The dignified and impressive parades and church
services held by Orangemen in Ballymena, Dromore and other
places to mark St. Patrick's Day reflected great credit on
the organisers. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, and
much of the heritage and traditions associated with him is
connected with Northern Ireland.
There is every reason to believe that his brand
of Christianity would be in accord with that of post-Reformation
evangelical Protestantism, and for that reason it is fitting
that people of the Reformed Faith should celebrate St. Patrick's
Day. In all parts of this island parades and rallies are held
on St. Patrick's Day, and many of them are cross-community,
giving no offence to anyone.
The same cannot be said of the concert held
outside Belfast City Hall, and while people were spared the
triumphal parades of previous years with republicans waving
tricolours, the event this year certainly did not fall into
the category of being inclusive and cross-community.
There were too many Celtic tops, green white
and gold tricolours and pro-republican chants for this rally
to have attracted Protestants and people loyal to the United
Kingdom.
The same underlying message was that this was
a 'cold house' for Protestants, and that surely defeated the
objective of providing an event which everyone could enjoy.
Belfast City Council certainly made the right
decision in not funding the event, and until firm steps are
taken to transform this into a non-political and non-partisan
event, then public funding should be withheld.
At least people were spared a provocative parade
this year, unlike Kileel where three nationalist bands were
permitted to parade through a part of the town centre previously
closed to this sort of thing. In spite of dire predictions
the event passed off reasonably quiet, with few Protestants
taking any notice.
Will the authorities follow this example and
permit Orangemen to walk their traditional routes in Portadown
and Ballynafeigh this summer? In the interest of fair play
they should, and those Roman Catholics and nationalists who
say they find loyal orders parades offensive should adopt
the same reasonable attitude of the folk in places like Kilkeel
and Cookstown, another predominately Protestant town which
hosted an AOH parade, and simply stay away, ignoring it.
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