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Speaking on Friday night, May 28, at the centenary dinner
of Curryfree True Blues LOL 1060, Co. Londonderry, the Deputy
Grand Master of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, Edward
Stevenson said:
Centenaries are an occasion when we can look back and celebrate
all that has been achieved by the hard work of many people.
In the Orange Institution, history and tradition plays a
significant part in our activities. We are an organisation
with a long and proud history that actually stretches back
over two centuries.
Although we are first and foremost a religious and cultural
organisation, it would be wrong to assume that we do not take
an interest in politics.
One of the many aspirations shared by Orangemen is to maintain
the union with the rest of the United Kingdom.
The union is bigger than the Orange Order or any single political
party and I was very pleased when the Grand Master, Robert
Saulters, last week spoke out on the subject.
The Grand Master said he believed there should be one big
unionist party which was big enough and modern enough to allow
people with conflicting opinions to work together for the
common purpose of maintaining the union. He said there must
be a drive towards unionist unity or at the very least better
joined up thinking between unionists.
I agree totally with his comments.
They were timely and most important of all, they were a true
reflection of what Orangemen the length and breadth of this
country are telling us.
When people like the Grand Master and I call for unionist
unity, we are not making party political points. In fact the
opposite is true.
We are saying that the one sure way to maintain the union
is for unionists to forge a better working relationship and
ultimately they can create one big powerful party that will
have strength and a shared vision.
As leaders of the Orange Institution, we would be failing
our membership if we did not flag up what Orangemen are telling
us.
I have been heartened by the strong support for the comments
made by the Grand Master.
Of course, there will be those who disagree - and they are
entitled to that position - but they are not saying what I
hear on the ground.
The Orange Order has a responsibility to articulate the views
of its members and it is then up to the politicians to work
out the best way forward.
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