The Ulster Unionists and the Orange Order

By Jude Collins (judecollins.net)

Monks in medieval times used to keep a skull sitting on their desk so they’d have a daily reminder of their own mortality. The Orange Order don’t have any official equivalent, as far as I know, which is a pity. Latest reminder of where they’re headed comes in the form of Danny Kennedy’s decision to duck out of the Ulster Unionist leadership contest. With Tom Elliott trudging off-stage and John McCallister and Mike Nesbitt the only two candidates for the job, there’ll soon be no unionist leader who is an Orangeman. Not Peter Robinson, not Jim Allister, not nobody. Danny Kennedy, a big man in Orangeism, was asked what importance he attached to all this. His answer: “I don’t think it’s relevant”.

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