Choyaa

The bogeyman of Lundy plays an extremely damaging role today within Unionism…

Choyaa on December 9, 2019, 7:24 am

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At this time of the year, most people are busy getting ready for Christmas and enjoying the festivities, however within Protestant and Unionist circles (of which I’m from) the historical character of Lundy is remembered by many. Unfortunately remembering the historical Lundy and flushing out perceived modern-day Lundies has become an unhealthy and destructive daily obsession within political Unionism and grassroots Protestantism and I wanted to briefly discuss the shadow of Lundy that hangs over my community even today. On …

Tom Elliott and the battle for Fermanagh and South Tyrone…

Choyaa on November 30, 2019, 7:44 am

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Tom Elliot is very much the reluctant candidate in the Fermanagh and South Tyrone Westminster contest. I wanted to focus on this election battle and give outsiders a little context on the contest from a Unionist perspective. Within FST, Unionists are the minority community. If you ask any Unionist within the constituency what they expect from the election, the answer is a Sinn Fein victory. Having said that, there is a strong desire for representation at Westminster, a strong desire …

A long way from Dan Winter’s cottage – An insiders view of the current state of the Orange Order…

Choyaa on November 3, 2019, 5:09 pm

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Choyaa is a Fermanagh Orangeman Sam McBride has penned the highly acclaimed “Burned” which is a serious and important piece of investigative journalism that focuses on the Renewal Heating Incentive (RHI) scandal overseen by a number of prominent DUP members including the current leader Arlene Forster. Sam McBride was told by some within the DUP following the release of the book that it contained many errors, when Sam asked for specific examples he was met with silence. When I heard …

An insiders guide to the Royal Black Institution and the Fermanagh Black Twelfth…

Choyaa on August 11, 2019, 8:01 am

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Choyaa is a Fermanagh Orangeman The anticipation of the big parade has been building up for the past year and come the first Saturday in August all preparations are about to be realised. There’s a plethora of speculation about who will be within the procession with some very famous dignitaries anticipated along with spectators expected to reach tens of thousands. There is a buzz, there is vibrancy, and there is a feeling that this parade is part of the mainstream …

The Orange Order: An Insider’s View of The Twelfth Day

Choyaa on July 21, 2019, 6:16 pm

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Choyaa is an Fermanagh Orangeman It’s the Sunday following the Twelfth and I arrive into church a few minutes early. The pews are generally empty as it’s the Twelfth period and our minister is on his annual holidays. A lady watches me attentively as I sit in one of the pews, I watch her from the corner of my eye and I suspect something is wrong. I have never spoken to this lady before but I have seen her in …

The Orange Order: An Insider’s View…

Choyaa on July 11, 2019, 12:10 pm

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To my surprise some recent thoughts of mine on the Orange Institution and its problems received a number of requests for more detail and I was kindly asked to post a topic or two on the subject. I thought I would break it into three posts if this doesn’t bore the Slugger audience too much, namely (1) Life in the Orange and the challenges faced, (2) A day at a Fermanagh Twelfth and (3) Moving the Institution Forward. Many years …