Orange Institution

The Orange Institution, more commonly known as the Orange Order or the Orange Lodge, is a Protestant fraternal organisation based predominantly in Northern Ireland and Scotland with lodges throughout the Commonwealth and the United States. It was founded in Loughgall, County Armagh, Ireland in 1795; its name is a tribute to Dutch-born Protestant king of Britain, William III of England (William II of Scotland), of the House of Orange-Nassau. William had defeated the Catholic army of James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. Observers have accused the Orange Institution of being a sectarian organisation, due to its goals and its exclusion of Roman Catholics as members.^[1][2][3]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Formation 1.2 Early years 1.3 Suppression 1.4 Revival 1.5 Role in the partition of Ireland 1.6 In Northern Ireland 2 Structure 3 Requirements for entry 4 Religion and culture 4.1 Protestantism 4.2 Parades 4.3 Orange Halls 5 Controversy 6 Political links and related organizations 6.1 Orange charities and societies 7 Throughout the world 7.1 Republic of Ireland 7.2 England 7.2.1 History 7.2.2 Parades 7.3 Scotland 7.4 Wales/Cymru 7.5 United States 7.6 New Zealand 7.7 Canada 7.8 Ghana 8 Military contributions 8.1 Orange war memorials 9 Orange Order flag 10 Grand Masters 11 See also 12 Notes and references 13 Further reading 13.1 Canada and United States 14 External links

History

Main article: History of the Orange Institution

The Orange Institution commemorates William of Orange, the Dutch prince who became King of Great Britain and Ireland in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. In particular, the Institution remembers the victories of William and his forces in Ireland in the early 1690s, especially the Battle of the Boyne.

Formation

The history of the Institution is tied in with the conflict between Protestants and Catholics in Ireland, especially since the Plantation of Ulster in the early seventeenth century. The Orange Order has its direct roots in inter-communal violence of the 1790s, in which Protestant and Catholic secret societies were formed to oppose each other. The Order was founded in Loughgall in County Armagh in 1795 after the Battle of the Diamond between the Catholic Defenders and the Protestant Peep O'Day Boys which left around 80 dead.

Early years

The 1790s were a time of agitation in Ireland, much of it led by the radical Society of United Irishmen. The Orange Order strongly opposed the United Irishmen and in doing so won many new members and some official support. Although the conflict between the Order and the United Irishmen was not sectarian, as many United Irishmen were Protestant, it rapidly took on sectarian overtones. Shortly after the Order's establishment, the Governor of Armagh, Lord Gosford, gave his opinion of the new group to a meeting of magistrates: "It is no secret that a persecution is now raging in this country… the only crime is… profession of the Roman Catholic faith. Lawless banditti have constituted themselves judges…" However, against the background of the seditious activity of the United Irishmen, the government backed the Orange Order from 1796. Thomas Knox, British military commander in Ulster, wrote in August 1796, "We must to a certain degree uphold them, for with all their licentiousness, on them we must rely for the preservation of our lives and properties should critical times occur."^[4] Many Orangemen fought on the government side in the subsequent Irish Rebellion of 1798. Moreover, many were also involved in reprisal attacks after the rebellion, in which over 60 Catholic churches were burned. Such a reaction was fueled by some rebel atrocities against Protestants, such as the Scullabogue Barn massacre. In the wake of the rebellion, once its usefulness had passed, the Orange Order was once again seen by the authorities primarily as a threat to public order.

Suppression

In the early nineteenth century, Orangemen were heavily involved in violent conflict with a Catholic secret society known as the Ribbonmen. In 1823 all oath-bound societies in Ireland were banned, including the Orange Order. However illegal gatherings continued. In 1845 the ban was lifted, but the famous Battle of Dolly's Brae between Orangemen and Ribbonmen in 1849 led to a ban on Orange marches which remained in place for several decades. This was eventually lifted after a campaign of disobedience led by William Johnston of Ballykilbeg.

Revival

By the later 19th century, the Order was in decline. However, its fortunes were revived by the spread of Protestant opposition to Irish nationalist mobilisation in the Irish Land League and then around the question of Home Rule. The Order was heavily involved in opposition to Irish home rule, and was instrumental in the formation of the Ulster Unionist Party. The strength of Protestant opposition to Irish self-government, especially in the Protestant-dominated province of Ulster, led eventually to six Ulster counties remaining within the United Kingdom, as Northern Ireland. In the first decade of the twentieth century, the Order suffered a split, when Tom Sloane left the organisation to set up the Independent Orange Order. Sloane had been suspended from the main Order after running against a Unionist candidate on a pro-labour platform in an election in 1902.

Role in the partition of Ireland

In 1912, the Third Home Rule Bill was passed in the British House of Commons (though it was held up by the House of Lords for two further years). The Orange Order, along with Irish Unionists and the British Conservative Party, were forthright in opposing the Bill. The Order organised the 1912 Ulster Covenant a pledge to oppose Home Rule that was signed by up to 500,000 people. In 1911 some Orangemen began to arm themselves and train under the name Ulster Volunteers, and in 1913 the Ulster Unionist Council decided to bring these groups under central control, creating the Ulster Volunteer Force, a militia dedicated to resisting Home Rule. There was a strong overlap between Orange Lodges and UVF units. A large shipment of rifles was imported from Germany to arm them in April 1914 in what became known as the Larne Gun Running. Civil war looked likely to break out between the Ulster Volunteers and the nationalist Irish Volunteers. However, the crisis was interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 and the temporary suspension of the Home Rule Act placed on the statute books with Royal Assent. Many Orangemen served in the war with the 36th (Ulster) Division suffering heavy losses and commemorations of their sacrifice are still an important element of Orange ceremonies. The Fourth Home Rule Act was passed as the Government of Ireland Act 1920, the north eastern part of Ulster was partitioned from Southern Ireland as Northern Ireland. This self governing entity within the United Kingdom was confirmed under the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921. Southern Ireland became first the Irish Free State then in 1949 the Republic of Ireland.

In Northern Ireland

The Orange Order had a central place in the new state of Northern Ireland. It acted as a basis for the unity of Protestants of all classes and as a mass social and political grouping. At its peak in 1965, the Order's membership was around 70,000, which meant that roughly 1 in 5 adult Protestant males were members.^[5][6][7] It had very close ties to the ruling Unionist Party and the senior leadership of both frequently overlapped. James Craig said in 1934, "I am an Orangeman first and a politician and a member of parliament second." Membership of the Order was also useful in obtaining jobs and public housing. The Order's principal commemoration on the 12th of July was made a public holiday and in effect, Northern Ireland's national day.{fact}} In recent decades, the Order's influence has shrunk somewhat as it has lost a third of its membership since 1965, notably in Belfast and Derry. The Order's political influence suffered greatly when the Unionist-dominated Stormont parliament was prorogued in 1972.^[5] Traditionally, the Orange Order was affiliated with the institutions of establishment Unionism: the Ulster Unionist Party, Royal Ulster Constabulary, and Church of Ireland. It had a fractious relationship with the Democratic Unionist Party, Protestant paramilitaries, Independent Orange Order, and the Free Presbyterian Church. The Order urged its members not to join these organisations, and it is only recently that some of these intra-Unionist breaches have been healed. ^[5]

Structure

The Orange Institution in Ireland has the structure of a pyramid. At its base are about 1400 private lodges; every Orangeman belongs to a private lodge. Each private lodge sends six representatives to the district lodge, of which there are 126. Depending on size, each district lodge sends seven to thirteen representatives to the county lodge, of which there are 12. Each of these sends representatives to the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, which heads the Orange Order. The Grand Lodge of Ireland has 373 members. As a result, much of the real power in the Order resides in the Central Committee of the Grand Lodge, which is made up of three members from each of the six counties of Northern Ireland (Londonderry, Antrim, Down, Tyrone, Armagh, and Fermanagh) as well as the two other County Lodges in Northern Ireland, the City of Belfast Grand Lodge and the City of Londonderry Grand Lodge, two each from the remaining Ulster counties (Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan), one from Leitrim, and 19 others. There are other committees of the Grand Lodge, including rules revision, finance, and education. Despite this hierarchy, private lodges are basically autonomous as long as they generally obey the rules of the Institution. Breaking these can lead to suspension of the lodge's warrant - essentially the dissolution of the lodge - by the Grand Lodge, but this rarely occurs. Private lodges may disobey policies laid down by senior lodges without consequence. For example, several lodges have failed to expel members convicted of murder despite a rule stating that anyone convicted of a serious crime should be expelled, and Portadown lodges have negotiated with the Parades Commission in defiance of Grand Lodge policy that the Commission should not be acknowledged. Private lodges wishing to change Orange Order rules or policy can submit a resolution to their district lodge, which may submit it upwards until it eventually reaches the Grand Lodge.

Requirements for entry

Members are required to be Protestant with a belief in the Trinity. This excludes Catholics, Unitarians and certain other Christian denominations and all non-Christians.^[8] Most jurisdictions require both the spouse and parents of potential applicants to be Protestant, although the Grand Lodge can be appealed to make exceptions for converts. Members of the Order face the threat of expulsion for attending any Catholic religious ceremonies. The Laws and Constitutions of the Loyal Orange Institution of Scotland of 1986 state, "No ex-Roman Catholic will be admitted into the Institution unless he is a Communicant in a Protestant Church for a reasonable period." Likewise, the "Constitution, Laws and Ordinances of the Loyal Orange Institution of Ireland" (1967) state, "No person who at any time has been a Roman Catholic … shall be admitted into the Institution, except after permission given by a vote of seventy five per cent of the members present founded on testimonials of good character …" In the 19th century, Rev. Dr. Mortimer O'Sullivan, a converted Roman Catholic was a Grand Chaplain of the Orange Order in Ireland. In the 1950s, Scotland also had a converted Roman Catholic as a Grand Chaplain—Rev. William McDermott.

Religion and culture

Protestantism

The basis of the modern Orange Order is the promotion and propagation of "biblical Protestantism" and the principles of the Reformation. As such the Order only accepts those who confess a belief in a Protestant religion. The Order considers the Fourth Commandment to forbid Christians to work on Sundays. In March 2002 it threatened "to take every action necessary, regardless of the consequences" to prevent the Ballymena Show being held on a Sunday. The County Antrim Agricultural Association immediately complied with the Order's wishes. Some evangelical groups have claimed that the Orange Order is still influenced by freemasonry.^[9] Many Masonic traditions survive, such as the organisation of the Order into lodges. The Order has a system of degrees through which new members advance. These degrees are interactive plays with references to the Bible. There is particular concern over the ritualism of higher degrees such as the Royal Arch Purple and the Royal Black Institutions.^[10]

Parades

Main articles: Orange Walk and The Twelfth

Parades form a large part of Orange culture. Most Orange lodges hold an annual parade from their Orange Hall to a local church. The denomination of the church is quite often rotated, depending on local demographics. The highlights of the Orange year are the parades leading up to the celebrations on the Twelfth of July. The Twelfth, however, remains in places a deeply divisive issue, not least because of the triumphalism and anti-Catholicism of the Orange Order in the conduct of its Walks and criticism of its behaviour towards Roman Catholics.^[11] In recent years, most Orange parades have passed peacefully.^[12] As of 2007, Grand Lodge of Ireland policy remained non-recognition of the N.I. Parades Commission, which it sees as explicitly founded to target Protestant culture since Protestants parade at ten times the rate of Catholics. Grand Lodge is, however, divided on the issue of working with the Parades Commission. 40% of Grand Lodge delegates oppose official policy while 60% are in favour. Most of those opposed to Grand Lodge policy are from areas facing parade restrictions like Portadown District, Bellaghy, Derry City and Lower Ormeau.^[13]

Orange Halls

Monthly meetings are held in Orange Halls. Orange Halls on both sides of the Irish border often function as community halls for Protestants and sometimes those of other faiths, though this was more common in the past^[14]. The halls quite often host community groups such as credit unions, local marching bands, Ulster Scots and other cultural groups as well as religious missions and Unionist political parties. Of the approximately 700 Orange Halls in Northern Ireland, 282 have been targeted by arsonists since the beginning of the Troubles in 1968.^[15]. Paul Butler, a prominent member of Sinn Fein, has claimed the arson is a "campaign against properties belonging to the Orange Order and other loyal institutions" by nationalists^[16]. One occasion a member of Sinn Fein's youth wing was hospitalised after falling off the roof of an Orange Hall^[17]. In a number of cases halls have been severely damaged or completely destroyed by arson^[18] while others have been damaged by paint bombings, graffiti and other vandalism.^[19] The Order claims that there is considerable evidence of an organised campaign of sectarian vandalism by republicans. Grand Secretary Drew Nelson claims that a statistical analysis shows that this campaign emerged in the last years of the 1980's and continues to the present.^[20]

Controversy

Its spokespeople and supporters describe the Orange Order as a pious organisation, celebrating Protestant culture and identity, but it is accused of sectarianism and anti-Catholicism.^[21][22]

The Orange Order is well-known for holding parades, called the Orange Walk, mainly in Ulster, (Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland), Scotland, England and Canada. The parades take place throughout the heated marching season, climaxing on the 12th of July. As a mark of defiance, some members choose to not wear green on Saint Patrick's Day, preferring to wear orange instead. However, in recent years, Saint Patrick's Day has become more of a cross-community event, with several loyalist band parades joining in the commemoration of Saint Patrick. There are at least two Orange Lodges in Northern Ireland which represent the heritage and religious ethos of St Patrick. The best known of which is the [Cross of Saint Patrick LOL 688][1], instituted in 1968 for the purpose of reclaiming the heritage of St Patrick. The lodge has had several well known members, including the late Rev Robert Bradford MP who was the lodge chaplain, the late Ernest Baird. Today Nelson McCausland MLA and Gordon Lucy, Director of the Ulster Society are the more prominent members within the lodge membership.
James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon, as Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, is quoted as stating on April 24 1934 at Stormont,

“

I have always said that I am an Orangeman first and a politician and a member of this Parliament afterwards—they still boast of Southern Ireland being a Catholic State. All I boast of is that we are a Protestant Parliament and a Protestant State.

”

This was a response to several speeches made by Eamon de Valera, the Irish Republic`s Prime Minister. In 1931 de Valera stated:

“

There was an Irish solution that had no reference to any other country; a solution that came from our traditional attitude to life that was Irish and Catholic. That was the solution they were going to stand for so long as they were Catholic

”

and four years later he stated

“

Since the coming of St Patrick 1500 years ago Ireland has been a Christian and a Catholic nation .....she will remain a Catholic nation.

”

To this day, according to Tim Pat Coogan, Orangemen still suitably overlook the papal input to the creation of their icon William of Orange. Coogan dose concede however that the Order contained a strain of virulent anti-Catholicism, but that it also had and has a substantial fraternal and benevolent component. ^[23] Even though it also served both as a militia and a “bonding organisation for militant Protestantism,” which spread to England in 1807 and where the Tories, particularly around Liverpool, used the order against the Liberals. Later coogan states it would develop in America “manifesting itself” in movements as the Know Nothings and the Ku Klux Klan and it also proved useful to employers as a device for keeping Protestant and Catholic workers from “uniting for better wages and conditions.” ^[24]

Political links and related organizations

The Order, from its very inception was an overtly political organisation. ^[25] In 1905 when the Ulster Unionist Council was formed, the Orange Order was entitled to send delegates to it's meetings, the decision-making body of the Ulster Unionist Party. It used this to considerable effect in the Stormont period, and it (and not Paisley) was the force behind the UUP no-confidence votes in reformist Prime Ministers O'Neill (1969), Chichester-Clark (1969–71) and Faulkner (1972–74).^[26] Although the UUP had long mulled over breaking the link, it was, in the end, the Orange Order that broke away in March 2005. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) attracted the most votes in an election for the first time in the 2003. Ian Paisley, who is not a member of the Orange Order, maintained a bitter campaign of conflict with the Order since 1951, when the Order banned members of Paisley's Free Presbyterian Church from acting as Orange chaplains and openly endorsed the Official Unionists (UUP) against independent Unionist parties like Paisley's.^[27] Recently, however, Orangemen have begun voting for Paisley in large numbers due to their opposition to the Good Friday Agreement.^[28] Relations between the DUP and Order have healed greatly since 2001, and there are now a number of high profile Orangemen who are DUP MPs and strategists.^[29] There are three related organisations, the Independent Orange Institution (which disapproved of the link with the Official Unionist Party), the Apprentice Boys of Derry (named after Protestant guild apprentices who closed the city gates on a Jacobite army seeking to enter the walled city of Derry in 1688 and helped withstand the siege of Derry), whose roots lie in urban working-class Protestant communities, and the Royal Black Preceptory (RBP). There is some dispute as to the RBP's origins, some suggesting that they are descended from the remnants of the Knights of the Order of St John. Recently, the Orange Institution has joined with the Royal Black Preceptory and the Independent Orange Institution in talks with the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and the Roman Catholic Church in order to explain the background to Orange parades and demonstrate the Institution's willingness to have dialogue with Catholics. This has been seen by some people as a development of the relationship between the Orange Institution and the Independent Orange Institution which has resulted in the holding of joint church services and which some people believe will ultimately result in a healing of the split which led to the Independent Orange Institution breaking away from the mainstream Order.

Orange charities and societies

Main article: Orange Charities and Societies

The Orange Order runs a number of charitable ventures including:

• The Grand Orange Lodge of British America Benefit Fund
• Lord Enniskillen Memorial Orange Orphan Society
• Orange Foundation

Throughout the world

The Orange Institution spread throughout the English-speaking world and further abroad. It is headed by the Imperial Grand Orange Council. It has the power to arbitrate in disputes between Grand Lodges, and in internal disputes when invited. The Council represents the autonomous Grand Lodges of Ireland, Scotland, England, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Ghana, Togo, and Wales. Famous Orangemen have included Dr Thomas Barnardo, who joined the Order in Dublin, Sir. John A. Macdonald, who was Prime Minister of Canada, William Massey, who was Prime Minister of New Zealand, Harry Ferguson, inventor of the Ferguson Tractor, and Earl Alexander, the Second World War general.

Republic of Ireland

The last Orange parade in the Republic of Ireland is at Rossnowlagh, County Donegal, an event which has been largely free from trouble and controversy.^[30] The Order had Lodges in Leitrim, Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan, Dublin, Wicklow and West Cork. At one stage there were more than 300 Orange Lodges in Dublin alone. The last July 12th parade in Dublin took place in 1937. In 2005, controversy was generated when the organisers of Cork's St Patrick's Day parade (in the Republic of Ireland) invited representatives of the Orange Order to parade in the celebrations, part of the year-long celebration of Cork's position of European Capital of Culture. The Order accepted the invitation and was to parade with their wives and children alongside Chinese, Filipino and African community groups in an event designed to recognise and celebrate cultural diversity. Subsequently, after consultation with the Garda Síochána (the Irish police service), the Order's grand secretary, Drew Nelson, said both his organisation and the parade organisers were disappointed that the Order would not be attending the festivities. He added that he welcomed the invitation and hoped the Order would be able to participate in the event next year. A Church of Ireland clergyman, Rev. David Armstrong, spoke out against the invitation. Now based in Carrigaline, near Cork, Rev. Armstrong and his family were forced to leave their home in Limavady, County Londonderry, by loyalist paramilitaries after he spoke out against the bombing of the local Catholic church.

England

Most English lodges are based in the Liverpool area, including Toxteth. An estimated 4,000 Orangemen, women and children parade in Liverpool and Southport every 12 July. In a trial for defamation involving the Rt Hon. George Galloway MP, in 2004, a UK Judge, Lord Kingarth, decided that the phrase which Mr Galloway had used to describe the Orange Order, as "sectarian, anti-Catholic, Protestant-supremacist" was fair comment on that organisation. [Trial details]

History

The Orange Order has had a presence in Liverpool since at least 1819 when the first parade was held to mark the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne, on July 12. In its early years in the city the Twelfth was known as Carpenters Day due to the abundance of shipwrights who, having emigrated from Belfast, took part. The organisation was not just an association for migrants from Ireland however; their politics ensured that the majority of Orangemen were English-born. Indeed, the Institution in England was started by soldiers returning to the Manchester area from Ireland. The organisation was its strongest in the Toxteth and Everton areas of Liverpool. Many prominent Liverpudlians were members, including, reputedly, the founders of Liverpool Football Club. In the nineteenth century the movement became very closely linked to the dominant Conservative and Unionist Party although in 1909 the Liverpool Protestant Party was founded by George Wise. The party returned several councilors but became defunct in 1974 after their power base was destroyed. Today, Orange Order members in Liverpool, almost unanimously, vote for the Conservative Party.

The Institution split in 1989 and some members left to attach themselves to the Independent Orange Order after a dispute about paramilitary flags. Today, the combined memberships stand at around 4,000.

Parades

The Orange Order in Liverpool holds their annual Twelfth parade in Southport, a seaside town north of Liverpool. The Institution also holds a parade there on Whit Monday whilst the Apprentice Boys hold their parade in June, also in Southport. The Black Institution holds their Southport parade on the first Saturday in August. The Orange Order also parade in Liverpool on the Sunday prior to the Twelfth and on the Sunday after. These parades go to and from church. Other parades are held to commemorate significant events. For example, in July, the Apprentice Boys parade to and from church in commemoration of the Battle of the Somme. A larger than usual Twelfth parade is being planned for 2008 to mark Liverpool's European Capital of Culture year by the Grand Lodge of England which will be held on Saturday 10th May 2008.

Scotland

Main article: Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland

The Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland is the largest Orange Lodge outside Northern Ireland. Like its cousin in Northern Ireland, the organisation's Grand Lodge has tried to rein in troublemakers within its ranks who have support in some local lodges in order to improve its public image. While almost all parades pass off peacefully often there are clashes between members and by-standers. Membership is almost entirely working-class, changing little in social composition since the late nineteenth century. Most lodges are concentrated in west central Scotland around Glasgow, Motherwell, and parts of Renfrew and Ayr. However, the Order is also very strong in West Lothian, and, to a lesser extent East Lothian, but not in Edinburgh. Lodges are also based in the North East of Scotland, the most northerly lodges are located in Aberdeen, Alford, Peterhead and Inverness. The orders presence in the North of Scotland can be located to the fishing industry and imposition of workers from Belfast and Glasgow to the north and north east and migration of fishermen in the opposite direction. In 1881, fully three quarters of Orange lodge masters were born in Ireland and, when compared to Canada, Scottish Orangeism has been both smaller (no more than two percent of adult male Protestants in west central Scotland have ever been members) and more of an Ulster ethnic association which has been less attractive to the native Protestant population.^[31][32] The strongest predictor of Orange strength in a Scottish county for the period 1860–2001 is the proportion of Irish-Protestant descent in the county.^[33] Scottish Orangeism's political influence crested between the wars, but was effectively nil thereafter as the Tory party at all levels began to move away from Protestant politics toward a more neo-liberal economic agenda.^[34] Scottish Orangeism has come out against Scottish independence, and on 24 March 2007, a parade of 10,000 Orangemen went through Edinburgh's Royal Mile to protest against it.^[35]

Wales/Cymru

Cymru LOL 1922 is at this time the only Orange lodge sitting within the Welsh border.

United States

In 1871, in New York City, Mayor Hall and Superintendent Kelso, head of the New York Police Department, issued a decree on 10th July banning the 12 July demonstration. Nine people had been killed and more than a hundred injured (including children) during the parade the year before, when a riot broke out after the paraders had angered Irish Catholics with Orangeist songs and slogans. The ban appalled many people who saw it as bowing down to a form of violent censorship by Irish Catholic immigrants. The New York Times had a July 11 headline, Terrorism Rampant. City Authorities Overawed by the Roman Catholics. The ban was revoked by State Governor John T. Hoffman, after pressure from the city's elite . He promised the paraders protection by the state and Federal authorities if the city of New York could not provide it, although it is not clear if this was realistic. The parades petered out.

New Zealand

Bro. William Ferguson Massey, a native of Limavady who went on to be Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1912 to 1925, was a member of L.O.L. No.10 Auckland, New Zealand. Lodges paraded on the Twelfth of July until at least the 1920s, but since then the Order has declined in visibility,^[36] and most New Zealanders are probably unaware of its existence in their country.

Canada

Main article: Orange Order in Canada

The Orange Order played an important role in the history of Canada, where it was established in 1830. Most early members were from Ireland, but later many English, Scots, and other Protestant Europeans joined the Order. Toronto was the epicentre of Canadian Orangeism: most mayors were Orange until the 1950s, and Toronto Orangemen battled against Ottawa-driven initiatives like bilingualism and Catholic immigration. A third of the Ontario legislature was Orange in 1920, but in Newfoundland, the proportion has been as high as 50% at times. Indeed, between 1920 and 1960, 35 percent of adult male Protestant Newfoundlanders were Orangemen, as compared with just 20% in Northern Ireland and 5%–10% in Ontario in the same period.^[37]

Ghana

The Orange Order in Ghana appears to have been founded by Scots-Irish missionaries some time during the 19th century. Its rituals mirror those of the Orange Order in Ulster though it does not place restrictions on membership to those who have certain Roman Catholic family members. The Orange Order in Ghana is currently being subjected to attack by charismatic churches.^[38]

Military contributions

Orangemen have fought in numerous wars, including the War of 1812, the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny and the Second Boer War. Able Seaman Bro William George Vincent Williams of LOL 92 Melbourne, was the first Australian to be killed in the war. The Institution's most notable military contribution was on the first day (1 July) of the Battle of the Somme, 1916. Many Orangemen had joined the 36th (Ulster) Division which had been formed from various Ulster regiments and had also amalgamated Lord Edward Carson's Ulster Volunteers (who were formed to oppose Home Rule for Ireland) into its ranks. But for the outbreak of World War I, Ireland had been on the brink of civil war, as Orangemen had helped to smuggle thousands of rifles from Imperial Germany (see Larne Gun Running). Several hundred Glasgow Orangemen crossed to Belfast in September 1914, to join the 36th (Ulster) Division. Roughly 5000 members of the Division were casualties on the first day of the battle. Orangemen also fought in World War II and subsequent conflicts, and many served in the Ulster Defence Regiment during the Northern Irish Troubles, particularly during the 1970s and 1980s. At least five Orangemen have been awarded the Victoria Cross: George Richardson, in the Indian Mutiny; Robert Hanna, Robert Quigg^[39] and Abraham Acton during World War I; and Rev. John Weir Foote in World War II. Numerous lodges have been formed by serving soldiers during various conflicts, with varying levels of official approval. In September 2007 there was controversy when a photograph of British soldiers in Iraq, wearing Orange sashes and carrying a banner reading 'Rising Sons of Basra', appeared in the Ulster Volunteer Force magazine The Purple Standard.^[40]

Orange war memorials

The Institution has been prominent in commemorating Ulster's war dead, particularly Orangemen and particularly those who died in the Battle of the Somme. There are numerous parades on and around 1 July in commemoration of the Somme, although the war memorial aspect is more obvious in some parades than others. There are several memorial lodges, and a number of banners which depict the Battle of the Somme, war memorials, or other commemorative images. In the grounds of the Ulster Tower Thiepval, which commemorates the men of the Ulster Division who died in the Battle of the Somme, a smaller monument pays homage to the Orangemen who died in the war.^[41]

Orange Order flag

The Orange Order flag consists of an orange background, a St George's Cross in the top left corner and a purple star which was the symbol of the Williamite forces.

Grand Masters

Grand Masters, of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland:^[42]

• 17??: William Blacker (unofficial)
• 17??: Thomas Verner
• 1801: George Ogle
• 1818: Mervyn Archdale
• 18??: Earl O'Neill
• 1828: Duke of Cumberland
• 1836: Earl of Roden (unofficial)
• 18??: Earl of Enniskillen
• Earl of Erne
• 1914: James Stronge
• 1928: William Lyons
• 19??: Edward Archdale
• 1943: Joseph Davison
• 1948: John Miller Andrews
• 1954: William McCleery
• 1957: George Clark
• 1968: John Bryans
• 1971: Martin Smyth
• 1996: Robert Saulters

See also

• Church of Ireland
• Presbyterian Church in Ireland
• Royal Black Institution

Notes and references

Further reading

• Kaufmann, Eric (2007). The Orange Order: A Contemporary Northern Irish History. Oxford University Press. 
• Gallagher, Tom (1987). Glasgow, the Uneasy Peace: Religious Tensions in Modern Scotland, 1819–1914. Manchester University Press. ISBN 0719023963. 
• McFarland, Elaine (1990). Protestants First: Orangeism in Nineteenth Century Scotland. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 074860202X. 
• Neal, Frank (1991). Sectarian Violence: The Liverpool Experience, 1819–1914: An Aspect of Anglo–Irish History. Manchester University Press.  (Considered the principal study of English Orange traditions)
• Sibbert, R.M. (1939). Orangeism in Ireland and throughout the Empire. London.  (Strongly favorable)
• Senior, H. (1966). Orangeism in Ireland and Britain, 1795–1836. London. 
• Gray, Tony (1972). The Orange Order. The Bodley Head. London. ISBN 0370013409. 

Canada and United States

• Wilson, David A. (ed.) (2007). The Orange Order in Canada. Four Courts Press. ISBN 978-1-84682-077-9. 
• Akenson, Don (1986). The Orangeman: The Life & Ties of Ogle Gowan. Lorimer. ISBN 088862963X. 
• Cadigan, Sean T. (1991). "Paternalism and Politics: Sir Francis Bond Head, the Orange Order, and the Election of 1836". Canadian Historical Review 72 (3): 319–347.
• Currie, Philip (1995). "Toronto Orangeism and the Irish Question, 1911–1916". Ontario History 87 (4): 397–409.
• Gordon, Michael (1993). The Orange riots: Irish political violence in New York City, 1870 and 1871. Cornell University Press. ISBN 0801427541. 
• Houston, Cecil J.; Smyth, William J. (1980). The sash Canada wore: A historical geography of the Orange Order in Canada. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0802054935. 
• Pennefather, R. S. (1984). The orange and the black: Documents in the history of the Orange Order, Ontario, and the West, 1890–1940. Orange and Black Publications. ISBN 0969169108. 
• See, Scott W. (1983). "The Orange Order and Social Violence in Mid-nineteenth Century Saint John". Acadiensis 13 (1): 68–92.
• See, Scott W. (1991). "Mickeys and Demons' vs. 'Bigots and Boobies': The Woodstock Riot of 1847". Acadiensis 21 (1): 110–131.
• See, Scott W. (1993). Riots in New Brunswick: Orange Nativism and Social Violence in the 1840s. ISBN 0802077706. 
• Senior, Hereward (1972). Orangeism: The Canadian Phase. Toronto, New York, McGraw-Hill Ryerson. ISBN 007092998X. 
• Way, Peter (1995). "The Canadian Tory Rebellion of 1849 and the Demise of Street Politics in Toronto" (PDF). British Journal of Canadian Studies 10 (1): 10–30.
• Winder, Gordon M. "Trouble in the North End: The Geography of Social Violence in Saint John, 1840–1860". Errington and Comacchio 1: 483–500.

External links

• Eric Kaufmann's Orange Order Page
• The Orange Order, Militant Protestantism and anti-Catholicism: A Bibliographical Essay (1999)
• Grand Orange Lodge of England
• The Grand Orange Lodge Of Ireland
• Video clip of Mohawk LOL 99 Orange Order in Belfast
• Orange Chronicle
• OrangeNet
• City of Londonderry Grand Orange Lodge
• Newbuildings Victoria LOL 1087
• Woodburn Ebenezer LOL787
• Edmonton's "Strathcona" Loyal Orange Lodge1654
• Parkmount Junior LOL150, Portadown
• Orange Order Information
• Orillia Harmony Loyal Orange Lodge №296
• Article on 'Sash Gordon' The Daily Telegraph, November 27, 2007. Retrieved: November 27, 2007.