Drumcree, July 12th and the Orange Order

an anarchist analysis of sectarianism in Ireland

Apprentice boys


The Orange Order: An enemy of all workers
The reality of the Orange Order is that it is a counter-revolutionary institution set up and maintained to target not just Catholics but also 'disloyal' Protestants.

Loyalist myths: King Billy revisited
The Orange Parades on and around the twelfth of July have long been a bone of serious contention and indeed a source of sectarian conflict in the Six Counties. Members of the Orange Order demand their unalienable right to march the Queen's highway, in commemoration of the victory of King William of Orange at the battle of the Boyne - a victory (as the Orangemen see it) for religious and civil liberty.

..Time to stop beating the Orange drum
Orange sectarianism is not without a material base, and it is not some sort of frightened reaction to militant republicanism. Unless we understand the basis for sectarianism we will not be able to uproot it. When Protestant workers accept loyalist values they are joining an alliance with their bosses.

Sectarian intimidation & North Belfast (Nov. 2001)
The horrifying ongoing scenes of sectarian intimidation outside Holy Cross Primary School in the Ardoyne area of North Belfast have shocked everyone.

Sectarianism in North Belfast (Jan 2002)
As an Anarcho-Syndicalist, living in North Belfast I was interested to see Gregor Kerr's recent article, 'Sectarianism and North Belfast' in Workers Solidarity.

Print out and distribute a booklet containing many of these articles by clicking on the image below
The Orange Order pamphlet

PDF file: The Orange Order & sectarianism in Ireland

Articles include

  • The Orange Order - an enemy of ALL workers
  • The Protestant working class
  • Time to stop beating the Orange Drum
  • Marching to nowhere
  • Stirring Up Sectarian Hatred
  • King Billy Revisited
  • The 1798 Rebellion and the Orange Order
  • When the Falls and the Shankill fought together
  • Peace deal offers sectarian war or sectarian peace
  • Neither Orange nor Green

The real difference is not between
Catholic & Protestant but between rich and poor
Some republicans seem to be genuinely surprised that the 'peace process' collapsed. How can anything be expected from the British state which was responsible for Bloody Sunday, for smashing the miners strike, for running down the NHS

Sectarianism in the north and the fight against it
This talk is about sectarianism in the North. Sectarianism is something that has existed to a greater or lesser extent in Ireland since the plantations and must be overcome if socialism can be introduced

Red and Black Ireland

News of Anarchism in Ireland

The Ainriail mailing list carries the latest news from the WSM and the struggles anarchists are involved in. There are never more then 10 posts a week (and normally only 2-4).

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Marching to nowhere :Stirring Up Sectarian Hatred (Summer)
It is a great tragedy that once again this July the working class population of Belfast's Lower Ormeau will be mobilising to try and stop the Orange Order from marching down their road. A tragedy because the Order should never get that far.

It's still an Orange state (1996)
Again this year loyalist parades were forced through nationalist areas destroying any illusions that the British state is neutral in the 6 counties.

Neither Orange nor Green
Sinn Féin's politics offer little more to Northern workers, as a class, than the politics of the fringe loyalist groups. Both aspire to getting a better deal for the poor and oppressed in their communities but neither are capable of delivering, as they are limited to rhetorical appeals to the workers of the other side to "see sense"

When the Falls & the Shankill fought together
This year is the 60th anniversary of the Outdoor Relief strike in Belfast, which saw unemployed Catholics and Protestants fighting alongside each other.

A new loyalist party?
David Ervine of the UVF linked Progressive Unionist Party, Gusty Spence and Gary McMichael of the UDA's Ulster Democratic Party are all talking about is a new working class loyalist political party. There is much talk of how the ordinary working class Protestant has gained nothing from the old loyalism, of poor housing and the lack of respect shown to them by the "fur coat brigade".

Nationalism...No Thanks
Anarchists are for the defeat of British imperialism. But we want more, we stand for the creation of a new society in the interests of the working class and against the bosses, both orange and green.

It's still an Orange state
Again this year loyalist parades were forced through nationalist areas destroying any illusions that the British state is neutral in the 6 counties.

Irish nationalism is not for us
Anarchists are for the defeat of British imperialism. But we want more, we stand for the creation of a new society in the interests of the working class. This is very different from the politics of nationalism, of Sinn Fein

Unionist MP supports anti-Catholic threats

The Irish Nazi, the Unionist MPs and the British Tories
An Irish fascist has turned up as editor of Right Now!, an ultra-right magazine within the British Conservative Party. Among the MPs who have spoken at its meetings are Deputy DUP leader Peter Robinson and Orange Grand Master Martin Smyth

The anarchist position is summarised in these documents