"The Twelfth is just a fun family day out, a harmless cultural expression of
Protestantism? Bullshit!" says Larne SDLP councillor Danny O'Connor.
Tomorrow, tens of thousands of Orangemen will march in 19 different
locations across the North. It's the highlight of the year for many
working-class loyalists - "better than Christmas", says Ernie Duddy from
Belfast.
"It's a Protestant Mardi Gras," says a Queen's University academic. "There's
music, the masses dress up in fancy costume, and lots of people get very
drunk." For Catholics like O'Connor, who live in loyalist areas, it's a far
from pleasant experience.
For the Twelfth, Larne becomes a loyalist shrine. The town centre is a sea
of red-white-and-blue bunting. Minimalism hasn't caught on here. In the
housing estates, there are thousands of flags - UVF flags, UFF flags, Ulster
flags, Young Citizen Volunteer flags.
There's a saying about keeping your head as low as a Larne Catholic. At the
Twelfth, the heads must go even lower. "Entertainment in the Catholic Club
in Larne is cancelled for the next fortnight and there's nowhere else that
it's safe for us socialise," says O'Connor.
"People will baton down the hatches. They'll close their curtains, turn up
the TV and pray the Twelfth passes quickly." He says the local UDA takes
great pleasure in erecting flags outside Catholic homes.
"A flag is just a bit of cloth and that never hurt anyone. But when a
Catholic looks out their window and sees that the guys who've petrol-bombed
their neighbour's home are putting up the flags, they know the message
behind it. The police are just letting this happen."
Earlier this week, O'Connor's mother challenged men erecting an Ulster flag
outside her home in the Craigy Hill Estate. "Fuck off back into your house
or we'll put you in the grave, you old bitch," they told her. Rosaleen
O'Connor, who has asthma, started hyper-ventilating and ended up in
hospital.
Many Larne Catholics head off for the Twelfth, O'Connor says. "Bundoran is
buzzing with Larne people at this time of year. But you can't go far if
you're old, sick or on the dole.
"And many people are scared to go away. The McAuley's went to Spain last
year. When they returned, their house was a shell. It'd been burned down.
There are Catholic families who still sleep with buckets of water at the top
of the stairs."
Former Irish international rugby star and Ballymena DUP councillor, Davy
Tweed, sees the Twelfth very differently: "It's not about sectarianism,
intimidation or trampling on anybody's rights. It's an enjoyable family day
out.
"I first marched when I was eight-years-old and joined Dunloy Accordion
Band. I was very excited about it. My father and grandfather were Orangemen.
I'd been practising the accordion for months. You had to know three tunes
before you could march.
"I'd black trousers, a black jacket, a crimson tie, and a white shirt.
Everything had to be spick and span. It was a wonderful day." Tweed remained
in the Order during his rugby career.
"I never hid my membership from anyone in the sporting world. I'm proud to
be an Orangeman and I'll be one to the day I die. The media is very
negative about the Order and so a lot of people end up ignorant.
"The Orange Order is about the Christian faith and principles of equality
and tolerance. It makes a wonderful contribution to society. It brings
discipline into the lives of young men."
Hugh Keenan, a Catholic from Belfast's leafy Malone Road, disagrees: "Have
you seen the state of the streets after the Twelfth - the litter, the vomit,
the urine? It's disgraceful our city is brought to a standstill for a day
for these people, and business in Northern Ireland closes down for a week."
There is speculation that, after tomorrow's parade in Belfast, Orangemen
will block roads in and out of the city in protest at the Parades
Commission's decision to place restrictions on a march close to Ardoyne.
A Protestant businessman from Ballyclare defends the Twelfth: "Nationalists
need to grow up. They talk about cultural diversity, equality and tolerance
but, in reality, they don't want anything Protestant about them.
"There will always be some bad behaviour during any major event. I'm sure
the Notting Hill Carnival is no different. But the Twelfth is an
overwhelmingly peaceful day. Nationalists are obviously too bigoted to allow
Christian brethren to celebrate their identity once a year."
Back in Larne, Danny O'Connor remains unconvinced: "If the Orange Order want
to march through the streets wearing silly bowler hats and carrying
umbrellas then that's fine.
"Our problem is with all the other stuff surrounding it. Look around these
streets - in Larne, the Twelfth isn't about enjoyment, it's about
intimidation. You can see it, you can feel it, it's in the air."
