Grand Secretary of the Orange Order to Address Irish Senate in July

There are Orange Lodges in Ireland contrary to the delusions of the likes of ancavker and others. Members of the Orange Lodges of course were made to feel like aliens with the likes of the attitudes of ancavker and others in the US. Ireland is a country of many religiuns, not a Catholic one as ancavker delusionally thinks. Northern Ireland is also a mix of various religions.

ancavker, and it shows you've never even studied Irish history.

john shiel there are 1000s of Orange parades taking place throughout the world each year, only in Ireland is it politised & demonised by both loyalists & republicans for their self serving interests. I would be interested in your views as to why this religious organisation should be outlawed, they raise millions of pounds each year for charity. I took part in a cross community project in 1993 & had an indepth meeting with the Grand Master, it certainly opened my eyes to what they are all about, don't let yourself be blinded by others prejudice, get out there & meet these people.

I've seen tourism pieces promoting Orange parades as tourist-friendly attractions. Wonder how that's going... Am watching breathlessly for a glowing account by a visitor of any stripe nonProtestant...

bythebay: Shows how little you know about Collins and Irish history, including the boundary commission, which was the British governments idea.

The IRB, 1916 Uprising contained both UI catholic & protestant, some protestants were members of the Orange Order, if people on this board cannot recognise that & that there is a place for this religious order on the island of Ireland counties, then we should give up a 32 county free state.

Mairint, if your definition of a so-called Irish patriot is one which is bigoted against other religions, they deserve to turn over in their graves for their bigotry. The Catholic Church in Ireland abused, reviled and belittled the people of Ireland for decades. Justice for their foul deeds is NOT disgraceful treatment by the government or justice system. It is very well deserved and earned.

There shouldn't be "Catholic" areas in Northern ireland, there should be mainstreaming where all live together in peace, harmony working together for the greater good of the country. There is an Orange Parade in Donegal in Ireland every year and there is no problem whatsoever with it.

NYCSheridan, the Grand Secretary of the Orange Order is NOT the Government oF Northern Ireland contrary to what you might believe in the Bronx. His appearance has nothing to do with the unification of anything -- the Irish Government has dignitaries from all walks of life address it just as the US Congress does. It does not mean the US is going to unify with anyone either. Michael Collins signed the Treaty partitioning Northern Ireland. He thought they would carve out the "Catholic" areas for the Free State, he was wrong. He would not want any dialog with anyone not Catholic. This is NOT what he would have wanted.

Anything which improves the relationship between Ulster/Northern Ireland and Munster/southern Ireland is to be welcomed. I only hope the relationship between Leinster/eastern Ireland and Connacht/western Ireland will follow suit. Apologies are the province of the ego. The Queen's Speech in Dublin Castle did refer to wishing things "... had been done differently or not at all." The Orange Order, though being similar, are different from Freemasonry. The Irish Government should invite them to march in the Phoenix Park (linear/perimeter) instead of Republican areas of NI. There used to be a statue of King William III (of Orange) at the roundabout near the Wellington monument, (before the IRA did a bit of monumental feng-shui in the 1960s). Better still, they could walk the linear Camino de Santiago to reclaim it for Protestantism, rather than around in obsessive/compulsive circles back at home. The British Government grant-aided the Orange Order STG£100,000 some years back. The European Union (EU) most recently to the tune of €900,000 , as a result of which they have become markably more receptive to reason with a surplus of shekels in their sporrans. Having landed on the sticky fly-trap paper like successive Irish Governments, (a grant being an ethically-cleansed bribe), they will find that the more they struggle to escape the more stuck they become. A Letter-to-the-Editor of The Irish Times during EIIR's visit to the greater part of Ireland last year suggested that Orangeism had a lot to offer Ireland. I'll be very interested to learn what precisely it is. (DO'L! You're a little anally-retentive with your capitols!)

Proud Canadian - you seem to have some misconception regarding Orange parades. They parade for many reasons including commemorating the Battle of the Boyne as you mention - however it is the civil and religious liberties conferred from William of Orange winning that are commemorated - Williams Army was supported by the Pope and had the Catholic Dutch guards on his side. The MAJORITY of Orange Order parades are small annual sunday church parades with 1 lodge and 1 band (pipe, accordion, silver or flute) playing hymns - usually parading from an Orange Hall to a church. My own lodge will be parading to church next week to church, the area is largely Catholic but the lodge and church of ireland are all located in this area and draw membership from the minority protestant population in this rural area and we parade this `catholic area` every year for our church service and never an eyelid batted.

Sorry guys but you are reading far to much propoganda. The Parades Commission website clearly states that 96% of Orange Order parades go ahead without any conditions. It is a tiny fraction of parades that prove controverial and they are usually in built up areas where the two communities lives cheek by jowl. The prime example of this is the parades that pass the Ardoyne shops. Ardoyne area has both Loyalist & Republican housing estates beside each other and the Ardoyne shops is a main road between the two. Orange Order parades do not routinely go through `Catholic areas`. For example the most controversial parade would be Drumcree, yet the parade marched said Garvaghy road 150 years ago - houses have only been built on the road in the last 60 years....

Dano.The analogy is a bit dodgy,but yes marching is what they do.Protestant druming marching and Catholic praying and marching can be benign.But both can be made highly antagonistic.A march or rally in a street that would stop or slow traffic is considered a parade and requires a permit.The restrictions must/should relate to a substantial government concern such as community tranquility.This should apply to ANY parade.Orange Order parades violate Catholic community tranquility and therefore should be restricted to where they are exceptable.Most are now restricted and so violence has subsided.In a 2011 survey of Orangemen throughout Northern Ireland, 58% said they should be allowed to march through nationalist areas with no restrictions.This leads me to believe that 58% of Orangemen are sectarian, triumphalist,and supremacist and obviously have a mental tendency to enjoy bullying and violence.This 58% need close scrutiny by non violent members of the Orange Order and the PNSI as you would do with any pack of rabid Billy boys in your midst.

It's about time they gave up marching through Catholic neighborhoods. If they need the exercise they can go to the gym like the rest of us!

Asking the OO not to march is like asking catholics not to pray...it's what they do. I agree it would be better if they did it in the privacy of their own 'church'...But should they not enjoy the same rights as any other group to freely assemble...whilst respecting the rights, and views, of others?