Rite and Reason: As Northern Protestants prepare to celebrate their identity tomorrow, Robin Bury reflects on the lives of Protestants in the Republic's border counties.
Protestants in the counties of Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Cavan, Monaghan, and Louth, have recently been subject to no less than four major research projects.
These were The Emerald Curtain (EC), All over the Place (AOTP), Border Protestant Perspectives (BPP) and Derry/Raphoe Action Survey (DRA).
Even though this has led to what one of the reports described as "research fatigue" among border Protestants, the findings are nonetheless revealing and consistent. They paint a sad picture of the Republic as still being what has been described as a "cold house for Protestants".
Here is a sample of what the research turned up.
All reports agreed that border Protestants overwhelmingly believed they were unfairly represented politically, both at local and national levels. Derry and Raphoe stated that "83 per cent believe that improvements could be made to include minority voices", while the EC report concluded the community generally felt "like an outsider." The reports all emphasised the lack of homogeneity within the Protestant community, whose religious beliefs vary considerably. But there are also many things Protestants shared in common. They were, for example, left on "the wrong side of the border" in 1920 (Emerald Curtain), were subject to intimidation and violence between 1920-1923, and their numbers declined by a staggering 65 per cent between 1911 and 1991.
The consequence of this is a tendency by the community to "keep its head down" (Emerald Curtain). This in turn has led to a sense of isolation and neglect.
As the EC report stated, there is "still a lack of acceptance of the value of the Protestant community" and "the Protestant community still perceives a level of distrust, intolerance and disregard for its cultural identity".
On the question of the compulsory Irish language policy pursued by the State, the EC report concluded that this "impeded" the integration of Protestants. All reports agreed that discrimination was a fact of life for the community in the Republic.
The BPP found that "26 per cent of respondents believe that they do not have equal access to employment in the statutory sector". The DRA report found that 21 per cent of respondents believed that equal opportunities "do not exist" in the State sector.
For example, there are just 14 Protestants in the Garda, out of a total force of 12,000.
Discrimination was also widely reported in the workplace and in educational institutions. The BPP report stated that 23 per cent of Protestants reported "negative discrimination as a result of their religious identity".
The question of mixed marriages featured prominently in some reports. The BPP found that most Protestants do not approve of mixed marriages. Only 17 per cent indicated that "they would approve without reservation".
And, perhaps surprisingly, over 80 per cent of the 25 to 35 age group were unhappy about mixed marriages.
This, however, seemed to contrast with the fact that at least one third of Protestants are entering mixed marriages today.
As for government funding, "there was a real sense that Protestant groups had not accessed their fair share" (AOTP). This suggested that there is still a "lack of funding for community development in the protestant (sic) community, especially for physical infrastructure," and that Protestants had generally been unsuccessful when applying for grants (EC).
According to the EC report, this could be countered by "on-going funding" to the community. That would result in "a huge confidence boost".
What about the vanguard of Protestantism, the Loyal Orders?
There are few parades in border counties now, such as in St. Johnston and Rosnowlagh in Donegal. Orange halls have been attacked and there have been some serious arson attempts. The Orange Order is still viewed by many as threatening and their parades are not seen as peaceful portrayals of their identity.
So as you can see, there is much work to be done before Protestants along the border, and indeed in the Republic, gain confidence.
As long as a narrow definition of Irishness prevails considerable problems of acceptance will remain.
Writing in The Irish Times in 2001, the late Mary Holland remarked that the Belfast Agreement gave an opportunity for the Protestant community "to re-invent itself as a vibrant political and social force in the life of the nation".
For this to happen the Irish state has obligations to advance a pluralist society. As the BPP report stated, "81 per cent of survey respondents say that the Irish State has a role to play to ensure the validation and place of the Protestant community within a pluralist state".
It is time to listen to Ireland's largest minority. Only then will our pluralist pretensions become a reality.
Robin Bury is writing a book about the Protestant experience in the Republic through the prism of a family memoir. He is chairman of the Reform Movement