Derry Diary #14
12 July 2004 'Orange Day'
Coleraine, Northern Ireland
Sunny and warm (God is an Orangeman or so I hear)

"In 1803 we sailed out to sea, out from the sweet town of Derry.." Sorry I was singing in my head the Phil Coulter song of Bobby Sands' lyrics. I started having this song on the brain on our way back from Coleraine and the Orange Parade. Today is the 12th of July and the 314th Anniversary of King James of England's defeat at the hands of William of Orange at the Battle of the Boyne River. Here's a fun fact for ye, the Pope tacitly backed the Protestant William in the war...go figure.

In the days running up to the 12th I was counseled not to go. Doom and gloom. There will be riots. They'll know you're from the Bog. etc etc etc. I had taken a previous group over to the other side of the river for a big parade several years ago and it was a peaceful event. So was Coleraine. A day of bands, banners, uniforms and Union Jacks everywhere.

the drums

The day of sun came out of nowhere as you can see from the picture above. It is said that God is an Orangeman. I don't know about that but after days of rain and drizzle, this day dawned sunny and beautiful. It couldn't have been better and our location was just outside the train station. Off the train and into the middle of a parade.

On the night of the 11th all across the country at midnite, huge bonfires are set. It is almost a pagan ritual from a bygone era. It is supposed to be a religious holiday and the day is certainly geared toward that however the bonfires in the middle of the nite harkens back to an ancient pre-christian time. I guess it is similar to the lighting of the new fire on the eve before Easter. These fires are gigantic with wood piled on wood and anything that can burn thrown into the mix. We usually have been up at midnite to see the glow of the fires from the Fountain area and the Waterside district from the top of Rosemount Hill. This year we passed out early and went to bed.

A group of youngsters hair dyed red wrapped in flags with t-shirts
that say "Proud to Be A Prod"

The reaction from our group was mixed:

Bobby: I didn't like it. It was like they were shoving their victory down Catholic's throats. We like to wear orange! I think its akin to watching a KKK march.

Nora: I like that it was non-agressive and that all generations participated, young and old. I saw it as a celebration. I don't know if they marched near a Nationalist neighborhood so I'm not sure of the impact.

Patti: Understanding the ideology we can say that we think the way we are taught. So if a child learns that one side is bad all his young life, then he has a hard time finding common ground with that side. It was fun to watch. I respect them for having pride and showing what they believe to others.

Mel: I loved it ...their dedication and their pride and their passion for History celebrating with fervor...The bands must practice a hella lot. I didn't look on them as a "them" today.

Val: Cool to see them in their uniforms and playing ...their dedication to England and to their Protestantism and proud to march accordingly. I don't agree with everything, but admire their sense of unity.

Matt: It was OK. Good music.

Andrew: I didn't see too much anti-Catholic sentiment although we didn't follow the crowds to the hall to hear the speeches. The bands were good, snappy uniforms and sounded good too. It is good to see that something old like that is kept up. I do have a problem with wearing the Union Jack. Are they Irish or British? Or Irish but British citizens? It was good to see families involved in the parade and watching it as well.

Janelle: Very patriotic towards England. It was an experience to watch. The music sounded a little repetitious but the marching kids were cute.

Cal: Very festive. Great music and spirit. No signs of trouble (a sigh of relief from a co-leader)

The train out to Coleraine was packed with people standire was a party going on in the car ahead of us but we didn't feel like joining. By the time the train pulled into Coleraine station as mentioned above the parade was in full swing. The kids got a chance to see several police armored cars close up and had their picture taken with a couple of the PSNI.

Doesn't the cop with the baseball cap(arrow) look like he's scoping out Cal?

One minor excitement to the day was running into a group of British soldiers as they were walking up and down the streets in camouflage and full battle gear. We stopped one and chatted for a while. He looked no more older than our kids. Our guess was that he was 18 or 19 and had been in Northern Ireland for about a year and was looking forward to going home in a couple of weeks.

Orangeman sans bowler hat but with umbrella

I think the day was fun and insightful for our kids. Sometimes we only get one side of a story where we live, like the other side only gets their version. I'm guessing, and I am probably optimistic that there is more to bind the two communities together than there is to separate them. I don't have time to go into the history of the Orange Orders and politics but maybe there will be another opportunity to do so.

There was a time, not to long ago, certainly before the Troubles and the death of innocence on 30 January 1972, that both communities would turn out for a parade. Everyone loves a parade.

More later,

paul and Cal

P.S. Yes my wife FINALLY emailed me...