Axe drink-fuelled Orange parades
Newshound
(John Coulter, Irish Dáily Star)
Ban the booze, go to church, and love thy Catholic neighbour – that’s how the future of the Orange Order should be shaped.
Much of the trouble at Orange parades has been sparked by drunken loyalists.
But the Order cannot play the Biblical Pilate and wash its hands of the yob culture which sticks to Orangeism like a blood-sucking leech.
What the Order needs to control is not the marchers, but Kick the Pope flute bands afterwards.
Perhaps, the Order should stick to solely church parades and hymn tunes? In a bid to give the Order some positive spin, the renowned Unionist historian Dr David Hume – Orangeism’s Director of Services – unveiled his vision of the Order’s future at a banner unfurling in Co Antrim.
By accident or design, Doc Dave performed the honours for Ballycraigy Temperance True Blues – a lodge bearing the ethos of the Protestant equivalent of the Catholic non-boozing Pioneers.
Doc Dave should have gone for the jugular and hammered out the tough-talking message – ban the booze before, during and after all Orange and loyalist band parades.
According to Doc Dave, the Order now boasts some 1,176 lodges across Ireland.
They need to take Doc Dave’s ‘Temperance’ sentiments to heart and ban booze.
Doc Dave is also adamant last 12 July, some 400,000 were either marching or participating in the demonstrations.
The peace process has made 12 July a bigger tourist draw than during the era of the bombs and bullets and sectarian slaughter.
Doc Dave has also noted: “We are encouraging civic leadership among our members.”
Then tell your band members and supporters not to get drunk on 12 July, or any other event, including 11th night bonfires.
“Our institution comprises men of honour” – another notable claim from Doc Dave.
If that’s truly the case, then scrap the flaunting of paramilitary-style flags and bannettes, or emblems glorifying dead terrorists.
It’s difficult for ordinary Catholics, and many Protestants, to get their heads around the notion of ‘men of honour’, when they see Orangemen commemorating organisations such as the Ulster Volunteer Force and Young Citizen Volunteers.
Okay, so Doc Dave will point out the Order is ‘honouring’ those groups from the Home Rule period, and not the death squads which butchered Northerners from both sides.
And how do you also explain ‘men of honour’ to Catholics when they see Orangemen refusing to talk directly to nationalist residents’ groups?
Why did ‘men of honour’ allow terrorist godfathers like King Rat, Billy Wright, mingle freely amongst them at Drumcree?
Why did the Order allow ‘man of honour’ William McGrath, the Beast of Kincora, who formed the vehemently anti-Catholic terror group, Tara, to join its ranks?
How many ‘men of honour’, who turned out to be loyalist terrorists, have been given Orange honour guards at their funerals?
Doc Dave noted: “There will be challenges in the future in terms of membership because there are many other distractions for people.”
The Order should remember the key Biblical advice about taking the beam out of its own eye before removing the mote from someone else’s.
June 4, 2008
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This article appeared in the June 2, 2008 edition of the Irish Daily Star.
