Post by He_Who_Walks_in_The_Wilderness on Feb 11, 2008 1:24:31 GMT
Government of the RoI recognizes the Legitimacy of the Orange Order in Ireland, shame sinn fein can't do the same
Orange County, Irish-style...
In the week Eamon O Cuiv authorised a €250k grant to Orange Orders in the Republic, John Meagher reports...
By John Meagher
Saturday February 09 2008
Getting to Mullaghboy Orange Hall is not easy. It is just a few miles from Cootehill, but requires an intimate knowledge of Cavan's back roads. The labyrinthine route along laneways barely wide enough to allow two cars to pass is likely to defeat the best map reader and satellite navigation system.
From the outside, the hall is a relatively nondescript, single-storey building, erected in the 1870s. The shiny PVC windows and tarred car park in front suggest a recent renovation job. There is no plaque or sign outside to denote the building's purpose. For anyone lost in this remote but pretty stretch of Cavan farm land, it is unlikely to arouse much interest.
But anyone venturing inside will be in for a surprise. And as soon as Charley McAdam, secretary of Cavan's Orange Order, unlocks the door it's obvious that this is no ordinary community hall in the Irish backwater.
Four large banners are mounted on the wall opposite the door. They are old and slightly tattered looking and familiar to those who have seen footage of Orangemen marching. Biblical scenes and images from the First World War are depicted. An ancient framed photograph of Queen Victoria is here, too, as well as snapshots of Cavan Orangemen from past times.
A glass cabinet at one end of the room houses bowler hats, traditional flutes, sashes -- including those of a sister Protestant organisation, Royal Black Preceptory -- and, incongruously, a Playstation console. "It's for the kids," McAdam explains.
Elsewhere, an Orange Order flag -- a purple star on an orange backdrop, with a St George's Cross in the corner -- is carefully folded.
Posters of Linfield FC -- Belfast's dominant Protestant football club -- are stuck to a noticeboard. One of them carries the following message: 'Sectarianism offends true blues'. The 'blue' theme even extends to the colour of the baize on the pool table.
A large drum, with the words Mullaghboy Orange Lodge, squats on another windowsill. "It's not a Lambeg drum," McAdam corrects. "Those are much bigger than this one."
There's a touch of humour too. A pair of long Jaffa Cakes boxes rest on the window sill. 'I'm dreaming of an orange Christmas,' reads one packet. 'O come let us adore them, they're orangey,' proclaims the other. "I saw those before Christmas and I just had to get them," Cavan's Orange Order secretary jokes.
Some 20 local Orange Lodge members -- mostly farmers -- meet at Mullaghboy Hall regularly. And the building is used by their families and friends also. It is one of a dozen Orange Halls in the county that are still used routinely.
Orangeism is in a healthy state in the county. Up to 200 Cavan residents are members of the Orange Order -- the exclusively Protestant fraternal organisation established in 1795 and taking its name from the Dutch-born King of Britain, William of Orange.
Cavan has one of the highest per capita Protestant populations in the Republic, and a sizeable minority of those are members of the Order.
Charley McAdam -- Cavan born and bred -- is passionate about Orangeism and he devotes much of his time to it. It is something, he says, that goes hand-in-hand with his strong Church of Ireland faith. "It is a tradition that has run in my family for a long time," he says. "And it is important to me that I pass it on to my next of kin."
This has been a good week for the Republic's Orangemen, with Rural Affairs Minister Eamon O Cuiv grant-aiding the organisation to the tune of €250,000. The money will go to Cadolemo, a company established by Orange lodges in the border counties of Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan and Leitrim. It has been allocated for a two-year period and marks the first time that the Irish government has given cash to the organisation famous for parading on the anniversary of the 1690 Battle of the Boyne.
The fact that O Cuiv is a grandson of former Taoiseach and President Eamon de Valera has not gone unnoticed in news reports north of the border.
McAdam seems to have a lot of regard for the minister. "Mr O Cuiv has attended an Orange picnic [the term for informal get-togethers of Orangemen and their families] up here so he understands at first hand that the Order is not just about parades on the 12th [of July]."
Those who assume that the Orange Order only meets for sometimes contentious marches on July 12 is wide of the mark. McAdam produces a wall chart which details the number of meetings and activities that the Mullaghboy Orange Lodge and its families are involved with. There are band practices, sporting events and charitable functions that take place over much of the year.
McAdam -- a part-time suckler farmer in his early 40s who lives just up the road from Mullaghboy Hall -- is also the co-ordinator of the Border Minority Group, which was established in 2001 to facilitate community and cultural development within the Protestant demographic of Cavan, Leitrim and Monaghan. "The Protestant population has decreased since Irish Independence," he says. "Many of them went to Northern Ireland. Mixed marriages with Roman Catholics also led to a reduction in the number of Protestants in the border counties. That might not sound very politically correct, but it is the case."
Aligned with McAdam's Protestant faith is a sense of Britishness. "I may have been born in Ireland, but I feel British," he says. "I'm speaking on a personal level, not on behalf of other Protestants in the area, many of whom obviously feel Irish. I feel I have a number of identities. I'm a Cavan man, I'm an Ulster man and I'm also a British man. I just happened to be born in Ireland."
Despite this sense of Britishness, McAdam is not eligible for a UK passport. He has considered moving with his wife and young children to Scotland, but has contented himself with the quiet life of rural Cavan.
He spends far more time in Belfast than Dublin. A football fan, he travels to see Linfield play on a regular basis and he also makes the journey to Glasgow to watch his beloved Rangers. Today, he's casually dressed in a Rangers FC hoodie. He says his southern accent -- a quintessential thick Cavan brogue -- has caused him no grief at either Windsor Park or Ibrox, the respective homes of Linfield and Rangers.
When it comes to following international football, his heart is with Northern Ireland, not the Republic. Even during the euphoria of the 1990 World Cup, he did not support "Jack's Army". When asked who he would cheer for in a game between the Republic and England, he says he would remain neutral. He has no interest in Gaelic Games, although he jokes about being able to bluff a knowledge of Cavan GAA when necessary.
"I stand for The Soldier's Song, but I won't sing along," he says. "I think the words are an incitement to hatred." He says he is annoyed by the fact that Ulster Protestants playing international rugby for Ireland "have to stand for The Soldier's Song" before the game. "It's not fair for them," he suggests.
Similar sentiments from other Orangemen have not always gone down well in the border counties. McAdam says many of his brethren have adopted a 'heads down' approach, but hostilities sometimes arise. "We feel we have a lot to offer our communities, irrespective of religion," he says, recalling that a fundraising event in the county last year generated funds for disabled children of all religious persuasions.
That event was held in Drumartin Orange Hall, just a few miles up the road, and in the midst of a clump of huge wind turbines. But on the night of Halloween last, the building was badly damaged by fire. Only the outer walls with a single purple star bearing the date 1925, remain. Some suspect an arson attack, but there's no proof. "We will rebuild it," McAdam says. "Just like all Orange halls that have been damaged by arson or otherwise over the years have been rebuilt."
Whether destroyed on purpose or not, the shell of Drumartin Hall seems to serve as a reminder of the Orange Order's uneasy past and unsure future. "Some may have had their views coloured by events at Drumcree a decade ago," McAdam says. "But the reality is of an organisation for Protestants anxious to keep their traditions intact. Live and let live."
- John Meagher
Orange County, Irish-style...
In the week Eamon O Cuiv authorised a €250k grant to Orange Orders in the Republic, John Meagher reports...
By John Meagher
Saturday February 09 2008
Getting to Mullaghboy Orange Hall is not easy. It is just a few miles from Cootehill, but requires an intimate knowledge of Cavan's back roads. The labyrinthine route along laneways barely wide enough to allow two cars to pass is likely to defeat the best map reader and satellite navigation system.
From the outside, the hall is a relatively nondescript, single-storey building, erected in the 1870s. The shiny PVC windows and tarred car park in front suggest a recent renovation job. There is no plaque or sign outside to denote the building's purpose. For anyone lost in this remote but pretty stretch of Cavan farm land, it is unlikely to arouse much interest.
But anyone venturing inside will be in for a surprise. And as soon as Charley McAdam, secretary of Cavan's Orange Order, unlocks the door it's obvious that this is no ordinary community hall in the Irish backwater.
Four large banners are mounted on the wall opposite the door. They are old and slightly tattered looking and familiar to those who have seen footage of Orangemen marching. Biblical scenes and images from the First World War are depicted. An ancient framed photograph of Queen Victoria is here, too, as well as snapshots of Cavan Orangemen from past times.
A glass cabinet at one end of the room houses bowler hats, traditional flutes, sashes -- including those of a sister Protestant organisation, Royal Black Preceptory -- and, incongruously, a Playstation console. "It's for the kids," McAdam explains.
Elsewhere, an Orange Order flag -- a purple star on an orange backdrop, with a St George's Cross in the corner -- is carefully folded.
Posters of Linfield FC -- Belfast's dominant Protestant football club -- are stuck to a noticeboard. One of them carries the following message: 'Sectarianism offends true blues'. The 'blue' theme even extends to the colour of the baize on the pool table.
A large drum, with the words Mullaghboy Orange Lodge, squats on another windowsill. "It's not a Lambeg drum," McAdam corrects. "Those are much bigger than this one."
There's a touch of humour too. A pair of long Jaffa Cakes boxes rest on the window sill. 'I'm dreaming of an orange Christmas,' reads one packet. 'O come let us adore them, they're orangey,' proclaims the other. "I saw those before Christmas and I just had to get them," Cavan's Orange Order secretary jokes.
Some 20 local Orange Lodge members -- mostly farmers -- meet at Mullaghboy Hall regularly. And the building is used by their families and friends also. It is one of a dozen Orange Halls in the county that are still used routinely.
Orangeism is in a healthy state in the county. Up to 200 Cavan residents are members of the Orange Order -- the exclusively Protestant fraternal organisation established in 1795 and taking its name from the Dutch-born King of Britain, William of Orange.
Cavan has one of the highest per capita Protestant populations in the Republic, and a sizeable minority of those are members of the Order.
Charley McAdam -- Cavan born and bred -- is passionate about Orangeism and he devotes much of his time to it. It is something, he says, that goes hand-in-hand with his strong Church of Ireland faith. "It is a tradition that has run in my family for a long time," he says. "And it is important to me that I pass it on to my next of kin."
This has been a good week for the Republic's Orangemen, with Rural Affairs Minister Eamon O Cuiv grant-aiding the organisation to the tune of €250,000. The money will go to Cadolemo, a company established by Orange lodges in the border counties of Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan and Leitrim. It has been allocated for a two-year period and marks the first time that the Irish government has given cash to the organisation famous for parading on the anniversary of the 1690 Battle of the Boyne.
The fact that O Cuiv is a grandson of former Taoiseach and President Eamon de Valera has not gone unnoticed in news reports north of the border.
McAdam seems to have a lot of regard for the minister. "Mr O Cuiv has attended an Orange picnic [the term for informal get-togethers of Orangemen and their families] up here so he understands at first hand that the Order is not just about parades on the 12th [of July]."
Those who assume that the Orange Order only meets for sometimes contentious marches on July 12 is wide of the mark. McAdam produces a wall chart which details the number of meetings and activities that the Mullaghboy Orange Lodge and its families are involved with. There are band practices, sporting events and charitable functions that take place over much of the year.
McAdam -- a part-time suckler farmer in his early 40s who lives just up the road from Mullaghboy Hall -- is also the co-ordinator of the Border Minority Group, which was established in 2001 to facilitate community and cultural development within the Protestant demographic of Cavan, Leitrim and Monaghan. "The Protestant population has decreased since Irish Independence," he says. "Many of them went to Northern Ireland. Mixed marriages with Roman Catholics also led to a reduction in the number of Protestants in the border counties. That might not sound very politically correct, but it is the case."
Aligned with McAdam's Protestant faith is a sense of Britishness. "I may have been born in Ireland, but I feel British," he says. "I'm speaking on a personal level, not on behalf of other Protestants in the area, many of whom obviously feel Irish. I feel I have a number of identities. I'm a Cavan man, I'm an Ulster man and I'm also a British man. I just happened to be born in Ireland."
Despite this sense of Britishness, McAdam is not eligible for a UK passport. He has considered moving with his wife and young children to Scotland, but has contented himself with the quiet life of rural Cavan.
He spends far more time in Belfast than Dublin. A football fan, he travels to see Linfield play on a regular basis and he also makes the journey to Glasgow to watch his beloved Rangers. Today, he's casually dressed in a Rangers FC hoodie. He says his southern accent -- a quintessential thick Cavan brogue -- has caused him no grief at either Windsor Park or Ibrox, the respective homes of Linfield and Rangers.
When it comes to following international football, his heart is with Northern Ireland, not the Republic. Even during the euphoria of the 1990 World Cup, he did not support "Jack's Army". When asked who he would cheer for in a game between the Republic and England, he says he would remain neutral. He has no interest in Gaelic Games, although he jokes about being able to bluff a knowledge of Cavan GAA when necessary.
"I stand for The Soldier's Song, but I won't sing along," he says. "I think the words are an incitement to hatred." He says he is annoyed by the fact that Ulster Protestants playing international rugby for Ireland "have to stand for The Soldier's Song" before the game. "It's not fair for them," he suggests.
Similar sentiments from other Orangemen have not always gone down well in the border counties. McAdam says many of his brethren have adopted a 'heads down' approach, but hostilities sometimes arise. "We feel we have a lot to offer our communities, irrespective of religion," he says, recalling that a fundraising event in the county last year generated funds for disabled children of all religious persuasions.
That event was held in Drumartin Orange Hall, just a few miles up the road, and in the midst of a clump of huge wind turbines. But on the night of Halloween last, the building was badly damaged by fire. Only the outer walls with a single purple star bearing the date 1925, remain. Some suspect an arson attack, but there's no proof. "We will rebuild it," McAdam says. "Just like all Orange halls that have been damaged by arson or otherwise over the years have been rebuilt."
Whether destroyed on purpose or not, the shell of Drumartin Hall seems to serve as a reminder of the Orange Order's uneasy past and unsure future. "Some may have had their views coloured by events at Drumcree a decade ago," McAdam says. "But the reality is of an organisation for Protestants anxious to keep their traditions intact. Live and let live."
- John Meagher
