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Political argument will not persuade unionists in Northern
Ireland that they have a future in an Irish nation, a senior
Orange Order official has told an audience of academics in
Huddersfield.
Dr. David Hume, the Orange Order's Director of Services,
said that nationalists in Northern Ireland could not convince
people like him that they were Irish.
But he said that while he had no sense of being Irish, he
respected Irish history, tradition and culture.
"I know and respect it as a person would know about
their next door neighbour, but that knowledge and respect
does not make me a member of the family," he told a seminar
at the University of Huddersfield this evening.
He cited members of the Orange Order in the Irish Republic
- who said that while they were not politically or legally
British, they felt culturally British - as an example of the
layers of Britishness which prevail in different parts of
the British Isles.
The Orange Order's Director of Services was addressing the
sixth in a series of interdisciplinary seminars on new perspectives
of Britishness.
Dr. Hume said that being British was not something defined
by faith, colour or background, and that pluralism was part
of the process by which Britain defined itself. The arrival
of new peoples in the United Kingdom was part of the process
of history which had been happening for centuries, but there
was a challenge to ensure that new communities were assimilated
and respected.
He cautioned that no one should confuse being British with
being English, in that regional culture and identity should
be encouraged; "There has, in the modern UK, to be a
greater sense in England in particular that we are all part
of the nation, we are all as British as Finchley. That is
very important if the regions are to be encouraged in their
sense of belonging and not pushed in other political directions,"
he said.
Dr. Hume said that Northern Ireland was the only part of
the United Kingdom where, in recent decades, people had died
in order to remain British, citing the loss of life in the
Troubles and the losses sustained by the Orange Order, now
put at 335 members.
"I come from the one part of the United Kingdom and
the British Isles where, in our present generations, people
have died because of their desire to remain British. Sometimes
it seems to us that this fact is too uncomfortable for many
of our fellow citizens elsewhere to recognise. To them the
seemingly intractable religious problems make the Northern
Ireland issue something alien and unsavory. In fact, however,
the crux of the issue in Northern Ireland is simply - to use
that word very loosely - about nationality. There are linkages
between religion and national identity. But they are not overarching.
To many people who are unionist, displaying their unionism
has been and in some areas continues to be a dangerous matter.
Their sense of loyalty and belonging often results in a response
that they hold an outdated philosophy. It is curiously ironic
that people so desirous of being British are seen by some
commentators as almost embarrassing" he said.
He said that the Orange Order, having sustained the loss
of so many, remained proud to be British and was well placed
to encourage British values and pride.
"We are an organisation which is unashamedly Protestant
but which also espouses civil and religious liberty for all,"
he said.
"The Orange Order is well placed to ensure that we do
not lose our sense of British identity across the Kingdom
and that that sense of identity is brought into the mainstream
of our communities and not abandoned to others. It is important
that a sense of Britishness is not left carelessly lying on
the political fringes of the nation," he said.
"There are around 40,000 male members of the Orange
Institution in Northern Ireland, men who, along with their
families, regard themselves as irredeemably British. I joined
the Orange Order in 1986 to maintain a family tradition. In
later years I understood that the Orange Order did not just
exist in Magheramorne, or Larne, or Antrim, but also in England
and Scotland. I have been privileged to address Orangemen
in places such as Southampton, Liverpool, Grangemouth and
Motherwell," the Director of Services said.
"Being an Orangeman is part of my British identity because
it is about loyalty to the throne and constitution. It is
very clearly a British Institution," he added.
"But I am also from a Presbyterian background. My ancestors
came from the Borders of Scotland, a rough area which created
rough people. The Borders mentality of lack of deference to
the authorities was matched in the gene mix in Ulster by that
of the Scottish Covenanters, who were strong in their dissent
from the religious establishment.
"These two outlooks helped to forge the Ulster Scots,
who would go on to far greater things in America when they
helped stage and win the American Revolution. This Presbyterian
democratic outlook was highlighted not only in their church
structure but also in society. This democratic outlook led
to Presbyterian involvement in the United Irishmen - they
were the first republicans in Ireland, but share little with
Gerry Adams and the Sinn Fein of modern times. Their involvement
led to rebellion in 1798. This strong Scots tradition is part
of my British identity," he explained.
He outlined that the descendants of the Presbyterian rebels
of 1798 were ardent unionists and helped land guns for the
Ulster Volunteers in 1914.
Dr. Hume said in modern times unionists were concerned that
a cultural war was being waged against them and those things
they cherished.
"In recent times in Northern Ireland efforts to prevent
symbols of Britishness being displayed in local government
buildings and courthouses have highlighted for people that
there is a cultural war, whether directly or politically correctly,
being mounted against such identity. There have been reactions
against this. In Larne in County Antrim, when the local council
decided to cease a practice of putting red, white and blue
bunting through the town centre to mark the July anniversary,
locals put up the bunting themselves and allowed it to remain
not for the two weeks which have been the case previously
but all summer long and until the end of September. The symbolism
of both situations was clear,"
"Sometimes unionists in Northern Ireland have been criticised
for not so much knowing what they supported as what they were
against. It is perhaps a wider criticism in the context of
being British," he added.
"Storry and Childs in British Cultural Identities cite
a figure of 70% of us preferring to live as subjects under
a monarch rather than as citizens in a Republic. The Royal
Family is a figurehead institution to a sense of being British,
it would seem.
"Faith is also an important factor in what it means
to be British. 71.6% of the UK population says it is Christian,
although many may never darken the door of a church. While
church attendances continue to drop, there is a sort of cultural
Christianity which means that more people watch Songs of Praise
on TV than Match of the Day. In Northern Ireland, where church
attendance far exceeds that in the rest of the UK, this is
an important factor.
"Being British is not only about being from a Christian
background, of course. But I am reminded of a remark by a
Canadian historian, Gary Dennis, who noted that Orange Halls
in his county of Ontario had mostly closed down and lodges
no longer existed. He said that the ethos of the Orange Order
and its values remained, however, because it had entered into
the psyche of the people. In the same way Christian moral
values are part of what being British entails: moral values
which are often shared with other faiths. In this context
it is interesting to note that the majority of the UK's 1.2
million Muslims were born here and that many of their children
see themselves as British Muslims rather than Asians or Black
Britons. This is, amidst all attempts to see or seek division,
an important reminder,"
The speech was followed by a question time, and among those
present was an invited audience of students, academics and
representatives from the public, including members of Earl
of Roden LOL in Manchester, who hosted the Director of Services
to a tour of Manchester prior to the event.
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