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Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland
  Orange Standard

Ulster Remaining British

Article 5 ~ October 2006

Ulster Protestants will not be deflected from their traditional loyalty to the Crown, and membership of the United Kingdom, irrespective of unrealistic views of some people.

A Church of Ireland clergyman based in Co. Meath was reported as saying that Northern Ireland Protestants should be looking in future to the South, rather than to mainland Britain for their political allegiance.

Well, with all due respect to that cleric, and any other person holding the same view, the reaction of the vast majority of Ulster Protestants to his views will be "Thanks, but not thanks".

There are many 'ignorant' folk on the British mainland who know little about Irish politics, or the fact that there are two different states on the island of Ireland.

But that in no way adds validity to the argument that Northern Ireland Protestants should look to the South rather than to the United Kingdom.

Ulster Protestants know only too well the realities of the situation in the South since 1921, when the British withdrew from the 26 counties.

The Protestant population has dropped from 10 per cent to 3 per cent, and the numbers have declined from 330,000 to just over 100,000.

There is no evidence of tolerance towards any of the tiny Protestant minority in the South who would be pro-British.

On the contrary, the absence of Union Jacks flying from any flagpoles in the Republic, and the violence directed in Dublin city centre towards the proposed march by innocent victims of IRA violence proves the reality.

Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom through the democratic wish of a large section of its population, demonstrated in election after election.

The people of Northern Ireland displayed their loyalty to Britain in two World Wars, with great loss of life, through the sacrifice of its soldiers, sailors and airmen, and the 1,000-plus citizens of Belfast who died in the German air raids of 1941.

Northern Ireland Protestants have nothing to feel embarrassed or ashamed about as far as their membership of the United Kingdom is concerned. They are as British as the people of England, Scotland and Wales, and that is the way it will remain for the foreseeable future.

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