Sir,—Proinsias Ó Conluain’s article ‘Orange déjà vu?’ (HI 4.4, Winter 1996) sadly attributed the ‘déjà vu’ solely to the Orange Order. In fact the ‘déjà vu’ really relates to the whole series of events culminating in the tensions and troubles surrounding Orange parades. Sadly his article, which missed out valuable historical facts, was partial at best and fails to take the wider historical context into account. He also fails to relate the current events to any of the major parade controversies of the past two centuries. Equally in his explanation the old adage ‘it takes two to tango’ does not seem to figure.
There have been many controversies surrounding Orange parades, some local, never reaching the infamy of Drumcree, while others have passed into the annals of Irish folklore and history. I would draw readers’ attention to four such incidents, three where disturbances occurred because of objections from local Nationalist and Roman Catholic residents (augmented, it should be noted, by outsiders), and the fourth where MP William Johnston of Ballykilbeg was prosecuted under the Party Processions Act (1850). My contention is that rather than being isolated events of coat trailing bigotry resulting in communal strife and tension, the controversies surrounding Orange parades are the responses of both the political communities in Ulster and lately Northern Ireland to prevailing terrorism or Nationalist political advancement.
In 1849 an Orange parade going to and returning from Lord Annesley’s estate in Tollymore caused problems while passing along a section of road at Dolly’s Brae. On this occasion the parade was attacked on the return leg by Ribbonmen and in the ensuing mêlée several Roman Catholics were killed (the relationship between the dead and the Ribbonmen is unclear). The previous year saw the Young Ireland movement attempting armed revolution. The significance to Ulster and County Down particularly was the role played by the Banbridge solicitor John Mitchel who was a leading Young Irelander and editor of the United Irishman newspaper which was very vocal in its support for the revolutionary cause. Thus tension between the political traditions was already heightened long before July.
The next parade controversy to consider is the parade between Newtownards and Bangor led by William Johnston in 1867. Again the larger picture was the emerging Fenian movement carrying out atrocities both in Ireland and in Great Britain. The decision to defy the Party Processions Act was based on two assumptions: the Act was unjust; and the Fenian movement had been parading openly throughout other parts of Ireland. Again the prevailing circumstances show a trend of political Nationalism gaining prominence and a violent Republican terror campaign being waged in the background.
In 1952/3 a parade along the Longstone Road, Annalong became an issue and was banned on two occasions due to pressure from local residents but was allowed to pass on the third occasion. The parade took place even though the road was bombed the previous night. As before, the prevailing circumstances show a terror campaign being waged, this time by Saor Uladh, and politically Éire had declared itself a republic in 1949 and the Easter Rising commemorations of 1952 included the seizing of Pomeroy village by Saor Uladh activists. It is also worth noting at this time that when Liam Kelly, the reputed leader of Saor Uladh, was released from prison the Irish cabinet member Sean McBride was present in Pomeroy to celebrate his release.
Finally it is worth noting the problems experienced in Portadown in July 1985/6. Again the traditional marches were the centre of problems and a route used for over 150 years became a controversial issue. As before there was in the wider community an IRA campaign and politically the Anglo-Irish Agreement was being drawn up and implemented.
Machiavelli said: ‘Prudent men are in the habit of saying that he who wishes to see what is to come should observe what has already happened…Future things are also easily known from past ones if a nation has for a long time kept the same habits’.
This is a selection of what can happen when terrorism occurs and politically Nationalism is in the ascendant. By applying this template to 1995/6 it was obvious that Orange parades would again be the source of trouble. From our past it is easy to see that parades are both issues around which action can be taken and they are convenient because they are traditional. The political landscape of 1995/6 saw the publication of the Framework Document—widely recognised as pro-nationalist—and the resumption of IRA violence. The scene was thus set for communal strife based around Orange parades.
It is interesting to note that in A.T.Q. Stewart’s The Narrow Ground (1969) he states that ‘Belfast riots have rarely, if ever, been begun by Orangemen marching in regalia. The archetypal situation is for an Orange procession to be attacked by Catholics, so initiating full-scale retaliation at a time when the “Orange blood was up”’. It would be folly to see these attacks solely as physical; these attacks could be against a traditional parade or the right to live in a certain area.
Thus the presence or absence of Lambeg drums or ‘Kick the pope’ bands becomes irrelevant, as does the playing of ‘party songs’ and so-called provocation. Each side is playing their part as if it was some form of predetermined play. The rights and wrongs of freedom of assembly, the right to free movement and the right of protests all become irrelevant as the major players fulfil the role history has determined. In the case of Portadown last year the ground had been politically laid for Nationalists to object to a long-established traditional Orange parade. Likewise the outcome was all too predictable.
By viewing the past we can see that the future in Ireland is predictable because we have for a long time kept the same habits. Surely as historians we should be prudent enough to lift our eyes above our own prejudices and be able to analyse these habits with open and impartial minds without relying on past condemnations as a way of living the present.—Yours etc.,
MARK W. NEALE
Portadown
Co. Armagh