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Drumcree

Drumcree

Drumcree Church is the parish church of Drumcree, a rural Church of Ireland parish to the north of Portadown in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. In recent times it has become noted for the Orange Order service held annually on the Sunday before 12 July. The service, or more precisely the Orangemen's march both to and from the service, has been the catalyst for sectarian unrest between the Protestant marchers and the Catholic residents of the area. The present church, known as The Church of the Ascension, was consecrated by the Bishop of Down and Dromore and Connor, Robert Brent Knox, on 28 October 1856. Its foundation stone was laid on 17 May 1855, which in that year was Ascension Day.

History of the site

Drumcree means "Ridge of the Branch", referring to a branchy tree. The site has been used for christian worship since the time of the celts. The Irish Church parish of Drumcree was formed in 1110 and had sixty-six townlands lying to the west of the River Bann. In 1172, following the Synod of Cashel, Drumcree parish, together with the rest of the Irish Church, was subsumed by the Church of Rome. Historical records list the first vicar as David Macralagen. He died in 1414. The parish remained a catholic entity until the Reformation in the mid 1500s. It is unclear what happpended to the church during the time of the Reformation, but a map of 1609 shows the church in ruins within the churchyard. Following the Ulster Plantation in 1610 a new church was built. This was described as "a plain stone building rough cast and whitewashed". In 1812 a tower was built and in 1814 a church bell was installed. In 1826 the rector, Charles Alexander, had a new rectory built. Almost thirty years later, in 1854, it was decided to build a new church. The church so built is the one that stands today and is now the oldest church in Portadown. It occupies a position roughly the same as the former church.

History of the present church

The Church of Ireland was disestablished in 1871 and as a result Drumcree lost most of its land, known as the Glebe Land. In 1901 a new burial ground was established on the north side of the church. In the following year the Parochial Hall was built. A pipe organ was installed in the church in 1907 and a memorial to the Great War was built in 1921. A further burial ground known as the Terrace Burial Ground was created on the east side of the church in 1922. In more recent times a war memorial to commemorate those lost in World War II was erected in 1989. Then in 1992 major renovation work was carried out to repair the fabric of the building.

Drumcree and the Orange Order

The Orange Order was founded in Portadown in 1795. The first Orange service to be held in Drumcree Church took place in 1807. At that time there was no parish church in the centre of Portadown and Drumcree was the nearest. Traditionally the Orangemen parade from the centre of Portadown, returning after the church service. The service and accompanying marches are held to celebrate the Protestant victories of the Williamite war in Ireland, in particular, the Battle of the Boyne. In Northern Ireland Battle of the Boyne Day is held on 12 July so the celebrations centred on Drumcree are held on the previous Sunday. The original route of the procession from Portadown centre to Drumcree went via Cocrain Way. The Orangemen returned via Obins Street, close to a catholic area in Portadown. This tradition continued until 1985 when successful lobbying by the catholic community forced subsequent marches to be re-routed via the Garvaghy Road. However, the housing estates developed along the Garvaghy Road during the early 1970s are now predominantly occupied by Catholic families. This situation caused further sectarian conflict during the Orangemen's march. The inter-communal violence, and the stand-off between the Orangemen and the Northern Ireland Police in the fields adjacent to Drumcree church, has become symbolic of the intractable religious divide in Northern Ireland. In 1998 the Northern Ireland Parades Commission banned the Orangeman's march. Every year since then the parade has been prevented from marching down the Garvaghy Road. In an attempt to defuse the situation the General Synod of the Church of Ireland has requested the Reverend John Pickering, Rector of Drumcree Church, to refrain from holding the Orangeman's service. The Primate of the Church of Ireland, Dr. Robin Eames, stated that "It is a form of blasphemy if, following a religious service, those who have attended it engage in behaviour which makes a mockery of such a service." The Reverend Pickering has, however, refused the request, maintaining that "the doors of my church are open to anyone, including Orangemen".

References


- [http://www.geocities.com/craigavonhs/rev/pickeringparish.html The Parish of Drumcree]

External links


- [http://www.grandorange.org.uk/ The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland]
- [http://www.garvaghyroad.org/ Garvaghy Road residents coalition]

Church of Ireland

The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion, operating seamlessly across the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is the largest Protestant Church on the island of Ireland and the second largest Protestant denomination in Northern Ireland. The church considers itself to be in direct succession to Ireland's ancient Celtic Christianity and the mediaeval Irish Catholic Church. When Henry VIII and the Church of England broke with the Pope, he took the Catholic Church in Ireland with him; and so the Church remains heir, in its cathedrals and churches, to much of the island's mediaeval heritage. Although the Catholic Church remained the church of the majority of the populace, the Church of Ireland was the established church until 1871.

History

The Church of Ireland claims that its origins go back to the ancient Celtic Church in Ireland, which was founded at Paris by disciples of St. Phillip c. AD 108 and expanded into Britain and Ireland shortly thereafter, however these claims are not left undisputed as the Catholic Church in Ireland has a longer history. Originally a form of Christianised Druidism, Saint Patrick was instrumental in the formal re-organisation of the Celtic Church two centuries later. A monastically-centred institution, the unique calendar and usages of the Celtic Church were slowly drifting in the direction of Catholic orthodoxy when they were forcibly abandoned in the twelfth century after the Anglo-Norman Conquest of Ireland. A parish- and diocese-centered model replaced the old monastic one. Hence it was the English (ironically, given their later policies) who brought the island firmly into the Roman fold, although the Celtic Church remained connected with the Holy See, she did have her own rites. In 1536 Henry VIII had the Irish Parliament declare him head of the Irish Church, so breaking with the Holy See. Later, in 1541, he had the same parliament declare him King of Ireland. When the Church of England travelled in a more Protestant direction under Edward VI so too did the Church of Ireland; unlike in England, however, Roman Catholicism remained the majority religion in Ireland. As before the Reformation, some clergymen of the Irish Church sat as Lords Spiritual in the Irish House of Lords; under the provisions of the Act of Union 1800, one archbishop and the three bishops chosen by rotation would be Lords Spiritual in the newly united United Kingdom House of Lords in Westminster, joining the two archbishops (Canterbury and York) and the twenty-four bishops from the Church of England. Though the religion of a minority of Irish people, it remained the official religion of Ireland, until its disestablishment by an 1869 Act of Parliament came into effect in 1871. Previously, it had been funded by tithes, taxes that all, whether Anglican or not, were obliged to pay to it. The representation of the Church in the House of Lords also ceased. To deal with its new situation, it made provision in 1870 for its own government (General Synod) and financial management (Representative Church Body). Like other Irish churches, it did not divide when Ireland was partitioned in 1920, and continues to be governed on an all-island basis, with twelve dioceses organized as two provinces (Armagh and Dublin).

The Church of Ireland today

The contemporary Church of Ireland, despite having a small number of High Church (often described as Anglo-Catholic) parishes, is on the moderately Protestant part of the spectrum of world Anglicanism. Historically, it had little of the difference in churchmanship between parishes characteristic of other Anglican Provinces, although a number of more markedly liberal, High Church or evangelical parishes have developed in recent decades. It was the second province of the Anglican Communion after the Anglican Church of New Zealand (1857) to adopt, on its 1871 disestablishment, synodical government, and was one of the first provinces to ordain women to the priesthood, in 1991. The Church is structured on a model inherited from pre-Reformation times. The Primate of All Ireland is the Archbishop of Armagh, whose seat is the medieval Saint Patrick's Anglican Cathedral, Armagh. (There is also a Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and a Victorian Saint Patrick's Roman Catholic Cathedral, Armagh.) The Church is organised on diocesan or bishopric lines. Local parish clergy are usually, although not always, called rector. The Archbishop of Dublin, like his Catholic counterpart, is called the Primate of Ireland. The existence of two primates is quite unrelated to the political division of the island, predating this by several centuries; and the boundary between their provinces does not follow the political boundary. Canon law and Church policy are decided by its General Synod, and changes in policy must be passed by both the House of Bishops and the House of Representatives (Clergy and Laity). Important changes, e.g. the decision to ordain women priests, must be passed by two-thirds majorities. While the House of Representatives always votes publicly, often by orders, the House of Bishops has tended to vote in private, coming to a decision before matters reach the floor of the Synod. This practice has been broken only once, when in 1999 the House of Bishops voted unanimously in public to [http://www.ireland.anglican.org/archives/synods/synod99/synodnews/sectrepmot.html endorse the efforts] of the Archbishop of Armagh, the Diocese of Armagh and the Standing Committee of the General Synod of the Church of Ireland in their attempts to resolve the crisis at the Church of the Ascension at Drumcree, near Portadown. The current Archbishop of Armagh is His Grace Archbishop Robin Eames. (He is also called Lord Eames, having been appointed to the House of Lords as a life peer). The Archbishop of Dublin is His Grace Archbishop John Neill. The Church of Ireland experienced major decline during the 20th Century, both in Northern Ireland, where 75% of its members live, and in the Republic of Ireland. However, the 2002 Republic's census showed an unexpected increase of 30% in the Church of Ireland's membership, the first in almost a century. This is largely explained by the great number of Anglican immigrants who moved to Ireland, particularly from Africa; but some parishes, especially in middle-class areas of the larger cities, report a significant number of former Roman Catholics joining. The Church has two cathedrals in Dublin: within the walls of the old city is Christ Church Cathedral, the seat of the Archbishop, and just outside the old walls is St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Church's National Cathedral of Ireland. In recent decades the Church has closed many of its country churches and some historic churches in towns and cities, and has sold ancient buildings such as bishops' palaces.

Prominent Irish Anglicans

Prominent members of the Church of Ireland include or have included
- Samuel Beckett, playwright and Nobel Prize laureate
- Heidi Bedell, Irish Green Party councillor. Married to Trevor Sargent, and first cousin of U2 bassist, Adam Clayton
- William Bedell Stanford, former member of the Irish Senate (1948), Regius Professor of Greek in TCD from 1940-1980, and Chancellor of the University of Dublin from 1982-1984.
- George Berkeley, philosopher
- Jack Boothman, the first member of the Church of Ireland to have been elected president of the GAA
- Bono (real name Paul Hewson), lead singer with U2
- Phyllis Browne, author of "Thanks for the Tea, Mrs Browne", published by New Island Books. Married to the late Noel Browne, the Minister for Health famously remembered for the Mother and Child showdown of 1951
- Edmund Burke, statesman and philosopher
- Robert Burke, contested Dail elections in Galway for the Irish Labour Party from 1933-1948 when he was elected to the Upper House. Donated Toghermore House to the State, originally as a rehabilitation centre for TB patients.
- Ernest Blythe, Minister for Finance in W.T. Cosgrave's pro-Treaty government. Served as managing director of the Abbey Theatre 1941-67
- Edward Carson, Dublin-born Unionist - political leader and lawyer
- Roger Casement, humanitarian
- Erskine Hamilton Childers, fourth President of Ireland. His father was executed by a Free State firing squad in 1922
- Countess of Wicklow, Irish Labour Party Senator (1948-52) and member of the Irish delegation which helped to draft the statute of the Council of Europe. Although very critical about the partition of Ireland, she was one of the founders and first chairman of the Glencree Reconciliation Centre and she joined hands with the Peace Movement in NI in the mid-1970s.
- Susan Denham, the second most senior Supreme Court judge in Ireland (in terms of years served)
- Myles Dungan, RTE broadcaster, and convert to the Church of Ireland, after years of childhood abuse at the hands of the Christian Brothers.
- Robert Emmet, revolutionary
- George Fitzmaurice, writer
- Roy Foster, Professor of Irish history at Oxford University
- Johnny Fox, Former TD - father of Mildred Fox, currently an Independent TD for Wicklow
- Douglas Gageby, Former editor of the Irish Times and lifetime opponent of partition
- Alan Gillis, former president of the Irish Farmers' Association and former Fine Gael MEP. Among one of the very few MEPs to have spent time in prison, as a result of his involvement in the farmers' rights struggle of 1966.
- Henry Grattan, defender of Irish parliamentary independence
- TC Hammond, evangelist, later Principal Moore Theological College, Sydney
- Mary Henry, Senator (Trinity College)
- Rev Stephen Hilliard, Irish Times journalist and alleged IRA member, killed by an intruder in Rathdrum rectory
- Douglas Hyde, first President of Ireland
- Lady Valerie Goulding, Fianna Fail Senator and founder of the Dublin Remedial Clinic, which provided physiotherapy for children who had been disabled by polio. Converted to Catholicism in 1962
- Sean Lester, Director of Publicity at the Department of External Affairs (1924), Diplomat at the League of Nations, serving as its last secretary-general
- C. S. Lewis, scholar, author, Christian apologist
- Proinsias Mac Aonghusa, former vice-chairman of the Irish Labour Party. Broadcaster for Radio Eireann (1952), and for RTE, UTV and the BBC (1960s). Chairman of Bord na Gaeilge and was president of Conradh naGaeilge between 1989 and 1994
- Louis MacNeice, Poet
- Catherine McGuinness, a former Irish Labour Party senator who came to the Bar in middle age. Served as a judge of the Circuit Court (1994) and High Court (1996) before being appointed to the Supreme Court in 2000
- Sam Maguire Irish Republican and Gaelic Footballer
- Martin Mansergh, Fianna Fail Senator
- Van Morrison, Belfast born singer
- David Norris, Senator and gay rights campaigner
- Graham Norton, comedian
- Ivan Yates, Owner of Celtic Bookmakers and former Fine Gael cabinet member
- Sean O'Casey, playwright
- Jan O'Sullivan, Irish Labour Party TD and daughter of the late Ted Gale, (the well-known Limerick Leader journalist, and former treasurer of the National Union of Journalists)
- Charles Stewart Parnell, Home rule M.P.
- Howard Robinson, a successful businessman and banker, he created the City of Dublin Bank (commonly known today as the Anglo-Irish Bank), Father-in-law to Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland
- Trevor Sargent, leader of the Irish Green Party
- George Bernard Shaw, writer and Nobel Prize laureate
- William Sheldon, had the distinction of being the Independent TD on whom Eamon de Valera depended for an overall majority during the minority Fianna Fail government of 1951-1954.
- Richard Brinsley Sheridan, playwright
- Bram Stoker, creator of Dracula
- Jonathan Swift, writer (who served as Dean of Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin)
- George Plant, Tipperary IRA man who was given a state execution in controversial circumstances, in 1942
- Theobald Wolfe Tone, eighteenth century revolutionary
- George Townsend, Church of Ireland clergyman who became the first Irish convert to the Bahá'í Faith in 1917
- Hilda Tweedy, founding member of the Irish Housewives' Association, an influential pressure group that spoke out about injustices and the needs of Irish women, inside and outside the home. Held high office in the IHA and the CSW (now the Women's National Council of Ireland). In 1975, International Women's Year, she led the Irish delegation to the UN meeting in Mexico and was a board member of the International Alliance of Women.
- James Ussher, scholar, Archbishop of Armagh
- Oscar Wilde, writer, but converted to Roman Catholicism on his deathbed.
- William Butler Yeats, poet and Nobel Prize laureate

See also


- List of Church of Ireland dioceses
- Religion in the United Kingdom

External links


- [http://www.ireland.anglican.org Church of Ireland website]
- [http://www.irishangle.net IRISH ANGLE: Church of Ireland news] Ireland Category:Religion in Ireland Category:Religion in the United Kingdom ja:アイルランド聖公会

County Armagh

County Armagh (Contae Ard Mhacha in Irish) is a county in Ulster. It is one of the six counties that form Northern Ireland. County Armagh is known by some as the Orchard of Ireland because the land is so fertile for apple-growing. Its main town is Armagh, in the middle of the county, although Lurgan at the extreme north-east has a larger population. The county borders Lough Neagh to the north, County Down (Northern Ireland) to the east, County Louth (Republic of Ireland) to the south and County Tyrone (NI) and County Monaghan (ROI) to the west. The southern part of Armagh (South Armagh) is the most militarised region in Western Europe due to the history of "the Troubles". The region has been a stronghold of support for the IRA, earning it the nickname 'Bandit Country'. South Armagh is predominately nationalist, with most of the population being opposed to any form of British presence, especially that of a military nature.

Geography

The river Blackwater runs along the border with County Tyrone. The River Bann enters Lough Neagh in the north, flowing though the north-east of the county. Mountains in Armagh include Slieve Guillion, Carrigatuke and Camlough Mountain. There are also a number of islands in the county's section of Lough Neagh: Coney Island, Coney Island Flat, Croaghan Flat, Derrywarragh Island, Padian, Phil Roe's Flat and The Shallow Flat.

Administration

County Armagh is divided for administrative purposes between three district councils: Armagh City and District Council, most of Craigavon Borough Council, and approximately the western third of Newry and Mourne.

See also


- List of places in County Armagh for a list of villages, towns and cities
- Armagh (city)
- Armagh City and District Council Armagh Armagh

Northern Ireland

:For an explanation of often confusing terms like Ulster, (Republic of) Ireland, (Great) Britain and United Kingdom see British Isles (terminology). Northern Ireland is one of four constituent parts of the United Kingdom. It is situated on the island of Ireland and shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland, and is the only part of the United Kingdom with an external land border. It was created by the Government of Ireland Act, 1920. It covers 14,139 km² (5,459 mi²) in the northeast of the island of Ireland, about a sixth of the total area of the island, and has a population of 1,685,000 (April 2001) — between a quarter and a third of the island's total population.

Demographics and politics

:Main article: Demographics and politics of Northern Ireland A majority of the present-day population (59%, according to a [http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/2004/Political_Attitudes/NIRELAND.html 2004 survey]) wish to remain part of the United Kingdom, but a significant minority (22%) want to see a united Ireland. It is common to refer to the majority "community" as Unionists and the the minority "community" as Nationalists, though there are many who hold a position on the border that is at odds with the label of their "community" or reject these labels completely. The make-up of the Northern Ireland Assembly reflects these divisions within the population. Of the 108 members, 59 are Unionists and 42 are Nationalist (the remaining seven are classified as "other"). Although Protestants are still in the majority, the plurality by religious denomination are Roman Catholics, followed by the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and the Church of Ireland, with the Methodist Church of Ireland coming fourth. The two opposing views of British unionism and Irish nationalism are linked to deeper cultural divisions. Unionists are predominantly Protestant and often descendants of mainly Scottish but also English settlement in previous centuries, while nationalists are predominantly Catholic and usually descend from the population predating such settlement. Discrimination against nationalists under the Stormont government (1921–1972) gave rise to the nationalist civil rights movement in the 1960s. Many unionists argue that any discrimination was not just because of religious or political bigotry, but also the result of more complex socio-economic, socio-political and geographical factors. This eventually led to a long-running conflict known as The Troubles and the political unrest has gone through its most violent phase in recent times between 1968–1994. The main actors have been the Provisional IRA and other republican groups determined to end the British presence, and the Royal Ulster Constabulary, British army and various loyalist paramilitary groups who were defending it. As a consequence of the worsening security situation, self-government for Northern Ireland was suspended in 1972. Since the mid 1990s, the main paramilitary group, the Provisional IRA, has observed an uneasy ceasefire. Following negotiations, the Belfast Agreement of 1998 provides for an elected Northern Ireland Assembly, and a power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive comprising representatives of all the main parties. These institutions have been suspended since 2002 because of unionist impatience at the pace of Sinn Fein's movement away from its associations with the Provisional IRA, which reached breaking point after PSNI allegations of spying by people working for Sinn Fein at the Assembly, although nobody was convicted after a high-profile police operation. On 28 July, 2005, the Provisional IRA declared an end to its campaign and have since decommissioned what is thought to be all of their arsenal. This act was performed in accordance with the Belfast Agreement 1998, and under the watch of the International Decommissioning Body and two external church witnesses. Many unionists remain skeptical, however.

Symbols

Today, Northern Ireland comprises a diverse patchwork of community rivalries, represented in some areas by whole communities where lamp posts and some homes fly the flags of the countries to which they hold allegience. The Union Flag and former Flag of Northern Ireland therefore appear in some loyalist areas, with the Irish national flag, the tricolour appearing in some republican areas. Even the kerbstones in less affluent areas get painted red-white-blue or green-white-orange, depending on whether a local community expresses nationalist/republican or unionist/loyalist sympathies. As a constituent part of the United Kingdom, the only "official" flag of Northern Ireland is the Union Flag. The Northern Ireland Flag (also known as the 'Ulster Banner' or 'Red Hand Flag') is no longer official, due to the abolition of the Parliament of Northern Ireland in 1972. Unionists tend to use the Union flag, the 'Ulster Banner' or paramilitary flags, while nationalists typically use the Irish Tricolour. Some unionists also occasionally use the flags of secular and religious organizations they belong to. The 'Ulster Banner' is based on the flag of Ulster. Some groups, including the Irish Rugby Football Union have used the Flag of St. Patrick as a symbol of Ireland which lacks the same nationalist or unionist connotations, but even this is felt by some to be a loyalist flag, as it was used to represent Ireland during British rule and is used by some British army regiments. No universally acceptable symbol has yet been found. Foreign flags are also found, such as the Palestinian flags in some Nationalist areas and Israeli flags in some Unionist areas. The official national anthem of Northern Ireland remains God Save The Queen. At some cross-community events, however, the Londonderry Air, also known as the tune of Danny Boy, may be played as a neutral, though unofficial, substitute.

Geography and climate

Danny Boy :Main article: Geography of Ireland, Geography of the United Kingdom Northern Ireland was covered by an ice sheet for most of the last ice age and on numerous previous occasions, the legacy of which can be seen in the extensive coverage of drumlins in Counties Fermanagh, Armagh, Antrim and particularly Down. The centrepiece of Northern Ireland's geography is Lough Neagh, at 392 km² the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles. A second extensive lake system is centred on Lower and Upper Lough Erne in Fermanagh. There are substantial uplands in the Sperrin Mountains (an extension of the Caledonian fold mountains) with extensive gold deposits, granite Mourne Mountains and basalt Antrim Plateau, as well as smaller ranges in South Armagh and along the Fermanagh–Tyrone border. None of the hills are especially high, with Slieve Donard in the dramatic Mournes reaching 848 metres, Northern Ireland's highest point. The volcanic activity which created the Antrim Plateau also formed the eerily geometric pillars of the Giant's Causeway. The Lower and Upper River Bann, River Foyle and River Blackwater form extensive fertile lowlands, with excellent arable land also found in North and East Down, although much of the hill country is marginal and suitable largely for animal husbandry. The valley of the River Lagan is dominated by Belfast, whose metropolitan area includes over a third of the population of Northern Ireland, with heavy urbanisation and industrialisation along the Lagan Valley and both shores of Belfast Lough. The whole of Northern Ireland has a temperate maritime climate, rather wetter in the west than the east, although cloud cover is persistent across the region. The weather is unpredictable at all times of the year, and although the seasons are distinct, they are considerably less pronounced than in interior Europe or the eastern seaboard of North America. Average daytime maximums in Belfast are 6.5°C (43.7°F) in January and 17.5°C (63.5°F) in July. The damp climate and extensive deforestation in the 16th and 17th centuries resulted in much of the region being covered in rich green grassland. Highest maximum temperature: 30.8°C (87.4°F) at Knockarevan, near Belleek, County Fermanagh on 30 June 1976 and at Belfast on 12 July 1983. Lowest minimum temperature: -17.5°C (0.5°F) at Magherally, near Banbridge, County Down on 1 January 1979. [http://www.metoffice.com/climate/uk/location/nireland/#temperature]

The Counties in Northern Ireland

1979 Northern Ireland consists of six counties:
- County Antrim
- County Armagh
- County Down
- County Fermanagh
- County Londonderry (Political, Geographical Term) \ County Derry (Nationalist & Irish geographic usage)
- County Tyrone These counties are no longer used for local government purposes; instead there are twenty-six districts of Northern Ireland which have different geographical extents, even in the case of those named after the counties from which they derive their name. Fermanagh District Council most closely follows the borders of the county it takes its name from. Though Coleraine borough council for example derives its name from the town of Coleraine in County Londonderry.

Towns and villages

Main articles: Towns in Northern Ireland and Villages in Northern Ireland See also the list of places in Northern Ireland for all villages, towns and cities
- Ahoghill, Armagh, Antrim
- Ballycastle, Ballyclare, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Ballynahinch, Banbridge, Bangor, Belfast, Bushmills
- Carnmoney, Carrickfergus, Castlerock, Comber, Coleraine, Cookstown, Craigavon
- Derry/Londonderry, Donaghadee, Downpatrick,Dromore, Dundonald, Dungannon, Dungiven
- Enniskillen
- Glengormley
- Hillsborough, Holywood
- Larne, Limavady, Lisburn, Lurgan
- Magherafelt
- Newcastle, Newry, Newtownards, Newtownstewart
- Omagh
- Portrush, Portstewart, Portadown, Portaferry, Poyntzpass
- Strabane
- Warrenpoint

Places of interest

Warrenpoint
- The Mountains of Mourne
- Lough Neagh, the biggest lake in the British Isles, 153 square miles
- Lough Erne
- Strangford Lough
- Carlingford Lough
- The Giant's Causeway
- The Glens of Antrim
- Fermanagh Lakeland
- The Sperrin Mountains
- National parks of Northern Ireland
- National Trust Properties in Northern Ireland
- Dromore, County Down

Variations in Geographic nomenclature

Many people inside and outside Northern Ireland use other names for the entity, as part of a linguistic agenda to define the nature of the state from their historic, cultural or political viewpoint. The most common names used are

Unionist/Loyalist


- Ulster - to suggest that Northern Ireland has an older ancestry that predates its founding in 1921, dating back both to the Plantation of Ulster in the early 17th century and to the millennium-old province of Ulster, one of four provinces on the island of Ireland. The province of Ulster covers a greater landmass than Northern Ireland: 6 of its counties are in Northern Ireland, 3 in the Republic of Ireland.
- The Province - to again link to the historic Irish province of Ulster, with its mythology.
- Northern Ireland - Many more liberal-minded Protestants who reject the extreme form of Unionism prefer to use the official name of the state. Ulster is both inaccurate and, in their view, has very orangist overtones.

Nationalist/Republican


- North of Ireland - to link Northern Ireland to the rest of island, by describing the state as being in the 'north of Ireland' and so by implication playing down Northern Ireland's links with Britain. (The northernmost point in Ireland, in County Donegal, is in fact in the Republic.)
- The Six Counties - language which avoids using the name given to the state by the British-enacted Government of Ireland Act, 1920. (The Republic is similarly described as the Twenty-Six Counties.) Some of the users of these terms contend that using the official name of the region would imply acceptance of the legitimacy of the Government of Ireland Act.
- The Occupied Six Counties. The Republic, whose legitimacy is not recognised by republicans who oppose the Belfast Agreement, is described as being "The Free State", referring to the Irish Free State, the Republic's old name.

The use of language for Northern Ireland geography

Disagreement on nomenclature, and the reading of political symbolism into the use or non-use of a word, also attaches to some urban centres. The most famous example is whether Northern Ireland's second city should be called Derry or Londonderry. Choice of language and nomenclature in Northern Ireland often reveals the cultural, ethnic and religious identity of the speaker. The first Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, Seamus Mallon was criticised by unionist politicians for calling the region the "North of Ireland" while Sinn Féin has been criticised in some newspapers in the Republic for referring to the "Six Counties". Those who do not belong to any group but lean towards one side often tend to use the language of that group. Supporters of unionism in the British media (notably the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Express) regularly call Northern Ireland "Ulster" while nationalist and republican-leaning media outlets in Ireland (such as Daily Ireland) almost always use "North of Ireland" or the "Six Counties". State institutions and cultural organisations in Northern Ireland, particularly those pre-dating the 1980s, often used the word "Ulster" in their title; for example, the University of Ulster the Ulster Orchestra, and BBC Radio Ulster. Many news bulletins since the 1990s have opted avoid all contentious terms and use either the official name, Northern Ireland, or the shorter term, "the North". For Northern Ireland's second largest city, broadcasting outlets which are unaligned to either community and broadcast to both use both names interchangeably, often starting a report with "Londonderry" and then using "Derry" in the rest of the report. However within Northern Ireland, print media which are aligned to either community (the Belfast Newsletter is aligned to the unionist community while the Irish News is aligned to the nationalist community) generally use their community's preferred term. British newspapers with unionist leanings, such as the Daily Telegraph[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2003%2F06%2F16%2Fnblud16.xml], usually use the language of the unionist community, while others, such as The Guardian use the terms interchangeably [http://www.guardian.co.uk/bloodysunday/article/0,2763,184915,00.html] [http://www.guardian.co.uk/bloodysunday/article/0,2763,1394346,00.html] The media in the Republic of Ireland use the nomenclature preferred by nationalists, eg [http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0609/northviolence.html RTÉ News]. The division in nomenclature is seen particularly in sports and religions associated with one of the communities. Gaelic games and football (soccer) use Derry in club names for example. Nor is there clear agreement on how to decide on a name. When the nationalist-controlled local council voted to re-name the city "Derry" unionists objected, stating that as it owed its city status to a Royal Charter, only a charter issued by Queen Elizabeth II could change the name. Queen Elizabeth refused to intervene on the matter and thus the council is now called "Derry City Council" while the city is still officially "Londonderry". Nevertheless, the council has printed two sets of stationery - one for each term - and their policy is to reply to correspondence using whichever term the original sender used. At times of high communal tension, each side regularly complains of the use of the nomenclature associated with the other community by a third party such as a media organisation, claiming such usage indicates evident "bias" against their community.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Northern Ireland The Northern Ireland economy is the smallest of the four economies making up the United Kingdom.

History

Main article: History of Northern Ireland; for events before 1900 see History of Ireland. The area now known as Northern Ireland has had a diverse history. From serving as the bedrock of Irish resistance in the era of the plantations of Queen Elizabeth and James I in other parts of Ireland, it became itself the subject of major planting of Scottish and English settlers after the Flight of the Earls in 1607 (when the native Gaelic aristocracy left en masse for Catholic Europe). The all-island Kingdom of Ireland (1541-1801) was incorporated into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801 under the terms of the Act of Union, under which the kingdoms of Ireland and Great Britain merged under a central parliament, government and monarchy based in London. In the early 20th century Unionists, led by Sir Edward Carson, opposed the introduction of Home Rule in Ireland. Unionists were in a minority on the island of Ireland as a whole, but were in the majority in the four counties of Armagh, Antrim, Down, and Londonderry, thereby forming a narrow majority in the northern province of Ulster. The clash between the House of Commons and House of Lords of the controversial budget of Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd George, produced the Parliament Act 1911 which enabled the veto of the Lords to be overturned. Given that the Lords had been the unionists' main guarantee that a Home Rule Act would be enacted, because of the majority of pro-unionist peers in the House, the Parliament Act made Home Rule a likely prospect in Ireland. Opponents to Home Rule, from Conservative Party leaders like Andrew Bonar Law and Lord Randolph Churchill to militant unionists in Ireland threatened the use of voilence, producing the Larne Gun Running in 1912, when they smuggled thousands of rifles and rounds of ammunition from Imperial Germany for the Ulster Volunteer Force. Churchill famously told a unionist audience in Ulster that "Ulster will fight, and Ulster will be right." The prospect of civil war on Ireland was seen by some as likely. In 1914 the Third Home Rule Act, which contained provision for a temporary partition, received the Royal Assent. However its implementation was suspended for the duration of the intervening First World War, which was only expected to a few weeks but lasted four years. But the time it concluded, the Act was seen as dead in the water, with public opinion in the majority nationalist community having moved from a demand for home rule to something more substantial, independence. Lloyd George proposed in 1919 a new bill which would divide Ireland into two Home Rule areas, twenty-six counties being ruled from Dublin, six being ruled from Belfast, with a shared Lord Lieutenant of Ireland appointing both executives and a Council of Ireland, which Lloyd George believed would evolve into an all-island parliament.

Partition of Ireland, partition of Ulster

In United Kingdom law, Ireland was partitioned in 1921 under the terms of the Government of Ireland Act 1920. Six of the nine Ulster counties in the northeast formed Northern Ireland and the remaining three counties joined those of Leinster, Munster and Connacht to form Southern Ireland. Whilst the former came into being, the latter had only a momentary existence to ratify (in UK law) the Anglo-Irish Treaty that ended the Anglo-Irish War. Under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, Northern Ireland was provisionally scheduled to be included in the Irish Free State, though it could opt-out should the Parliament of Northern Ireland elect to do. As expected it did so immediately. Once that happened, as provided for, an Irish Boundary Commission came into being, to decide on the territorial boundaries between the Irish state and the Northern Ireland home rule region. Though leaders in Dublin expected a substantial reduction in the territory of Northern Ireland, with nationalist areas like Derry, Armagh, Tyrone and urban territories like Derry and Newry moving to the Free State, it appears that the Boundary Commission decided against this. The British and Irish governments agreed to leave the boundaries as they were defined in the 1920 Act.

1925 to the present

In the mid 1940s, to encourage the Irish state to join with the Allies, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill offered Taoiseach Éamon de Valera Irish unity but, believing that Churchill could not deliver, de Valera declined the offer. The British did not inform the Northern Ireland government that they had made the offer to the Dublin government. The Ireland Act 1949 gave the first legal guarantee to the Parliament and Government that Northern Ireland would not cease to be part of the United Kingdom without consent of the majority of its citizens, and this was most recently reaffirmed by the Northern Ireland Act 1998. This status was echoed in the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985, which was signed by the governments of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Bunreacht na hÉireann, the constitution of the Republic, was amended in 1999 to remove a claim to sovereignty over the whole of Ireland (in Article 2), a claim qualified by an acknowledgement of British rule in the northeast. The new Articles 2 and 3, added to the Bunreacht to replace the earlier articles, implicitly acknowledge that the status of Northern Ireland, and its relationships with the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, would only be changed with the agreement of a majority of voters in Northern Ireland. An acknowledgement that a decision on whether to remain in the United Kingdom or join the Republic of Ireland rests with the people of Northern Ireland was also central to the Belfast Agreement, which was signed in 1998 and ratified by plebiscites held simultanously in both Northern Ireland and the Republic. However, many unionist leaders equivocate when asked if they would peacefully accept a reunited Ireland if a majority in Northern Ireland sought it. A plebiscite within Northern Ireland on whether it should remain in the United Kingdom, or join the Republic, was held in 1973. The vote went heavily in favour of maintaining the status quo with approximately 57% of the total electorate voting in support, but most nationalists boycotted the poll. Though legal provision remains for holding another plebiscite, and former Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble some years ago advocated the holding of such a vote, no plans for such a vote have been adopted as of 2005.

Culture

:See Culture of Northern Ireland, Culture of Ulster, Culture of Ireland, Culture of the United Kingdom With its improved international reputation, Northern Ireland has recently witnessed rising numbers of tourists who come to appreciate the area's unique heritage. Attractions include cultural festivals, musical and artistic traditions, countryside and geographical sites of interest, pubs, welcoming hospitality and sports (especially golf and fishing). In 1987, pubs were allowed to open on Sundays, despite vocal opposition.

Languages

The Mid Ulster dialect of English spoken in Northern Ireland shows influence from both the West Midlands and Scotland, thereby giving it a distinct accent compared to Hiberno-English, along with the use of such Scots words as wee for 'little' and aye for 'yes'. Some jocularly call this dialect phonetically by the name Norn Iron. There are supposedly some minute differences in pronunciation between Protestants and Catholics, the best known of which is the name of the letter h, which Protestants tend to pronounce as "aitch", as in British English, and Catholics tend to pronounce as "haitch", as in Hiberno-English. However, geography is a much more important determinant of dialect than ethnic background. English is by far the most widely spoken language in Northern Ireland. Under the Good Friday Agreement, Irish and Scots have official recognition on a par with that of English. Often the use of the Irish language in Northern Ireland has met with the considerable suspicion of Unionists, who have associated it with the largely Catholic Republic of Ireland, and more recently, with the republican movement in Northern Ireland itself. Ulster Scots comprises varieties of the Scots language spoken in Northern Ireland. Mac Póilin (1999: 116) states that "While most argue that Ulster-Scots is a dialect or variant of Scots, some have argued or implied that Ulster-Scots is a separate language from Scots. The case for Ulster-Scots being a distinct language, made at a time when the status of Scots itself was insecure, is so bizarre that it is unlikely to have been a linguistic argument." Chinese and Urdu are also spoken by Northern Ireland's Asian communities. According to the most recent census returns, Chinese is now the second most widely spoken language, though the 8000-strong Chinese community — while often referred to as the "third largest" community in Northern Ireland — is tiny by international standards.

See also


- List of Ireland-related topics
- List of United Kingdom-related topics

Further reading


- Jonathan Bardon, A History of Ulster (Blackstaff Press, Belfast, 1996)
- Robert Kee, The Green Flag: A History of Irish Nationalism (Penguin, 1972–2000), ISBN 0140291652

External links


- [http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/ Discover Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland Tourist Board]
- [http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/ University of Ulster: Northern Ireland Conflict Archive]
- [http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections Elections in Northern Ireland]
- [http://www.onlineni.net Online NI]
- [http://www.whiteimage.com Art gallery featuring artists and scenes from Northern Ireland]
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/state/nations/ BBC Nations] History of Ireland
- [http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/britishisles/ The British Isles] Independent view of Ireland and the UK
- [http://www.psa.ac.uk/cps/1996/payt.pdf Inconvenient Peripheries Ethnic Identity and the United Kingdom Estate] The cases of “Protestant Ulster” and Cornwall’ by prof Philip Payton
- [http://www.walkingtree.com/ Mercator Atlas of Europe] Map of Ireland ("Irlandia") circa 1564
- [http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/sutton/ Sutton Index of Deaths]
- [http://www.geographyinaction.co.uk/Geology%20files/Geol_index.html Geography in Action] The geology of Northern Ireland
- [http://www.victorsloan.co.uk/ Victor Sloan-Northern Ireland visual artist's works commenting on political, social and cultural concerns] Category:Disputed territories Ireland, Northern Category:History of Ireland Category:NUTS 1 Statistical Regions of Europe Category:NUTS 2 Statistical Regions of Europe ko:북아일랜드 ja:北アイルランド simple:Northern Ireland

Orange Order

The Orange Order, also known as the Orangemen, is a Protestant fraternal organisation largely based in the province of Ulster, Ireland and in western Scotland but which has a worldwide membership. The Orange Order was founded in Loughgall, County Armagh, Ireland in 1795. Its members and supporters see it as a pious organisation, celebrating Protestant culture and identity. Its critics accuse it of sectarianism and anti-Catholicism. The order may be best known for provocative parades through Catholic neighborhoods which have sometimes sparked violence and riots. Catholic In Northern Ireland politics it was formally associated with the Ulster Unionist Party until March 12, 2005. Many of its members also belong to the Democratic Unionist Party and some (surreptitiously) to various loyalist paramilitary groups. Many of its members were opposed to the Belfast Agreement, which was signed and supported by members of the Ulster Unionist Party. Recently the Orange Order has been blamed for riots that broke out between Loyalists and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4234626.stm]. In the aftermath the government announced plans to implement a series of redevelopment projects in the areas of the riots which are some of the poorest areas in Northern Ireland.

History and origins

Roots

The Orange Order was founded in the 1790s, but its roots go back to conflicts arising out of the creation of English and Scottish Protestant communities in Ulster in the 16th and 17th centuries. In the Plantation of Ulster, lands were seized from the native Irish and Catholic population and "planted" with Presbyterian settlers from the Lowlands of Scotland and Anglicans from northern England. This included many of the infamous border Reiver clans. Small numbers of Gaelic-speaking Highland Scots settled the area as well. Later, in the 1690s, there were further waves of Lowland Scots and French Huguenot immigration into Ulster. (See also Plantations of Ireland). The Plantation was preceded by the defeat and exile of the native Irish aristocracy in Ulster. After their defeat in the Nine Years War, they fled Ulster for Catholic Europe in an event that has become known as The Flight of the Earls) thus eliminating the native Gaelic aristocracy in Ulster. The resulting political vacuum allowed for the speedy implementation of the Plantation of Ulster. However, the bulk of the native Irish Catholic population remained and their hostility to the new settlers eventually led to the Irish Rebellion of 1641. October 1641 saw a massacre of up to 12,000 Protestants by Catholics determined to win back their land. In 1649, Oliver Cromwell took revenge on the Catholic population. The bloodshed of the these wars created a lasting bitterness which still resonates today. Another, more celebrated, round of this conflict between settler Protestants and native Catholics was fought in the 1690s, in the Williamite war in Ireland, when Irish Catholics backed the Roman Catholic King James II and Protestants supported William of Orange, who had deposed James in the Glorious Revolution. The modern Orange Order derives its name from William III's colours and celebrates his military victories over the Jacobites, notably the siege of Derry, the battle of the Boyne and the battle of Aughrim. Ulster Protestants believed that these victories had saved them from further massacres at the hands of Catholics and had guaranteed their religious and civil liberties. (See also the Glorious Revolution for political context and battle of the Boyne for the history of Irish Protestant commemorations). For the Orange Order, the Glorious Revolution remains central to its appeal. It stresses the importance of the 'Protestant succession' to the throne and of the triumph of Parliament and its Bill of Rights and Act of Settlement as the embodiment of that triumph. It celebrates the victory of William over James every year on 12 July.

Foundation

However, while these wars were commemorated by Irish Protestants since the 17th century, the Orange Order has its direct roots in inter-communal violence of the 1790s. Many secretive Catholic agrarian groups such as the Defenders, Whiteboys, Hearts of Steele and Hearts of Oak, Thrashers, Ribbonmen, and the Carders were set up in the 1700s to defend Catholic property and rights. Protestant groups were formed to oppose these, one of which was the Peep o'Day Boys which later became the Orange Order. The Orange Order was founded in Loughgall in Ireland in 1795 after the so-called "Battle of the Diamond" (a pitched battle between rival guilds based along sectarian lines over trading rights). After a disturbance in Benburb on 24th June 1794, in which Protestant homes were attacked, the Freemasons' organisation was appealed to by one of its members, James Wilson, to organise themselves to defend the Protestant population. The Masons refused, whereupon an indignant Wilson left them and prophesied that he "would light a star...which would eclipse them forever". He had already organised the Orange Boys at the Dyan (County Tyrone) in 1792, as is evidenced by the notice in the Belfast News Letter on 1st February 1793, which referred to a meeting of the 138 members of the Orange Boys held on 22nd January 1793.It is said the three main founders were James Wilson, Daniel Winter and James Sloan. It was named to commemorate the victory of the Protestant William of Orange over his father-in-law the Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 during the Glorious Revolution. However the Orange Order's establishment was more a reaction to increasing Catholic involvement in the economy of Ulster as the Penal Laws, which discriminated against Catholics and Presbyterians were phased out, in particular the linen trade and the purchase of land, and to the creation of separatist groups of the late eighteenth century such as the United Irishmen (which was dominated by Ulster-Scots Presbyterians). Shortly after the Order's establishment, the Governor of Armagh, Lord Gosford, gave his opinion of the new group to a meeting of magistrates: "It is no secret that a persecution is now raging in this country ... the only crime is ... profession of the Roman Catholic faith. A lawless banditti have constituted themselves judges ..." In 1818, the Mayor of Liverpool prevented Orangemen from publicly burning effigies of the Pope and the local cardinal after a parade. The Orange Order, along with other organisations, was banned between 1823 and 1845 by the British government because of its involvement in promoting sectarian tension in Ulster. Although they were then illegal, the parades continued. In 1829, seven people were killed during disturbances in Clones, County Monaghan, and eight in Enniskillen, Fermanagh. The first Orange-related disturbances in Scotland were reported in 1830 In 1834 Presbyterians were allowed to join. In 1835, a Parliamentary Committee set up to investigate the activities of the Order heard from a local magistrate, William Hancock, that: "For some time past the peaceable inhabitants of the parish of Drumcree have been insulted and outraged by large bodies of Orangemen parading the highways, playing party tunes, firing shots, and using the most opprobrious epithets they could invent...a body of Orangemen marched through the town and proceeded to Drumcree church, passing by the Catholic chapel though it was a considerable distance out of their way." In 1836, the British army used artillery to quell trouble at the annual gathering at Scarva, County Down.

The Battle of Garvagh

A report from the time says: "The 26th July, 1813 is memorable as the day on which a conflict occurred between Loyalists and Ribbonmen. The latter, who assembled to the number of 1500, attacked the house of a resident named Davidson, where the Orange Lodges were in the habit of meeting. The owner of the doomed premises, warned of their intentions, had a few trusty friends at hand to lend any necessary assistance. Three of the Ribbonmen were killed outright, while others, mortally wounded, died soon after. This did not end the trouble because a month later twelve men from the neighbourhood of Garvagh were charged before Judge Fletcher at Londonderry for murder. Three of the accused were acquitted and the others found guilty of manslaughter." Of the acquittal a song says: "The Judge he then would us condemn Had it not been for the jurymen Our grateful thanks are due to them For they cleared the boys of Garvagh". The Ribbonmen were found guilty but were acquitted at a later assizes when it was stated "that both parties had become reconciled and were ready to give bail for their future good behaviour."

The Defence Of Crossgar

The Whiteboys, a mid-18th century secret agrarian society, were later known by different names such as Carders, Terry Alts, Rockites, Whitefeet and Thrashers. Many Orange songs of the period suggest that the Irish Constabulary were sympathetic to the Thrashers and turned a blind eye to numerous skirmishes in County Down. In July 1849 near Castlewellan, in Down there was a skirmish shortly before the "battle of Dolly's Brae".

Battle of Dolly's Brae

12 July 1849 saw the "Battle" of Dolly's Brae when at least 30 Catholics were killed in clashes between Ribbonmen and Orangemen. The British government banned Orange Order marches again after this incident. The Grand Master of the Order, Lord Roden, is forced to resign his position as a justice of the peace after it emerges that he incited the Orangemen before the incident at a gathering hosted on his estate nearby.

The Twelfth

The Twelfth however remains a deeply divisive issue, not least because of allegations of triumphalism and anti-Catholicism against the Orange Order in the conduct of its marches and criticism of its behaviour towards Roman Catholics. Most Orange Order marches in Ireland are uncontroversial; marches in the Republic of Ireland, notably in Rossknowlagh, County Donegal, require minimal policing and attract non-Orange Order members, including Roman Catholics, to watch. However at a few flashpoints, marches have become highly controversial. Many of the bands hired by the Order for the parades openly advertise their association with loyalist paramilitary groups (responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Catholics) with flags and banners. paramilitary The very first Orange parades were held in 1796, in different venues in County Armagh. The Northern Star newspaper reported that an Orangeman by the name of M'Murdie, died of stab wounds following clashes with the local yeomanry, in Aghalee. The next year, 1797, fourteen people were killed in disturbances during an Orange parade in Stewartstown, Tyrone. To Orange Order members, the "right" to march anywhere on the "Queen's highway" is of fundamental importance in upholding the principles of the "Glorious Revolution". To critics, their demand to walk anywhere, even through Catholic areas, is seen as provocative, triumphalist and as asserting the supremacy of Protestants in Ulster. Many of the traditional tunes of the "Kick the Pope" bands that accompany the marching Orangemen have lyrics that are insulting and threatening to Catholics. In addition changing geographic and religious boundaries compound problems. Often Orange parades have been the catalysts for serious disturbances, rioting and deaths. In 1935, thousands of Catholics were forced to leave their homes after rioting left several dead. In 1972, the IRA called off a ceasefire after the British army forced through a parade in Portadown. Portadown A classic example occurred throughout the 1990s at Garvaghy Road on the outskirts of Portadown (and in the adjacent Obin Street area from the 1800s until 1986 when the march was rerouted). The Orange Order had marched the same route through open countryside for nearly two centuries. In a religiously divided Portadown, Catholics came to reside in large working class housing estates built on fields along the Orange Order marching route. Each side demanded that their community's "rights" get priority. To the Order, that meant upholding their "right" to follow their traditional route along that roadway. To nationalists and republicans, that meant the "right" to insist that they should not have the anti-Catholic Orange Order parading down the main roadway through the new Catholic area. Moves by the Parades Commission to secure a compromise by negotiation between the Order and the local residents have continually been frustrated by the Order's refusal to meet with the residents' associations. Initially, this was a high-handed refusal to accept any restriction to walk where ever they liked, when ever they liked - just as if it were an evening stroll. Recognising the poor PR value of that position, it is now the official policy of the Order never to talk to resident's groups for as long as their leadership includes past or present members of Sinn Féin. While the membership of the Order in Ireland is usually put at around 100,000, it is thought that many members have left in recent years because of the increasing number of confrontations with police. A study for the University of Ulster put the number of current members at 40,000. Some Orange parades in Scotland have also proved contentious, and Scottish police have moved recently to restrict their number. In 1996, Perth and Kinross Council banned a march, telling the County Lodge that "Intolerance, bigotry and prejudice are implicit and explicit in a march of this kind." Glasgow council have indicated that they will ask the police not to allow parades in the city centre after recent disturbances. Pat Watters, the president of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, has said councils should have the authority to ban troublesome marches (which currently rests with the police), and he intends to ask the Scottish Minister for Justice to allow councils to do so. During the 1992 marching season, the then British Secretary of State, Sir Patrick Mayhew declared "the actions of the marchers would have disgraced a tribe of cannibals" after Orangemen taunted residents of a Catholic neighbourhood they were marching through about the recent murders of five locals by the UDA. The UDA members had killed the men (who had no paramilitary connections) when they sprayed a betting-shop with gunfire. A statement from the UFF concluded with the words "Remember Teebane", referring to the IRA bombing of 17 January 1992 which resulted in the killing of eight Protestant civilians who had been travelling in a minibus past Teebane crossroads between Cookstown and Omagh, County Tyrone. The UDA was made an illegal organisation by the British government shortly afterwards.

Requirements for entry

Members are required to be Protestant with a belief in the Trinity, which excludes Unitarians and certain other Christian denominations and all non-Christians. Most jurisdictions require both the spouse and parents of potential applicants to be Protestant, although the Grand Lodge can be appealed to make exceptions for converts. In 1998 Ulster Unionist Party leader and Northern Ireland First Minister-designate, David Trimble representing Northern Ireland attended the funeral Mass for a child murdered in a Real IRA bombing, some Orangemen demanded that he be expelled by the Orange Order for attending a "Papist ceremony". Members are forbidden to marry Catholics, as the Catholic Church requires its adherents to make all reasonable efforts to raise all their children in the same religion, regardless of the other parent's faith. Qualifications of an Orangeman according to the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland An Orangeman should have a sincere love and veneration for his Heavenly Father; A humble and steadfast faith in Jesus Christ, the Saviour of mankind, believing in Him as the only Mediator between God and man. He should cultivate truth and justice, brotherly kindness and charity, devotion and piety, concord and unity, and obedience to the laws; His deportment should be gentle and compassionate, kind and courteous; He should seek a society of the virtuous, and avoid that of the evil; He should honour and diligently study the Holy Scriptures, and make them the rule of his faith and practice; He should love, uphold, and defend the Protestant religion, and sincerely desire and endeavour to propagate its doctrines and precepts; He should strenuously oppose the fatal errors and doctrines of the Church of Rome, and scrupulously avoid countenancing (by his presence or otherwise) any act of ceremony of Popish worship; He should by all lawful means, resist the ascendancy of that Church, its encroachments, and the extension of its power, ever abstaining from all uncharitable words, actions or sentiments, towards his Roman Catholic brethren; He should remember to keep holy the Sabbath day, and attend the public worship of God, and diligently train up his offspring, and all under his control, in the fear of God, and in the Protestant faith; He should never take the name of God in vain, but abstain from all cursing and profane language, and use every opportunity of discouraging these, and all other sinful practices, in others; his conduct should be guided by wisdom and prudence, and marked by honesty, temperance, and sobriety; The glory of God and the welfare of man, the honour of his Sovereign, and the good of his country, should be the motive of his actions. Candidates must promise to: at all times conform to the Laws and Ordinances of the Loyal Orange Institution of Ireland, and will at all times recognise and support the authority of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland. I promise that, if admitted a member of this Lodge, I will always show due respect to the Worshipful Master and other Officers, and will endeavour to conduct myself as a Brother ought towards all members of the Lodge and of the Brotherhood, and that I will always observe and never knowingly violate, the By-Laws of the Lodge. I was born at ................... in the county of ...................... of Protestant parents, was educated in the Protestant faith, and have never been in any way connected with the Church of Rome. My wife is a Protestant/I am unmarried..

Religion and Culture

Popish The basis of the modern Orange Order is the promotion and propagation of "biblical Protestantism" and the principles of the Reformation. As such the Order only accepts those who confess a belief in a Protestant religion. Monthly meetings are held in Orange Halls or "Lodges." The Order has a system of "degrees" which new members advance through. These degrees can superficially be compared as Masonic-like but in reality are interactive "plays" founded solely on passages of the Bible. Parades form a large part of Orange culture. Most Orange Lodges hold an annual parade from their Orange Hall to a local church. The sect of the church is quite often rotated, depending on local demographics. The main parade of the year is the annual "Twelfth" of July celebrations which commemorate the Battle Of The Boyne and the victory of King William Of Orange after whom the Order is named. The lodges are usually accompanied by various marching bands playing flutes, fifes, accordions, bagpipes and brass instruments. This parade often involves thousands of marchers at each of the many locations and draws crowds of spectators. Orange Halls on both sides of the Irish border often function as community halls for Protestants. The halls quite often host community groups such as credit unions, local marching bands, Ulster Scots and other cultural groups as well as religious missions and political parties such as the Ulster Unionist Party. In 2005, controversy was generated when the organisers of Cork's St Patrick's Day parade (in the Republic of Ireland) invited representatives of the Orange Order to march in the celebrations, part of the year-long celebration of Cork's position of European Capital of Culture. The Orange Order accepted the invitation and was to parade with their wives and children alongside Chinese, Filipino and African community groups in an event designed to recognise and celebrate cultural diversity. A threatening phone call was made to a person connected to the parade’s organising committee. An anonymous male caller said: "Be careful. We know what you’re planning." Subsequently, after consultation with the Garda Síochána (the Irish police force), the Orange Order grand secretary Drew Nelson said both his organisation and the parade organisers were disappointed that the Order would not be attending the festivities. He added that he welcomed the invitation and hoped the Order would be able to participate in the event next year. A Church of Ireland clergyman, Reverend David Armstrong, spoke out against the invitation. Now based in Carrigaline, near Cork, Reverend Armstrong and his family were forced to leave their home in Limavady, County Londonderry, by loyalist paramilitaries after he spoke out against the bombing of the local Catholic church. He stated that local Orangemen told him at the time that "the bombing was God's work." In March 2002 it threatened "to take every action necessary, regardless of the consequences" to prevent the Ballymena Show being held on a Sunday. The County Antrim Agricultural Association immediately complied with the Order's wishes. In June 2005, the Order's Grand Master Robert Saulters was cautioned by police over his involvement in an apparently illegal parade. However, the Parades Commission were forced to back down on other parades because of the threat of loyalist violence (notably the annual 1st July East Belfast "mini-twelfth" which was declared illegal, on the basis that the "11-1 forms", notice of intention to organise a public procession, were filled out incorrectly). The lodges had been filing 11-1 forms collectively to avoid legal culpability for failing to follow the Commission's guidelines, instead of naming an individual prepared to take responsibility, which the parades commission deemed to be illegal. The PSNI and British government later said there was no illegality. In his Twelfth of July speech in 2005, Saulters compared the PSNI to the Gestapo in their cautioning of him. In September 2005, Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Hugh Orde blamed the Orange Order for inciting serious rioting after an Orange parade in Belfast was banned. Television coverage of the rioting showed Orangemen throwing missiles at the police. Orde's accusation was disputed by senior Orangeman who stated that the Police were heavy handed and some responsibility lay with the Parades Commision. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4236208.stm]

Political links

Until March 2005, the Orange Order was entitled to a voting bloc on the Ulster Unionist Council, the decision-making body of the Ulster Unionist Party. This was the position since 1905, and though the UUP had long mulled over breaking the link, in the end it was the Orange Order that broke away. The Order first became overtly political during Charles Stewart Parnell's campaign for Home Rule in the 1880s. In 1886, when William Ewart Gladstone's Home Rule Bill was before Parliament, Lord Randolph Churchill coined the famous phrase "Ulster will fight, and Ulster will be right" in an open letter to Irish Unionists. The Bill was defeated in June, and serious rioting broke out in Ulster, continuing on into the marching season in July. By September, fifty people were dead, and thousands had been driven from their homes. This marked the beginning of a period when the upper classes began to realise the potential of the Order in preventing unwanted constitutional change, which culminated in the formal link in 1905. Support for the Land League (which fought for the rights of small farmers) from some elements of the Order (especially in Armagh) was effectively smothered as the landed gentry extended their influence. Fifty Orangemen from Cavan and Monaghan volunteered to bring in the harvest for Captain Boycott in County Mayo after he was ostracised by his local community (who usually provided him with labour) for rackrenting.

Related organisations

There are two related organisations, the Apprentice Boys of Derry (named after Protestant guild apprentices who closed the city gates on a Jacobite army seeking to enter the walled city of Londonderry in 1688 and helped withstand the siege of Londonderry), whose roots lie in urban working-class Protestant communities, and the Royal Black Preceptory. The latter has been the most willing of the marching groups not to enter Catholic areas without permission. There is some dispute as to the RBP's origins, some suggesting that they are descended from the remnants of the Knights of the Order of St John.

The Orange Order throughout the world

The Orange Institution spread throughout the English-speaking world and further abroad. It is headed by the Imperial Grand Orange Council. It has the power to arbitrate in disputes between Grand Lodges, and in internal disputes when invited. The Council represents the Grand Lodges of Ireland, Scotland, England, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Ghana and Togo. There are entirely black lodges in Africa and a Mohawk lodge in Canada. Most English lodges are based in the Liverpool area, including Bootle. An estimated 4000 Orangemen, women and children parade in Liverpool and Southport every 12th July, watched by thousands more. Southport The Orange Institution can claim many historical figures amongst its ranks. Orangeman Alexander James Muir (Ontario LOL 142) wrote both the music and lyrics to the former Canadian National Anthem "The Maple Leaf Forever" in 1867. He was also a soldier in the Queen's Own Rifles of Toronto and was involved in fighting and defeating the Fenians at Ridgeway, Ontario in 1866. An obelisk there marks the spot where Orangemen died in defending the colony against an attack by members of Clan na Gael (commonly known as Fenians). Orangemen fought with General Isaac Brock at the Battle of Queenston Heights in the War of 1812. Lieutenant-Colonel Ogle R.Gowan commanded the Queen's Royal Borderers. He was wounded at the Battle of Windmill, near Prescott, Ontario, in 1838 while Canadians were defending themselves from an attack from the United States. Orangemen played a big part in suppressing the Upper Canada rebellion of William Lyon Mackenzie in 1837. Though the rebellion was but a skirmish and short-lived, nevertheless, 317 Orangemen were sworn in to the local militia by the Mayor of Toronto and then resisted Mackenzie's march down Yonge Street in 1837. Orangemen in western Canada helped suppress the rebellions of Louis Riel in 1870 and 1885. In 1871, in New York City, Mayor Hall and Superintendent Kelso, head of the New York Police Department, issued a decree on 10th July banning the 12th July demonstration. Nine people had been killed and more than a hundred injured (including women and children) during the parade the year before, when a riot broke out after the marchers had taunted Irish Catholics with sectarian songs and slogans. The ban appalled many nativists, who saw it as bowing down to the wishes of the Irish Catholic immigrant community. The New York Times had a July 11 headline, "Terrorism Rampant. City Authorities Overawed by the Roman Catholics." The ban was revoked by State Governor Hoffman, after pressure from the city's elite. He promised the Orangemen protection by the state and Federal authorities if the city of New York could not provide it. Over 1000 state militiamen (the mainly Catholic 69th Regiment had been confined to barracks) formed a protective barrier around less than 100 Orangemen. Thousands protested the march on Eighth Avenue, throwing bottles and rotten food at the marchers, and the day soon descended into mayhem when shooting broke out. The death toll of the day was 50 protesters and six policemen: 300 protesters were injured, and 60 police and army personnel. Only two Orangemen were injured. Almost 400 Irish Roman Catholics were arrested for various offences. There was no trouble in the 1872 demonstration in New York and no demonstration in 1873. At the second sessions of the State Grand Lodge of New York in June, 1874 there were discussions on further Twelfth marches in New York. The report concluded: "The prevailing opinion is that parading through the streets on the Twelfth of July is entirely unnecessary, and as the authorities have decided in favour of the society have the same rights extended to them as other societies -- the right to parade it is now deemed not at all necessary ... that instead each lodge should meet at their headquarters and celebrate the anniversary ... by a social reunion". The Twelfth, 1874, being a Sunday, the brethren attended services at Holy Trinity Church where the Rev. S. H. Tynge was the preacher. He said of the Orangemen: "They were American Protestants -- no longer Irish Protestants. They did well to remember the deeds of the brave men of Enniskillen, and sternness of Prince William, but he would beseech them to be done with the enmities, to cast aside the prejudices born in these hours of trial." The next Orange parade was in 1890 when there was a march with a picnic in Jones Wood at which 4,000 were present. The last New York parade was in 1900 when the Imperial Grand Orange Council of the World had its sessions in the city. The best-known Orangeman of the Boer War was probably Sir James Craig, later the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. Craig, who often declared that he was an Orangeman first and Unionist second, served with 'distinction' in South Africa. He served with the Royal Irish Rifles, and also the Imperial Yeomanry, and it was while fighting with the latter that he endeared himself to this comrades. The Irish Squadrons of the Imperial Yeomanry were badly mauled at a place called Lindley in the Orange Free State by a large force of Boer Commandos led by Piet De Wet. When the war was over, Craig presented a flag captured from the Boers to an Orange lodge in County Down. He often expressed admiration for his Boer opponents and like many Ulstermen admired the Boers for their Calvinist religion and their courage and fairness in battle. James Craig (later Lord Craigavon) as Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, at Stormont is quoted as stating on April 24 1934 - "I have always said that I am an Orangeman first and a politician and a member of this Parliament afterwards - They still boast of Southern Ireland being a Catholic State. All I boast of is that we are a Protestant Parliament and a Protestant State". Bro. William Ferguson Massey, a native of Limavady who went on to be Prime Minister of New Zealand between 1912-1925, was a member of L.O.L. No.10 Auckland, New Zealand. Orangemen fought in the Crimean War, Indian Mutiny and other conflicts. On one occasion when men of the Royal Irish Fusiliers were granted an audience with the Pope, several Orangemen in the regiment wore their sashes under their army uniforms, rather than display them overtly and risk causing offence. Orangemen fought in both World Wars. The most famous battle in the folklore of the Order is the Bat