The Ancient Order of Hibernians was in many ways the Catholic mirror image of the Orange Order. Eileen O'Brien described its day out in 1967. – JOE JOYCE
IT WAS a great day for faith and fatherland yesterday, when some 60 divisions of the Ancient Order of Hibernians from all over the North and Scotland marched with banners and bands through Maghera, Co Derry, to pass resolutions of loyalty to the Pope and to an Ireland united from the centre to the sea.
Bright sunshine struggled through threatening black Ulster clouds to light up the Tricolour fluttering bravely from a flagpole in a field ringed by a splendid range of mountains, Gallon and Carn towering over them.
I asked Mr. Patrick Moran, president of the Maghera division, if they had to get permission to fly the Tricolour.
“We got no permission,” he answered firmly. “We call that our national flag and we don’t ask permission to fly it.”
When the national president, Mr James Dillon [Fine Gael] TD, began his address, he departed from his prepared speech to say: “We are assembled without leave or licence from any Minister or any Government in this country. We are here as free men and women exercising our constitutional right to demonstrate.”
At this a man rushed forward from the crowd and told the reporters: “Be sure that is in the press – what he said there.”
Everyone wore green, white and orange rosettes and some had Sacred Heart rosettes as well . . .
The banners had a gloriously 19th-century air about them. There was a wealth of luxuriant, Junoesque Mother Éires reclining among wolfhounds, harps, round towers and sunbursts. There was Joe Devlin [former Nationalist MP] and an indeterminate figure in white bearing the legend “God Bless Our Pope.” There was Robert Emmet and Sarsfield, Owen Roe and Red Hugh and Fr Murphy.
Daniel O’Connell, “to God and Ireland true”, appeared many times with a young maiden in chains, presumably Cathleen Ní Houlihan. The occasional legend in Irish, “Go sabailid Dia Éire” and “Creideam agus atarda” was in ancient curling letters with plenty of dots and not a haitch in sight. Among all these a banner with President Kennedy looked extremely incongruous . . .
Mr. Dillon spoke of modern atheism which sought the establishment of a godless materialistic society. It sought complete control in international organisation, in financial circles and in the mass communication field.
Faith and fatherland were the twin causes they were pledged to serve. “As we reaffirm our loyalty and devotion to the ecumenical spirit of our time, so we renew without hesitation or vacillations our unalterable devotion to the ideal of a united Ireland of 32 counties: one nation united from the centre to the sea.”
The tide of history was flowing towards a united Ireland, he declared, and those who tried to hold back the tide knew well how hopeless was their purpose.
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