The Greens, The 12th and the Madness – by Michael Lagan

There have been certain instances in the past when politicians from the 26 Counties and indeed from the UK government have shown a total disconnect and an embarrassing lack of understanding of the history of these 6 northeastern counties of Ireland.  Not surprising when one looks into the history books, only to find one government hell-bent on killing off an indigenous culture and language and the other willing to look the other way for decades while Irish citizens were slaughtered in the North Eastern part of the island.  

The British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Karen Bradley hit us with a doozy in the run-up to the 2018 election when she said she was unaware that nationalists did not vote for unionists and that unionists did not vote for nationalists.  Anyone…and I do mean anyone with the slightest knowledge of NEI is aware of that most elementary fact about Northern Irish politics, especially at that time.  How did she get the job of SoS for NI when she didn’t know anything about the cultural divides and the sensitivities surrounding this subject?  One might argue that coming from England where this religious and political divide doesn’t exist might excuse her from the scoffs and total disbelief of the many, but it didn’t.

These people are paid big money, big salaries plus expenses to know their stuff, and let’s be fair here, many do, but when someone from England, our closest island and home to the parliament which claims to care so much about us knows diddly squat about the political circumstances here and totally unaware of the most basic premise of politics here, questions need to be asked.

So you can understand the surprise when Patrick Costello TD, of the Green Party came out calling for the 12th of July, the Glorious 12th as some call it, to be made a public holiday.  I don’t know if Patrick is aware but the 12th of July is somewhat contentious at the very best of times in the North.  So much so that even in the North, where the 12th is huge, any ridicule of that glorious day (for some) can at the worst of times end up leading to violent confrontations with police – in full riot gear – backed up by water cannons – for days on end.  Has he looked into the history of this day?  Mr. Costello states – “This day is an extremely important one historically for the island, and culturally for many people who live here.”  While Mr. Costello may be right that it is an important day for many, he also claims St. Patrick’s Day is a public holiday and while that may be true, I haven’t had a St. Patrick’s Day off in years and it isn’t held in the same regard as the 12th of July.

You see, the celebration of the 12th of July in NEI is blatantly partisan in nature.  It isn’t a celebration for everyone here no matter how much the Green Party both North and South attempt to make it so.  It is seen as sectarian by many who note the bands carrying paramilitary flags, the banners glorifying mass murderers, who hear the words of the songs sung by supporters much like the band which passed by Short Strand on the morning of the 12th this year with their supporters singing ‘The Billy Boys’.  If the 12th becomes a public holiday in the South, it will come with its own problems and it will turn sectarian in the South too, no matter how much the Orange institution is respected and catered for at Rossnowlagh.  Perhaps Mr. Costello didn’t notice the words “NO SURRENDER” scratched into the sand on the beach, the same beech I used to frequent every single year with my family. NO SURRENDER?

The 12th of July celebrates the Protestant ascendency in Ireland and the supposed fight for freedom of religion.  That ‘freedom of religion’ forced Catholics into exile, saw Priests holding mass in fields, and saw people killed simply for being Catholic, which still happened up until very recently.  I wonder if that sounds like freedom of religion to Mr. Costello?  Until 25 years ago Catholics in the North were seen as 2nd class citizens in their own country, something the Irish government didn’t seem at all worried about.  25 years…a drop in the ocean in the grand scale of things but people have long memories, especially the people degraded and stripped of their rights in their own countries.

If I were Mr. Costello I would think back to 2006 when a Unionist demonstration, accompanied by bands attempted to reach O’Connell Street in Dublin causing absolute mayhem and rioting.  Make no mistake, certain bands and lodges will attempt to march to the most sacred of sites in Ireland in a bid to show some sort of dominance over Irish and Catholics and it will not be permitted to happen and this is what Patrick Costello seems to misunderstand – that is exactly what the 12th is all about, Protestant dominance over Catholicism and Northern Irish Catholics have felt it’s full effect and continue to do so.

Costello stated that the Good Friday Agreement required Ireland (Southern Ireland) to amend articles 2 and 3 of the constitution.  This amendment changed a previous claim to the entire island of Ireland to “recognising that a united Ireland shall be brought about only by peaceful means with the consent of a majority of the people”.  The new article 3 specifies that the state will work “to unite all the people who share the territory of the island of Ireland, in all the diversity of their identities and traditions”.  Does that translate to Orange men, Protestants, one section of society proclaiming their dominance and superiority over Catholics and Irish citizens?  Because that’s what the 12th of July is Mr. Costello…such is your misunderstanding of the subject.