The truth behind the Orange Order

by Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair

A lot of myths, distortions and downright lies surround the Orange Order, most of them generated by the Order and its apologists.

The Orange Order must be challenged to acknowledge its terrorist origins. It must be further challenged to concede that what it continues to celebrate and glorify in its lodges, museums and parades are acts of British colonial terrorism against the native Irish population.

The Orange Order was founded in 1795 by armed sectarian terrorists Dan Winter and James Sloan et al of the Peep O’day Boys gang. Throughout its history, gun-toting and sword-wielding Orange Order members were responsible for the murder of hundreds of native Irish citizens. Just two examples: eight native Irish citizens were murdered at its first parade on 12th July 1797 in Cork, and eighty Irish civilians were murdered and many of their homes burnt on 12th July 1849 at Dollys Brae outside Castlewellan.

After the Orange Order was first banned due to its hate-stoked lethal parades, it started concealing its terrorist activities. For instance, we know now of a letter by the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland issued to all lodges in November 1910 that it was involved in forming the original UVF terrorist gang announced in 1913. We further now know Orange Order halls were eventually proven to have been used to store 1913 UVF terrorist weapons.

Today, the names of hundreds of Orange Order members can be found amongst the ranks of the leadership and volunteers of the re-organised UVF terrorist gang of the 1960s: UVF and UDA leaders such as Gusty Spence, David Ervine, Brian Robinson, John Bingham, George Seawright, Davy Payne, Richard Jameson, Billy McCaughey, Robert McConnell, Ernie Elliott, and many many other terrorists such as the infamous UVF Shankill Butchers Robert Bates and Eddie McIlwaine. After his release from prison, McIlwaine actually led parades into Irish Nationalist districts from where his gang had snatched then butchered many innocent civilians.

The Orange Order must be made to further concede that, under the protection of the British colonial RUC police force, its so-called religious and cultural Orange Halls were used to store terrorist equipment and organise sectarian attacks. In addition, the Orange Order cannot be allowed to deny that its so-called “religious halls and parades” are used to honour and glorify known dead terrorists.

The Orange Order seeks to portray itself as a benign Protestant faith and cultural fraternity, but that is a lie. In truth, at its core it is a highly political, secret oath-based British colonial organisation which has infiltrated the highest positions in Government. In truth, it uses the guise of supposed religious processions and band parading as tools to garner and manifest its archaic colonialist ideology of supremacist hatred of the native Irish population.

Finally, no truthful person can deny that the Orange Order was formed by terrorists, perpetrated terrorism and continues to glorify acts of terrorism.

The Orange Battle-cry: ‘We’ll fight to the last in the honest old cause, And guard our religion, our freedom and laws. We’ll fight for our country, our king and his crown, and make all the traitors and croppies lie down’…

Urgent Appeal