The Orange Order today cancelled planned official talks with
President Mary McAleese in Dublin in protest at what they
described as the President's "grossly offensive slur
against the Protestant people of Northern Ireland."
The move follows President McAleese's comments on RTE radio
before attending ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of
the Auschwitz liberation in which she said that the Nazis
had given German children an irrational hatred of Jews "in
the same way that people in Northern Ireland transmitted to
their children an irrational hatred of Catholics."
Describing the President's comments as "idiotic sectarian
bigotry that shames both her office and her country",
a spokesman said that the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland had
now scrapped plans to take up Mrs McAleese's invitation to
come to Dublin on 8 March to discuss the concerns of Orangemen
in the Irish Republic. Those discussions were to have been
followed by an official visit by President McAleese to an
Orange hall in the South.
"For all her so-called conciliatory comments about bridge-building
with Protestants, Mrs McAleese's outrageous remarks on Thursday
reveal the extent to which the Dublin establishment is prepared
to go to hurt and belittle the majority community in Northern
Ireland, " said the Grand Lodge spokesman.
"When she worked at Queen's University in Belfast, Mary
McAleese publicly objected to both the Union Jack and the
National Anthem. We all know where she stands and since her
mind is obviously already closed against the Protestant people,
we see absolutely no point in meeting her in Dublin or anywhere
else in the foreseeable future."
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