Michael McDowell is to be invited to address a rally of Orangemen and
victims of IRA violence in Dublin.
Catholics are barred from joining the Orange Order and, until now, only
members of the Protestant community have spoken at similar gatherings of IRA
victims in the North.
But Willie Frazer of Families Acting for Innocent Relatives (FAIR), who is
organising the Dublin march, said his group was very impressed with the
Justice Minister for "standing up to Sinn Féin/IRA" in the Republic.
"He might have a nationalist background, and his grandfather might have been
elected a Sinn Féin TD after the 1916 Rising, but Michael McDowell is a firm
opponent of Sinn Féin/IRA terrorism," Frazer said.
Other speakers will include DUP MP, Jeffrey Donaldson, and Ulster Unionist
Assembly member, Danny Kennedy. The Rev Ian Paisley has also been invited to
address the demonstration outside Leinster House.
Frazer said the rally details would be finalised next month when he
travelled to Dublin to meet senior gardai, but provisional arrangements were
for marchers to leave O'Connell Street around midday on Saturday 4 February.
Frazer believed that, if he accepted the invitation, McDowell would receive
a warm welcome from the crowd: "He is held in high regard by many people in
Northern Ireland for the courageous stance he has taken.
"He actively opposes Sinn Féin/IRA in a way that places him well above most
other politicians in the South, and plenty in Northern Ireland too. He
isn't afraid to put his head above the parapet. We have the utmost respect
for him.
"He truly believes that terrorists should face the full rigours of the law.
I met him a few years ago and although we had different opinions on some
political issues, I'd not hold that against the man."
Frazer praised the Justice Minister's "uncompromising stance" on the Frank
Connolly affair: "There has been a lot of pressure on him from all quarters
but he has stood his ground. Michael McDowell won't be bullied. It's a
shame there weren't more like him on both sides of the Border."
Frazer said that by inviting McDowell, the rally organisers hoped to show
they weren't anti-Catholic: "There will be Orangemen on the march, and
bandsmen might beat Lambeg drums, but it's nothing for the ordinary people
of Dublin to be afraid of.
"We're not anti-nationalist, we're just anti-Sinn Féin/IRA. We're not going
down to be provocative or offensive. We hope to show people in the South
that we don't have two heads, that we're just ordinary folk like
themselves."
Frazer said around 30 Orange bands wanted to take part but the organisers
had decided to limit it to six "so the march won't be perceived as
intimidatory".
He was unconcerned by any likely nationalist protests: "People have every
right to protest against our march. I've every faith the guards will do
their job and the day will pass peacefully."
