‘I see myself as a Royalist, as a member of the Orange Order I see the sovereign as the keystone. I have to be loyal to the country I live in and I’m happy to call myself Irish, but the sovereign Queen Elizabeth II I see as the keystone to a stable society. It’s my identity – I’m Irish but I’m a protestant man in Dublin and my heritage would be that of a British line.’
Unbeknownst to most, Dublin city has its very own Orange Order Lodge, right in the heart of the city. In this documentary, Fergal McCarthy meets three members of this lodge, Chris, Winston and Derek who were all born and raised in the city. We hear about the importance of their protestant background; their sense of identity living within the Republic and how they hold an allegiance to the British Crown.
We are brought right into the centre of their world, the inner sanctuary of their organisation – the lodge room. Found in the heart of Dublin city, this orange lodge represents a little piece of Britain, right on our doorstep.
Fergal travels to the fields of Rossnowlagh County Donegal, the scene of the only major Orange parade in the Republic. The Rossnowlagh parade is traditionally held each year on the Saturday before the Twelfth, and regarded as the parade for the Orange lodges and their members of the Republic. In contrast to the numerous contentious parades that are found throughout the North, Rossnowlagh passes of peacefully each year.
We hear the views of these Dublin Orangemen on the issue of parading, Irish cultural expression, and the place of the Orange tradition within society in the Republic.
Compiled and narrated by Fergal McCarthy
Production supervision by Sarah Blake
Sound supervision by Mark McGrath
First broadcast 10th July 2010
[audio:dublinorange.mp3]
An Irish radio documentary from RTÉ Radio 1, Ireland – Documentary on One – the home of Irish radio documentaries.
