The abuse directed last year at Fine Gael’s presidential candidate, Heather Humphreys, over links to the Orange Order showed “the intolerance that still exists” in the Republic of Ireland, the head of the organisation has charged.
The sharply-worded criticisms from Harold Henning, the grand master of the Grand Lodge of Ireland, came during the traditional demonstration held by the order in Rossnowlagh, Co Donegal.
Up to 6,000 members and supporters of the lodge, along with dozens of bands, attended the march which gathered at St John’s Church of Ireland outside Rossnowlagh village before parading to a field near the beach.
Paying tribute to members of the lodge in the Republic, Henning said they “were a credit” to the organisation: “I’m always mindful that the past decades have been a very difficult journey for you, and that journey has often been a lonely one.”
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Saying he could “not go without mentioning” last year’s presidential election, Henning said: “We all saw the intolerance that still exists in some quarters towards the Orange and Protestant identity here in the Republic of Ireland.
“It was shameful, brethren, what you had to go through at that time. I can assure the members of the institution here in the Republic of Ireland that you are vital and valued members of our Orange family and always will be.
Praising the order’s southern membership, who are parts of lodges in Dublin and Wicklow, Henning said: “Some of you will do a round trip of 160 miles to attend your lodge meeting.”
“I know the brethren from Cork and Kerry will drive the length of this island from Mullingar, or from wherever they’re coming, to attend their monthly lodge meeting,” he added.
Meanwhile, some members of lodges in Northern Ireland and who “are a couple of miles from our lodges and enter the door only occasionally” should “examine ourselves”, he said.
“Brethren, well done in the Republic of Ireland. You’re a credit to the cause. Your perseverance and faithfulness to your Protestant religion, to your Orange institutions, to your community identity, is an inspiration to us all,” he continued.
Hundreds of thousands of Orange Order members and their communities will march in Northern Ireland over coming days, he said: “Like any family, we are not perfect. We have our challenges, we have our problems.
“But if none of those can be overshadowed, the sense of belonging and loyalty that we have to our Orange cause and indeed to each other. As always, this parade provides a wonderful shop window for the very best of Orangeism,” he said.
The Order’s Donegal county grand master, David Mahon, said the Rossnowlagh demonstration had been supported by locals of all faiths for decades without difficulty.
“We have a good relationship with everybody: we borrow land with them for the day. They give us fields for parking and different things. They have all been really helpful to us over the years, and still are,” Mahon told The Irish Times.
Crowds began to gather from midmorning, including many members of lodges in Northern Ireland, with friendships rekindled over coffees, burgers and ice creams in the summer heat.
“We may be separated by a political border, a political boundary, but we are one people united in our love of the reformed Protestant faith and our proud history, culture and Orange traditions,” he said.
The long-held Donegal Orange demonstration has been held since the 1960s on the Saturday before the 12th of July, which marks the victory of King William III at the Battle of the Boyne in 1691.
