There has long been a tendency on the part of many Ulster
Protestants to take the gloomiest view of things and to fail
to recognise the strong points about their position in Northern
Ireland. Perhaps that is understandable, given the fact that
for over 30 years republican terrorists did their utmost to
bomb and shoot them into a united Ireland, and in many parts
of the Province indulged in the most vicious form of ethnic
cleansing.
But it is no reason why Protestants should not feel more
confident about their standing. Indeed, it is one of the strongest
points in their armoury. A people who could withstand such
a terrible campaign of murder and mayhem and emerge bloody
but unbowed, have surely every reason to feel the stronger
for it.
There are other reasons too, not least the fact that Northern
Ireland is still a very prosperous and progressive place.
Of course, the violence and especially the bombing affected
the drive for more new industry and investment.
But the Ulster people still proved their resilience, and
although the economic climate internationally has not always
been the easiest, Northern Ireland’s industrial output
has more than matched most other regions of the United Kingdom.
The Orange Order has every reason to feel confident as it
prepares to enter a New Year. It has been a good year for
parades, and for recruitment. But that is not the only reason
for optimism.
Orange halls continue to make a notable contribution to the
Ulster community as a whole, and as the Order’s chief
executive, George Patton, pointed out in a recent speech in
Enniskillen, there are 900 Orange Halls in the province, and
these are used by a wide range of organisations and groups.
The Orange hall continues to occupy a special place in the
affections, and in the affairs of many Ulster communities,
especially those in rural areas. The city and town Orange
halls are also vital and perform a vital role, but in the
small towns, villages and countryside of Northern Ireland,
they are often one of the few – in some cases the only
– place where protestant people can meet for social and
cultural activities.
In Belfast it has been very encouraging to note the important
improvements carried out in Sandy Row Orange Hall and West
Belfast Orange Hall on the Shankill Road. These are vital
citadels in those loyalist strongholds and have a special
place in the affections of the people.
It is the same in Ballymacarrett, Ballynafeigh, Alexandra
Park and other Orange halls. And in Portadown, Lurgan, Ballymena,
and many other towns the Orange halls have been improved and
extended.
The credit union movement is flourishing in the Orange Institution,
and in many places welfare and other activities are booming.
There have been firm moves to improve the youth side of things
and encourage more young Orangemen to play a part in the running
of their Lodges.
All this, and a lot more besides, makes for a vibrant and
confident community, and that is what the Orange Order represents.
There is no need for despondency among Protestants and Orangemen,
but it would help an awful lot if unionist politicians and
parties of all hues could move closer together and help provide
a more solid base for the British cause in this loyal province.
But, as the Orange Standard has pointed out before –
the Protestant people of Ulster have faced terrible oppression
in the past, from 1641, right through the 1688-90 period,
the 1798 rebellion, and more recently, the Home Rule crisis,
Partition, and the I.R.A. campaigns of the 1950s, 1960s and
up to the present.
Ulster Protestants have refused to be subdued by violence,
terrorism and intimidation, so there is certainly no reason
for them to be demoralised as republicanism switches its tactics
from daily terrorism to a more subtle, but sustained programme
of propaganda, in which the truth is usually the casualty.
Orangeism must be, as always in the past, in the vanguard
of resistance to militant republicanism and nationalism, and
provide the Protestant people with leadership.
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