John Wayne’s Ulster roots are celebrated on Orange marching drum

Lambeg drum now bears image of Hollywood legend

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Lambeg drum now bears image of Hollywood legend John Wayne

Photo by Ballymenatimes

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John Wayne’s memory and his Irish heritage has been immortalised on a loyalist marching drum in Northern Ireland.

The Belfast Newsletter reports that an image of Wayne, descended from an Antrim emigrant, has been painted on a Lambeg drum.

The paper says that Wayne famously described himself as ‘just a Scotch-Irish boy’ whose Ulster-Scots roots were in the Randalstown area.

The Quiet Man star was the great great grandson of Robert Morrison from Andraid on the River Maine.

Now two community groups in Ulster have come together to pay their own unique tribute to The Duke.

The report says that Caddy and District Community Group (CDCG) along with Neillsbrook Community Development Group (NCDG) worked for months on the quest to trace the Morrison family tree, all the way back from the American frontier to Co Antrim.

They found, with the help of the Ulster-Scots Community Network, that Robert Morrison was baptised at Connor Presbyterian Church in 1782.

The network’s education officer, Matthew Warwick, said the young rebel was effectively forced into exile.

Warwick revealed: “At 16 years old, like so many of his fellow mid-Antrim Presbyterians, Robert Morrison took part in the 1798 Rebellion of United Irishmen, or the ‘turn-oot’ as it is known locally.

“After the suppression of the rebellion, Morrison learned that a warrant had been issued for his arrest for the role he had played in the insurrection.

“Fearing imprisonment, he fled with his mother Nancy across the Atlantic, arriving in New York in either 1799 or 1801.”

The report adds that thousands of Ulster Presbyterians fled their homeland for America during the 18th century, seeking religious tolerance and a new life in a land of opportunity.

The Morrisons followed the path of many previous settlers through the Carolinas, Kentucky and eventually into Ohio.

The paper says that one of Robert Morrison’s sons, Clyde Morrison, eventually travelled west to California, where his eldest son Marion Morrison was to become an Oscar winner and arguably the most famous actor of all time.

NCDG chairman Brian Johnston said: “We would work a lot with Caddy Fife and Drum Group and they would perform at our community events so we all linked together for the project.

“We wanted to do something different for a drum and so once we had established the local link to John Wayne, we felt it would be great to have his picture on our drum.

“It will certainly catch people’s eye as it definitely stands out.”

Johnston, who is also the secretary of the Claddy group, added that there is a thriving community spirit and a great interest in local history.

He said: “We run local history shows and it would just surprise you how much information that you gather up at them.

“This makes the drum more local and when someone asks why John Wayne is on it, then it’s a learning process for people.

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