The Drumcree Orangemen have run out of road
I've as much chance of walking on water as Portadown Orangemen have of walking down the Garvaghy Road.
A week ago, the world's greatest optimists were at it again, expressing confidence they would complete the return journey from Drumcree Church to their hall in Portadown.
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Sunday World
20-07-2025
- Sunday World
Lodge out of order over GAA kids – Veteran Orangeman blasts Goldsprings protests
Comber veteran slams Goldsprings' objection to children's sports camp Earlier this week the Comber-based Goldsprings lodge backed the halting of a kids' criss-community summer sports camp at the town's cricket club because of the involvement of children from East Belfast GAA club. North Down Cricket Club insists it had taken the decision to cancel the event before the Orange Lodge issued a controversial statement condemning GAA participation. North Down Cricket Club which was forced to cancel its cross-community sports camp But historian and senior Orangeman Dr Chris McGimpsey says the actions of the County Down lodge brought ridicule on the Orange Order from around the world. And last night Dr McGimpsey – an Orangeman with 55 years good standing in the staunchly Protestant organisation – launched a blistering attack on those responsible. 'I was shocked at the message coming out of the Goldsprings lodge. There are many ways to challenge the GAA over its connections to violent republicanism, but preventing children from playing cricket isn't one of them,' Dr McGimpsey said. 'Even if people hold those views, why do they seek to link it to the Orange Order?' he asked. 'Because children who play Gaelic football are very different from mature adults who name a Gaelic Athletic Club after a dead IRA terrorist. Those two things should not be confused,' Dr McGimpsey insisted. He added: 'Now the Orange Order is being talked about negatively all over the place.' Chris McGimpsey at his County Down home and with some of his many Orange artefacts Senior GAA sources say it's ludicrous to link the organisation with modern-day violent republicanism. Just one club of the 2,700 in Ireland and around the world is named after a Troubles-linked republican – Kevin Lynch's in Dungiven, which is named in tribute to the INLA hunger-striker who captained their team to All-Ireland glory. Mr McGimpsey, a former resident of the majority Protestant linen mill town of Comber, said he was surprised to learn such a divisive issue had emanated from there. 'I lived in Comber for over 20 very happy years and I was really surprised to learn that one of the Comber lodges would come out with something like that. I found Comber to be a lovely town full of decent, warm and friendly people,' he said. Sign on lamppost in Comber 'My own Orange lodge is in Dublin, but obviously when I was in Comber I knew a lot of the local Orangemen and I found them to be sensible decent men. 'And so I was surprised that something like this would have come from Comber. But I think what we are seeing here is similar to what we saw last week in Moygashel. It appears to be contrived. 'This was a political issue pushing its way into normal life. I mean everyone has views on immigration as I have myself. 'And I have also been very critical of the GAA and its alleged linkages to republican terrorism. But I mean messages coming from an Orange lodge should be about Orangemen and Orangeism. 'As Orangemen we believe in what we are doing. We don't need to reflect what other politicians are saying and we shouldn't be commenting on other issues which are not related to us. 'The Irish Cricket Union issued a statement to say it had taken a decision to postpone the event, even before the Goldspring statement came out. Goldsprings Orange Hall in Comber 'But why the lodge wanted to bring the Orange Order into this and bring the Orange Order into disrepute, beats me. It's just silly nonsense. 'Because children who play Gaelic football are very different from men who name a Gaelic club after an IRA terrorist. They should not be confused.' The former Ulster Unionist councillor in Belfast City Council also recalled a famous night in GAA history when he was invited – as a well-known Orangemen – to address a meeting of players, officials and supporters of Crossmaglen Rangers GAC. 'A friend of mine told me I'd be okay in south Armagh because the place was full of Rangers supporters – I thought they meant Glasgow Rangers! And it was only when I arrived I found out it was Crossmaglen Rangers! 'I outlined my view as an Orangemen and a unionist and I was extremely well received. I had a real go at Irish republicanism. 'I went to south Armagh because its important that we get our message across to everyone. 'I wouldn't say everyone in the audience agreed with me, but they weren't expected to. I enjoyed it very much.' Chris McGimpsey in his Orange regalia this week He added: 'Crossmaglen Rangers treated me well and it was well worth the trip.' In the later 1980s Chris McGimpsey and his brother Michael – a former Health Minister – took the Irish government to court over Article 2&3 of the Irish Constitution which claimed ownership of Northern Ireland. They lost the case in Dublin, but it was generally regarded as having been a major influence on the Irish government's decision to drop the controversial claim prior to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. On Thursday evening, the Sunday World called to Comber Orange Hall in Railway Street in a bid to find out why the lodge issued its statement against the children from East Belfast taking part in the cross-community cricket event. No one from the Goldsprings LOL was available. Dr McGimpsey beside a portrait of King Billy which hangs in his hallway But a spokesperson from the Goldsprings True Defenders Flute Band, which shares the same hall, told us he fully supported the lodge's hostile stance against children from a GAA background taking part in a sporting event in the town. And he also maintained the lodge had been misrepresented in the print and broadcasting media. 'I fully expect that within the next few days apologies will be issued to the Goldsprings Lodge over this,' he said. It was generally believed the decision to cancel the proposed sporting event hosted by North Down Cricket Club came after an onslaught of online criticism But the North Down Cricket Club insisted it had taken the decision to postpone the event a full 24 hours before the Goldsprings Orange LOL condemned it. Earlier this month Goldsprings True Defenders Flute Band took part in a parade in Belfast to commemorate UVF leader Trevor King gunned down by republicans in July 1994. Cricket Ireland said they were disappointed and will now host the event for the children on July 28 at Stormont.
Irish Times
18-07-2025
- Irish Times
Oliver Callan gets acidic about the Orange Order
He may have a prime time slot on the nation's most popular radio station, but while Oliver Callan ( RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays) has to appeal to a broad audience, he doesn't appear to have had much in the way of cultural sensitivity training. Opening his show on Monday, the host surveys the events of the previous weekend, paying particular attention to the Twelfth of July parades in the North . 'The Orangemen got their only exercise of the year,' Callan tartly observes, 'Loyal Orange lodges, the only thing they might be loyal to is sausage rolls, by the cut of a lot of them.' Now, Callan needn't unduly worry about offending the sensibilities of an organisation whose more dedicated followers celebrate their biggest holiday by burning effigies of refugees . But body-shaming them? That's the kind of thing that sets off alarms in HR. The presenter might want to be more cognisant of the feelings of others, or he'll be in hot water quicker than you can say 'citrus intolerance'. [ 'Isn't it brilliant' a mother says, photographing her children at the bonfire topped with an effigy of a migrant boat Opens in new window ] In Callan's defence, it's the only astringent note in an otherwise jolly week that has him broadcasting from across the northwest. Monday's programme comes from Donegal, where he gives his hot take on the demeanour of the locals. READ MORE 'They tell about three jokes, as dry as a chardonnay, every year,' Callan says, not unadmiringly, before praising natives of the county for shunning anything that smacks of ostentation, 'such as using your whole mouth to speak.' What did we say about not making fun of people's appearance, Mr Callan? When it comes to interviewing his guests, however, the host is benignity personified. He talks enthusiastically about Donegal's All-Ireland football semi-final win with the county's former manager Brian McEniff, who as a hotelier also provides his insights into the tourism trade this summer: 'Not great.' But such downbeat blips are the exception. Another veteran of the hotel business, Noel Cunningham, takes a more upbeat tack, talking up the hospitality available in Donegal. As he travels down the coast, Callan's monologues grow ever saucier. In Sligo on Tuesday, he jokes about catching a 'Yeats infection', while the following day's show from Mayo has him describing the Erris peninsula as a 'geographical Langer'. But again, a breezy mood prevails, with the host at his most chatty as he learns about local attractions such as Blacksod lighthouse, from where he broadcasts on Wednesday. None of this is groundbreaking nor even memorable, but it makes for easy summer listening, the good-natured proceedings enlivened by Callan's flash of acidic humour. It's also notable that he meets several local residents originally from foreign climes such as Australia, the Philippines and America, all of whom he gets on with famously. Happily, Callan has no problem with diversity. It's always a mixed bag on The Ray D'Arcy Show (RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays), as the host moves between items of varying substance. D'Arcy sounds most at ease when the subject is lightweight, literally so in the case of a 3D crocheted map of Ireland knitted by a group of Wicklow women. 'The best thing I've seen in a long time,' he tells Liz Butler of Carnew Community Care centre, 'It's spectacular.' But he also tackles more difficult topics, though the shifts in tone can be awkward. On Monday, as excavation works commence to recover infant remains on the site of the Tuam mother and baby home, he talks to local historian Catherine Corless, who uncovered the lack of burial records for 800 babies at the institution. D'Arcy's admiration for his guest is obvious, the host pointedly remarking that when she first revealed her findings 11 years ago, she was scoffed at by many. Local historian Catherine Corless, who uncovered the lack of burial records for 800 babies at Tuam. Photograph: Dan Dennison Asked how she now feels, Corless replies 'justice has been finally served', though she regrets it took so long for church and state authorities to act. But her account of how the home disposed the bodies of the dead infants still horrifies to the core. 'The babies were literally dropped down, placed on top of each other,' she says. 'The least we can do is give their dignity back.' D'Arcy wisely holds back throughout, leaving Corless to talk uninterrupted – her determination is palpable, even when calling from a train – though he makes one indisputable contribution: 'On behalf of the country, I want to thank you.' [ Tuam is a microcosm for Ireland's history of discarded bones Opens in new window ] The host sounds less sure of himself when speaking to Dublin poet Stephen James Smith. D'Arcy lurches between questions on his guest's move to Wexford, his work with arts and mental health charity First Fortnight, and the difference between a poem and a song. 'Where are we going now, Ray?' an amused Smith asks at one point. But amid it all, D'Arcy makes an admission that, far from suggesting uncertainty, speaks of a deeper curiosity beneath his on-air persona. 'I'm only coming to terms with how poetry can cut through things,' he says. Smith unsurprisingly agrees. 'We often turn to it in important times in our life,' the poet replies, 'It saved my life.' D'Arcy's show mightn't have quite that impact, but it can definitely surprise. Poetic matters are also pondered by Brendan O'Connor (RTÉ Radio 1, Saturday & Sunday), though to unnerving effect, when he asks if listeners can tell a poem written by a person from one generated by AI. 'The question is, if you can fake poetry, can you fake humanity and soul?' The answer isn't reassuring. Galway poet Rita Ann Higgins, whose disarmingly open manner is matched by her formidable literary gifts, reads two poems, one which she wrote, the other artificially generated in her style. O'Connor then invites journalist Mark Little to guess which is fake. Little, like 70 per cent of texters, chooses the wrong poem. Higgins, meanwhile, spots the sources 'scraped' by AI to imitate her style: 'I can see things I said in interviews.' Either way, host and guests – and surely listeners too – are unsettled by the experiment. After all, as Little notes, AI doesn't just play fast and loose with copyrighted content, it uses data based on the worst biases and prejudices of social media. It's not just people who need sensitivity training. Moment of the Week Music lovers of a certain vintage enjoy a flutter of nostalgia on Lyric FM on Monday evening, as John Kelly closes his consistently wonderful show Mystery Train . 'I think it's Donal later,' the host says, 'You're in safe hands.' He's speaking of Donal Dineen, who plays a dizzyingly varied selection of tracks as guest host on The Blue of The Night . 'There was a time when these two shows used to dock at the same station,' says Dineen, referring to the halcyon days when his show Here Comes the Night would follow Kelly's Eclectic Ballroom on Radio Ireland (now Today FM): both programmes brought new life to Irish music radio. It's good to hear the old gang back together again, however fleetingly.
Belfast Telegraph
13-07-2025
- Belfast Telegraph
The Drumcree Orangemen have run out of road
Despite almost 30 years of rejection, protesters still believe they'll complete their return journey to Portadown I've as much chance of walking on water as Portadown Orangemen have of walking down the Garvaghy Road. A week ago, the world's greatest optimists were at it again, expressing confidence they would complete the return journey from Drumcree Church to their hall in Portadown.
