A Letter from Ireland
a Chara,
It is that time of year again. With depressing regularity, we are now at the July 12th holidays, or as it’s known in the North of Ireland, “the twelfth”.
In 1926, the newly formed Stormont Parliament declared this day a public holiday. The government was controlled by the Ulster Unionist Party. For all intents and purposes, it was a single-party British state with little rights and recognition given to its then Irish minority.
The holiday marks the victory of Protestant Dutch King William III of Orange over the deposed Catholic King James II of England, Scotland, and Ireland at the Battle of the Boyne. Notwithstanding that the Battle of the Boyne was on July 1st, 1690, and the decisive victory for William was in Aughrim on July 12th, 1691.
Over the centuries, despite its historical context, it has become a celebration of pro-British Protestant Unionism over Irish Catholic nationalists.
A hundred years after the battles, the Orange Order was formed to protect protestant interests.
The events are marked by bonfires and marches by the Orange Order. There is also an increase in sectarian tensions.
While the violence has receded, the tension along community interfaces remains. Bonfires are burnt alongside Irish Tricolours, nationalist election posters, sectarian banners, and effigies of nationalist leaders. They are the most visible and ugly presentations of sectarianism and demonstrate how far elements of the unionist community have to travel in terms of respect and reconciliation.
This year, added to the sectarian displays, have been effigies of migrants, only weeks after the homes of migrants were attacked in Unionist areas. Those attacks were reminders of the anti-Catholic pogroms of the past.
Racism and sectarianism are two in the same. Neither can be justified, and both must be condemned. Racism is not just a problem for a sectarian minority in the North.
A report released this week exposed the links between the racist North and South. In the south, groups that claim to be “Irish Nationalists” tell us that Ireland is full and Irish culture is being undermined, yet have found common cause with white, anti-Irish groups in the North.
This week a former Unionist paramilitary from Belfast addressed a small rally in Dublin. Speakers called for the closure of the border between North and South. Yes, we are through the looking glass. While true Irish patriots are working to unite the country, remove the border, and regain our national sovereignty, these groups want to entrench partition.
After centuries, we know the cost of sectraniam and the challenges of overcoming its legacy. We cannot allow discrimination and intimidation based on religion or political belief to be replaced by discrimination and intimidation based on race.
Our job is to build a new and united Ireland for all who call our island home.
Have a great weekend.
Is mise,
Ciarán
Ciarán Quinn is the Sinn Féin Representative to North America
