Friday, January 18, 2008
Missed opportunity in Downpatrick…
JUST listening to Talkback, where it was revealed that St Patrick’s Orange Lodge will NOT march in this year’s St Patrick’s Day parade in Downpatrick. The lodge’s reason for turning down the invite seemed to be over a lack of assurances that they’d be able to display or wear the regalia of their choice. There had also been concerns for the safety of the marchers, but either way, it’s all a bit of a let-down for what could have been a positive move for community relations.
Belfast Gonzo @ 01:27 PM
When the full story emerges I think we might all find that this is cack-handed PR on the part of some local councillors - maybe well motivated but they’ve made a mess of this by letting it hit the front page of the papers before anything had actually been agreed.
The plan these councillors had - to parachute a non-local lodge into the St Patricks Day parade just because they’ve got “St Patrick” in the lodge name, rather than invite a genuinely local lodge whose membership are local people - looks like a stunt on the part of Down District Council.
Hopefully the lodge concerned will issue a press statement later on. My understanding is the lodge has been approached a few times by St Patricks Day event organisers both in NI and ROI over recent years. The media circus that’s happened today has probably killed the potential off - for this year at least.
Posted by on Jan 18, 2008 @ 04:16 PMI have to say I hope that its not a flags issue here - I know plenty of lodges which don’t parade with flags and the flags which are carried are just with the accompanying band. Anyway - the St Patrick’s flag is flown at Schomberg House so there clearly shouldn’t be a problem with flying that flag.
Its a step forward and hopefully it will happen. Obviously people will want to feel secure in what they’re doing and hopefully this one didnt happen because unreasonable demands were being made by either side.
Unfortunately it would appear that the flags thing could be the only issue - as mentioned time and time again, an Orange Sash or collarette is central to actually showing that you’re walking as a lodge - all banners show King William on one side and a religious/historical scene on the other so I’d be very surprised if the banner was the problem here. There are no other Orange symbols or regalia which could be any issue so it must come down to flags.
Again, I actually believe a Lodge should be able to walk without a flag on this occasion. It might be different was there not a strict policy which is enforced ensuring that the St Patricks flag is the only one flown.
Disappointing, but its probably inevitable that a lodge will participate in a parade somewhere eventually. And that will be good news.
Posted by on Jan 18, 2008 @ 04:22 PMI’ve always viewed the Downpatrick parade as an good example of how to celebrate St Patrick’s day inclusively (unlike the Belfast events). The Orange Order should have been prepared to go along with the spirit of the occasion, St Patrick’s flag being the symbol.
Posted by on Jan 18, 2008 @ 04:30 PMThe Orange Order should have been prepared to go along with the spirit of the occasion, St Patrick’s flag being the symbol.
Mike
So your compromise is to parade under a constituent part of the Union Jack? Here’s the invitation the OO received:
Invitations are extended to voluntary, community, statutory and commercial organisations to take part in the cross-community parade by:
· Entering an entertaining float, vehicle or attraction in the parade.
· Walking in the parade in fancy dress, traditional costume or club kit, carrying a colourful banner with their organisation’s name on it.‘Heroes & Icons’ is the theme for the parade.
Here’s my suiggested compromise: leave your political flags at home, everybody else manages to.
Posted by on Jan 18, 2008 @ 04:59 PMI have been told that bands which march with lodges do so under a contract, between the band and the lodge and are usually paid by the lodge.
Posted by on Jan 18, 2008 @ 05:11 PMMaybe they turned the invite down because Downpatrick is a boring shit-hole?
Posted by on Jan 18, 2008 @ 06:16 PMThere may have been a fear that a section of the parade was going to be re-routed into the Quoile or the this Lodge just could’nt go that bit further and be seen as the Orangemen who broke the mould.
Posted by on Jan 18, 2008 @ 07:05 PMMy earliest sharp memory is of awakening confused on an evening in 1949 when an Orange Lodge attempted a triumphalist parade through Downpatrick to celebrate the electoral victory of one Brian Faulkner over the Nationalist Party candidate, EK “Ned” McGrady, uncle of the present EK “Eddie” McGrady. The consequent rioting went on for days and through a child’s eyes I watched as women and men were carried or stumbled bleeding into our little house which somehow had become a temporary first-aid way station, my mother tearing up sheets for bandages and the water basins turning pink and then deeper red.
Downpatrick is the town that I love more than any other. My dear loved ones are buried there and it was at Inch Abbey or St Patrick’s Grave that I shared those first sweet kisses of teenage love. So you can only imagine the regret, the loss I feel that the Orange Lodge will not be participating in this year’s St Patrick’s Day Parade. We were so looking forward to that little touch of élan, that joie de vivre, that sense of inclusive spontaneous gaiety that they are so renowned for bringing to any ocasion which they grace with their presence.
They will be sorely missed. We shall not see their like again.
Posted by on Jan 19, 2008 @ 01:04 AM*the lodges based in the tewnty six counties dont seem to carry the tri colour.*
Don’t they? That’s a bit petty given that one of the colours on the Irish flag just happens to be their own (which is more than you can say for the British, Scottish, Northern Ireland, Canadian or Ghanaian flags).
Posted by on Jan 19, 2008 @ 02:46 AM
