the procedures for vetting potential members allow for such an
eventuality and most such people are stopped from joining. At an organisational
level, and at a grass roots level, the Orange Order is not a sectarian, bigoted
organisation.
Another of the many ludicrous comparisons made my Irish-Nationalist propagandists, particularly those involves in the various Sinn Fein front organisations, known as Resident Committees, is that of the Orange Order with the Ku Klux Klan. For those who do not know, the Ku Klux Klan is an American white-supremacist organisation. This comparison is echoed by some “Leftist” organisations in the U.K and abroad who have Irish-Nationalist sympathies. The usual Irish-Nationalist propaganda will portray, visually in some cases, the Orange man or woman, as a white cloaked, white hooded Klan man wearing an Orange collarette or sash. This comparison is quite simply an absurdity and has no basis in truth whatsoever. The facts that clearly refute any such comparison are as follows:
The Orange Order has members of the ethnic minority community in other locations in the U.K. and abroad to varying degrees. It is therefore nothing less than slanderous propaganda to compare the Orange Order with racist organisations such as the Ku Klux Klan in America.
The Orange Order it has been
said was conceived out of violence and Irish-Nationalist propagandists are quick
to point this out and draw comparisons with any contemporary outbreaks of
violence that occur in our society, seeking to compare the Orange Order of
centuries ago with the organisation as it stands today in the 21st
century. That the Orange Order was conceived following violent confrontation is
indeed true but only tells part of the story, the full story being, the milieu
in which the Orange Order was conceived was a violent phase in Ulster/Irish
history and that on the other side of the sectarian divide were Roman-Catholic
associations and organisations that terrorised and murdered the Protestant
population of Ulster and Ireland. One of the most infamous examples of this is
the slaughter that took place along the banks of the river Bann in Portadown in
the year of 1641. In this one act of barbarity, that saw men, women and children
tortured and drowned, it is estimated that some 500 members of the Protestant
community lost their lives at the hand of Irish Catholicism-Nationalism. Another
horrific example of this is the mutilation of a schoolmaster by a sectarian
Catholic agrarian secret society called the Defenders. The schoolmaster was
called Alexander Barclay and he was attacked because the school was part of a
Protestant colony. His tongue was cut out, his fingers cut off, his
thirteen-year-old son received the same treatment and his wife was tortured to
death. It is against this historical backdrop of violence that the genesis of
the Orange Order should be placed in context.
“Years of fear and
uncertainty brought about the establishment in 1795 of the Orange Order. There
was revolution abroad, brutal sectarian violence at home…”
Ruth Dudley
Edwards, “The Faithful Tribe”
The Orange Sash was not worn;
contrary to the lyrics of the song, at the battle of the Boyne in 1690 because
the Orange Order did not come into being until 1795. One of the many historical
inaccuracies that surrounds the Orange Order is that the Order was founded after
a clash between the Protestant Peep o’ Day Boys and the Catholic-Nationalist
Defenders. The main founders were however members of the Volunteers who had
undertook the defence of their country due to the fact that the government was
broke because of economic depression and the fact that most soldiers had been
sent to America as part of the war of Independence. The Volunteers were,
however, disbanded as the government set up a militia the ranks of which were
predominantly filled by members of the Roman-Catholic community (ratio of 3:1)
and this in turn helped to propagate the growth of the sectarian organisation
known as the Defenders. The Defenders had through their contact with the United
Irishmen come to embrace revolutionary ideas but unlike the ideals of many
within the United Irish men they had come to hold a sectarian-Irish Nationalist.
millenarian philosophy. On the Protestant side, in response to this development,
Protestants attempted to set up an umbrella organisation in order to defend
Protestantism and the Crown. This organisation was known as the Orange Boys.
In September 1795 the catalyst
that would bring into being the Orange Order took place at a location known as
the Diamond, a crossroads near to the hamlet of Loughgall in Co. Armagh. A
quarrel developed between a Defender and a member of the Peep o’ Day boys
outside Dan Winters tavern. The Defender was badly beaten and couple of days
later the quarrel escalated with shots being fired between rival factions. On
the 18th on the month around 500 Defenders are thought to have
assembled for battle on the Annaghmore Hill whilst the Orange Boys assembled on
the hill opposite. A skirmish developed and a Defender was killed and members of
the local gentry brokered a truce, but the dispute flared up yet again with the
arrival of reinforcements from Co. Tyrone. On the 21st of the month
the decisive clash occurred when 300 Defenders attacked Dan Winters house only
to be driven back by determined resistance with some 40 Defenders killed and
only one Orange Boy killed. After this the Orange Boys repaired to a local inn
and decided to form an exclusively Protestant association in order to defend the
Protestant people from further sectarian attacks, the association became known
as the Orange Society.
The
12th Parades
The history of the Orange Order
is synonymous with parading and the first parade held by the Orange Order was
just 10 months after its inception on the 12th of July 1796 when it
held its first Boyne Commemoration Parade. As the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland
point out on the website: http://www.grandorange.org.uk/
this tradition is by no means unique to Northern Ireland Protestants:
“The Protestant community is not in any way unique
in that aspect. People the world over love to parade. There is a seemingly
endless list of parades throughout the world ranging from the Carnival in Rio
through Mardi Gras in New Orleans 4th July across the United States of America,
Bastille Day in France, St. Patrick's Day in Dublin and New York to the Lord
Mayor's Show in London”
The 12th of July is
truly spectacular and unique, with its banners, bands, music and colourful
displays. To many people in the Protestant working-class community the 12th
of July is a period of intense colour and festivity, a time when the world
around them seems a little less gray and bleak. This is particularly true of the
Protestant working-class community in parts of Belfast, particularly in areas
that suffer from social problems such as poverty, unemployment and economic
decline. The streets come alive for the 12th of July, flags are
erected on houses, on poles and colourful bunting adorns streets. For a time all
around is colour and people have a tendency to smile and even forget about other
troubles for a time.
The 12th of July
parade is not a triumphalist parade, it is not a parade in order to “rub
Catholic noses” in the fact that King William III defeated the Catholic King
James in a battle that transpired centuries ago. The 12th of July
means much more for the Protestant community and is a means by which the
community expresses its shared culture and heritage. Irish-Nationalist
propagandists like to portray the 12th in terms of being an
anachronism, a throwback to the past, and nothing more than triumphalist and
sectarian. The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland give the following succinct account
of what the 12th means in terms of cultural expression:
“They are a witness for our faith and this is
evidenced by parades to and from public worship.
Orange Parades are commemorative. Various events in the history of the
people are commemorated by parades that take different forms. These range from
the solemn remembrance of the fallen at the Somme to the cultural extravaganza
that is the 12th of July commemorating the Glorious Revolution secured at the
Battle of the Boyne. Those who glibly dismiss the Boyne Commemorations would do
well to think of the benefits that flowed from the Glorious Revolution.
The Bill of Rights of 1689, the Triennial Act of 1694 and The Freedom of the Press Act 1695 are, among others, surely worth commemorating…”
The 12th of July
means different things to different people but for the
Protestant-Unionist-Loyalist community the 12th is a positive feature
of society and so too is the Orange Order and the various other Loyal
Institutions. The 12th of July, and other Orange Order parades, serve
a means by which the Protestant community “witness our faith” and by which
remembrance is given to historical events and more importantly the rights and
benefits that were established by the Glorious Revolution.
The 12th of July parades are of course open to all to watch, regardless of their religious affiliation and in times more peaceful, before the onset of the present IRA campaign of genocide against the Protestant community it was common for members of the Roman-Catholic faith to watch the 12th parades in a peaceful dignified manner. It is still the case that some, a very small number of Roman-Catholics, do indeed watch the 12th and the field at the 12th parades has at times various stalls, some of which are run by members of the Roman-Catholic faith. The violence of the IRA has of course lead to many Roman-Catholics shying away from being seen at cultural events that are not in support of Irish-Nationalism, as has the orchestrated campaign of sectarian hatred against the Orange Order that has been pushed by various “concerned resident associations” that appear to be little more than a front for the most sectarian form of Irish Nationalism. It is to be hoped, but probably not expected, that the memories of that section of the Roman-Catholic community who are old enough to remember the time before the IRA launched its campaign of ethnic cleansing are able to recall and transmit to another generation a tolerance that will one day bloom, when Irish-Nationalism has the political maturity to accept and respect the right of the Protestant-Unionist-Loyalist people to exist as a people and with the political right to determine the constitutional future of their country as is their democratic entitlement, into a peaceful society in which the rights of all minorities are enshrined and upheld.