RITUALS OF IRISH PROTESTANTISM AND ORANGEISM: THE TRANSNATIONAL GRAND ORANGE LODGE OF IRELAND

Abstract

This article explores the influence the Irish border has had on the cultural expression of Orangeism north and south of the border. Utilising anthropological understandings of culture the article looks at the Orange Institution as a transnational organisation. It focuses on the contrasting problems created for a pro-British, pro-Empire Protestant organisation once the Grand Lodge of Ireland found itself with jurisdiction over Orange lodges and parades in two politically antagonistic countries. The symbols used in the parades on both sides of the border reveal the divergent relations of power within which the Orange Order has developed. The Orange Order in the Republic of Ireland has adapted the ideological content of their parades to allow them to hold regular events in County Donegal. However, the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland effectively acts as if it is the Grand Lodge of Northern Ireland. Equally, the Irish state has struggled to know how to deal with Orange parades within the Republic. In its conclusions, this article suggests that studying culture allows us to map aspects of transnationalism by exploring both the effects that common cultural traits have on border regions and the effects that the border and changed power relations have on culture.