De Valera's Irelands

by Dermot Keogh

  Like gold in the ground – or the alchemist’s mind – it is probably wise not to speak about the pursuit at all. Technique can certainly be learned, and only a fool would try to do without it, but technique for its own sake grows heartless. Unless technique can take us to that clear mir­ror that is called style, the reflection of personality in language, every­thing having been removed from it that is not itself, then the most perfect technique is as worthless as mere egotism. Once work reaches that clear­ness the writer’s task is ended. His or her words will not live again until and unless they find their true reader.

  Public holidays, commemoration and identity in Ireland, north and south, 1920–60

  Brian Walker

  Public holidays and commemorations of important anniversaries often reflect the values, secular or religious, of a society. Christmas Day and Easter Monday, for example, have special Christian significance in many countries of the world. May Day is also reserved as a holiday in honour of workers in a number of countries. Some public holidays, however, are specific to particular countries, such as Bastille Day on 14 July in France and Independence Day on 4 July in the United States of America, and often refer to events of significance in the history of these countries. In­deed, most countries mark by way of annual commemoration the ann­i­versaries of im­portant episodes, events or people in their history. On Re­membrance Day in Great Britain, for instance, people recall all those Brit­ish and allied ser­vicemen who died in the two world wars. Whether cele­brating the early or recent history of a society, these occasions often help to engender a sense of common purpose and identity, even though there may be dif­ferences of opinion about the exact significance of the events being cele­brated. In Ireland, however, while Christmas Day and Easter Monday have been celebrated by the vast bulk of the population, this has not been the case with some of the other principal public holi­days and acts of annual com­memoration.

  This chapter looks at how four public holidays or annual commem­orative events have been marked in some form or other in both political states in Ireland during the period, 1920–60. The special dates on which these subjects are recalled are as follows: 17 March, when St Patrick, Ire­land’s patron saint, is commemorated; Easter Sunday, when the Eas­ter Rising in Dublin in 1916 is commemorated; 12 July, when the Battle of the Boyne is celebrated; 11 November, or a Sunday nearest to that date, when people remember those who died in two world wars. Two of these dates mark historical episodes or personalities of antiquity, while the other two commemorate more historical events. We will ex­plore what these commemorations tell us about people’s identity and sense of his­tory over this period. Particular attention will be paid to the way in which the respective governments viewed the four commemor­ations, to the way in which the commemorations were claimed by various groups and to how dominant groups within each state viewed minority groups and opinions. The period dealt with covers the four decades from the crea­tion of Northern Ireland and the Irish state, later the Irish Republic, in the early 1920s until 1960.

  In the new Northern Ireland of the early 1920s, the 12 July cele­bra­tions which marked the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne were al­ready an important annual event. Since the 1880s the Orange Order had enjoy­ed widespread support and these July parades were well att­ended. The particular importance, however, of this date in the calendar of the new state had not yet been established in the early 1920s. There is evi­dence that Sir James Craig and the government sought to place some distance between themselves and the Orange movement. In July 1922, Craig was asked in the Northern Ireland parliament to use his influence to have 12 July made a general holiday. He rejected this call and stated: ‘In view of the large number of existing statutory holidays, and the fact that the 12th of July has for many years been observed as such, there does not appear to be any necessity to take the action suggested.’ Three years later when the matter was raised again in parliament, the Minister of Home Affairs, R. D. Bates, agreed that the date should become a special holiday.1In October 1924 ,the cabinet had decided that there was no objection to the proposal but any such measure was postponed until the following year. In August 1925 the cabinet discussed whether the West­minster parlia­ment should be asked to make 12 July a permanent bank holiday or wheth­er this should be done annually by proclamation, and decided to opt for the latter course of action.2By the late 1920s, 12 July had become a statu­tory as well as a general holiday.

  There is other evidence that Craig and his fellow ministers tried to downplay links between themselves and the Orange Order in this early period. Craig and most of his cabinet were Orangemen but at this time they took a minor role in the annual July proceedings. On 12 July 1922 Craig spoke at the Belfast demonstrations and described enthusiastically how he and his wife had attended the July celebrations every year since their marriage.3In the following year, there was no report of Craig at­tend­ing the July celebrations and few other ministers spoke from Orange platforms. In July 1923, however, Craig issued a message intended es­pe­cially for Orange ‘brethren’ in the USA and Canada, but which was also read at local parades: ‘It is our earnest desire to live in peace and amity with the Free State, and to encourage in every way a better under­stand­ing between all classes and creeds.’4 In 1924, there was again no report of Craig’s appearance at the 12 July celebrations. In 1925, he sent apologies from England for his non-attendance and explained his ab­sence as due to the recent death of his brother, although, in fact, his broth­er had died nearly two weeks before the 12 July anniversary.5 In 1926, the press noted Craig’s apologies for his non-attendance but gave no explanation.6Dur­ing these years few of his prominent colleagues spoke on 12 July plat­forms. Finally, however, in 1927 Craig made a major speech on 12 July at the demonstration in Belfast and from this time on he and other leading ministers attended and spoke regularly on these occasions.7

  This picture of limited involvement by the unionist leadership in 12 July proceedings in the early 1920s fits in with other evidence that the government was trying to avoid becoming completely identified with only the Protestant section of the population. Among examples of this are the attempt by Lord Londonderry to establish non-denomina­tional school education and the appointment of a Catholic, Sir Denis Henry (formerly unionist MP for Londonderry South), to the post of Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland.8These gestures of moderation, however, did not con­tinue, partly because of a lack of nationalist and Catholic co-operation and partly because of ultra-Protestant opposition and concern about unionist unity in the face of political threats from Labour and other groups. When Craig returned to an Orange platform in 1927 it was to take the opportu­nity to warn against the danger of div­ision in unionist ranks and to jus­tify the government’s plan to abolish proportional representation in elec­tions to the Northern Ireland parlia­ment: it is generally accepted that this move was not designed as an attack on nationalists but was an attempt to curtail unionist splinter groups.9

  From 1927 onwards members of the government used these 12 July parades to espouse their political stance and promote unionist unity. By the early 1930s Craig made a point of attending the 12 July proceedings every year in a different county of Northern Ireland. Clearly, the govern­ment was availing of these occasions to their advantage, but matters were not always under their control. Because of the fear of sectarian violence the authorities tried to stop the 12 July demonstrations in Belfast in 1935 but had to back down due to strong Orange opposition. The celebrations that year were in fact followed by nine days of serious rioting in Belfast.10

  At the July parades during the 1930s, speeches by politicians, clergy­men and members ranged over various religious and political subjects. Loyalty to the crown and empire was reaffirmed regularly. In 1933 Craig declared: ‘British we are and British we remain’.11Protestant principles were upheld and Catholicism was denounced. In 1932 Craig stated: ‘Ours is a Protestant government and I am an Orangeman’.12Political affairs in the south were often mentioned
and the fate of southern Protestants was frequently referred to. Links with the empire were stressed. In 1939 Craig declared that: ‘the British empire, and all it stands for, is the sun and air of our existence’.13The importance of the 12 July commemorations and the Orange Order for unionists was stressed in a report in the Northern Whig on 13 July 1933:

  Throughout people recognised the need for keeping at full pitch the unity and strength of the Order. It has proved in the past the nucleus around which unionism of the province gathered when danger of submission in a nationa­list and Roman Catholic dominated Ireland threatened.

  The outbreak of war resulted in the curtailment of parades between 1940 and 1942. These restrictions, voluntary in 1940 and mandatory in 1941 and 1942, covered not only the main 12 July processions but also parades before 12 July, including the annual march to a church service at Drum­cree, County Armagh, on the Sunday before 12 July.14Thereafter the an­nual 12 July parades resumed, although in a limited form, for the rest of the war.

  During the 1940s and 1950s the government and the unionist party re­mained strongly identified with the 12 July proceedings and the Orange movement. Speeches by Lord Brookeborough during the 1950s referred to IRA attacks and also the greater economic benefits which the north enjoyed compared to the south.15Not until the late 1950s and early 1960s did questions begin to emerge from both Orange and unionist circles to challenge the link between the two organisations. On 13 July, 1960 an editorial in the Belfast Newsletter referred to the new thinking on these matters and put it down to a more stable political climate in Northern Ireland and better north/south relations. In Brookeborough’s last years as prime minister some Orange leaders urged that the relig­ious aspects of the twelfth should be increased at the expense of the pol­itical and by the early 1960s fewer prominent politicians were involved in the 12 July proceedings.16At the same time, some politicians urged that unionism should not be restricted to Protestants. In July 1960, R. S. Dixon MP, de­clared that ‘civil and religious liberty must be for all sections of the com­munity’, while in July 1961, W. M. May MP, stated that ‘we must do our best to impress on our Roman Catholic citizens that this order stands for toleration’.17Historical ghosts resonated at the Orange demonstration at Bangor, County Down in 1960! A report in the press recounted:

  One of the most unexpected people to turn up at the Bangor demonstration was Michael Collins. When his name was announced over the loudspeakers there was consternation on the faces of the platform party and gathering. But smiles were soon in evidence when it was explained that Michael was a little boy who had got lost.18

  The first Armistice Day on 11 November 1919, commemorated the end of the First World War, and was widely marked in many parts of North­ern Ireland by both nationalists and unionists. Services were held in churches of all denominations. The Irish Times described the situation in Belfast on 11 November 1919:

  The Armistice silence was observed in an impressive manner in Belfast. All the tramcars were stopped, and in the large industrial concerns, such as the shipyards and the spinning factories, the workers stopped for two minutes and stood by their machines.’19

  From the early 1920s, the event was commemorated not only with a two-minute silence and church services, but also with parades to new war memorials. There is evidence that in the early days there were efforts to keep the event open to all sections of the community. At the unveiling of the Enniskillen war memorial in 1922, for example, Protestant and Catho­lic war orphans laid wreaths.20At a ceremony in Ballymena on 11 Novem­ber 1924, Major General Sir Oliver Nugent who had commanded the 36th (Ulster) division at the Somme, declared that ‘the service given by the Ulstermen in the war was not confined to one creed or one denomi­na­tion; it was given by Ulstermen of all denominations and all classes’.21The cere­mony for the unveiling of the Portadown war memorial in 1924 involved the Catholic parish priest along with the other clergy, and wreaths were laid by representatives of the Orange Order and the Ancient Order of Hibernians.22On 12 November 1924, the Irish News reported comme­mo­rations in both Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State with the head­line ‘Brotherhood of bereavement – north and south pause to salute the dead’.

  In spite of these comments and inclusive incidents, however, the Armistice Day commemorations became largely linked with unionism. To some extent this arose because of a reluctance in certain Catholic and nationalist quarters to acknowledge the Catholic role in the war. For example, Cardinal Patrick O’Donnell, Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, refused to attend the unveiling of the County Armagh war memorial in 1926.23More importantly, many unionists came to see Armistice Day as an occasion for the affirmation of their own sense of Ulster or British identity. As Professor Keith Jeffery has commented: ‘For them the blood sacrifice of the Somme was equal and opposite to that of Easter 1916.’24At the unveiling of Coleraine war memorial in 1922 Sir James Craig de­clar­ed that ‘those who passed away have left behind a great message to all of them to stand firm, and to give away none of Ulster’s soil.’25Only Protestant clergy attended the unveiling of the cenotaph at the Belfast City Hall in 1929 and there were no official representatives from the 16th (Irish) Division in which Belfast Catholics had tended to serve.26

  The government played no direct role in organising events on Ar­mistice Day and speeches were rarely made on the occasion, but the large parades and well-attended services on the day, with army and police in­volved, were seen by many not only as an expression of grief but also as a mark of the British link among the unionist community. It would be wrong, however, to write off entirely Catholic and nationalist involve­ment in the Armistice Day commemorations. Catholic ex-servicemen continu­ed to mark the occasion in some places. In Newry, in the 1930s, on Armi­stice Day ex-servicemen held a parade before making their way to their res­pective Catholic and Protestant churches for mem­orial services.27Dur­­ing the 1930s Armistice Day wreaths were laid in Belfast for the men for the 16th (Irish) Division and in Derry for the ‘Irish Catholic officers and men who fell in the Great War’, while at Portadown a wreath was laid for the Connacht Rangers, in which Portadown Catholics had served.28

  After the Second World War, Armistice Day was replaced by Rem­em­brance Day and held on the Sunday closest to 11 November. Names of those who had served or died in the war were added to existing me­mori­als. Parades and services continued as they had done on Armistice Day, and they remained largely the concern of the Protestant and unionist com­munity. While the government had no formal involvement in these events it was quite common for the prime minister or a cabinet minister to take the salute of ex-servicemen on these occasions. There is little evi­dence of involvement of Catholic clergy in public ceremonies at ceno­taphs or at council services. At the same time we should note that in some places, such as Dungannon, Newry and Sion Mills, parades of Ca­tholic and Prot­estant ex-servicemen continued to take place as they had done in the 1930s.29

  The degree of polarisation between the two communities over this commemoration is revealed starkly in a comparison of coverage of these events in Belfast nationalist and unionist papers in the mid-1950s. In 1955 and 1956 the unionist papers, the Belfast Newsletter and the North­ern Whig gave extensive coverage to Remembrance Day in various places in Northern Ireland as well as in London, while the nationalist paper, the Irish News, ignored the occasion and carried not a single report on any event connected with the commemoration.30

  By the early 1900s, St Patrick’s Day on 17 March was widely celebrated throughout Ireland, north and south. In 1903 an act of the West­minster parliament made St Patrick’s Day a bank holiday, a measure supported by unionist and nationalist MPs. After 1921, St Patrick’s Day was still ob­served in Northern Ireland but on a lower key than in the south where it took on special importance. During the 1920s and 1930s in Northern Ireland the shamrock continued to be worn widely and the day remained a bank holiday when banks, government and municipal offices and schools were closed, although most shops and factories seem
to have been un­affected.31In Catholic churches St Patrick’s Day was an important feast day which was well-attended. The Ancient Order of Hibernians continued to organise demonstrations on this date and nationalist politicians often used the occasion to make speeches. From 1925, the BBC in North­ern Ire­land commenced an annual series of special St Patrick’s day broad­­­casts.32

  The Patrician Year of 1932, which marked the anniversary of St Pat­rick’s arrival in Ireland was marked by all the churches. At Saul, the site of St Patrick’s first church, the Church of Ireland built a new church while the Catholic Church erected a statue of St Patrick on a nearby hill top. Each of the main denominations took advantage of the occasion to re­affirm its belief that St Patrick belonged exclusively to its tradition.33Sporting activ­ities on St Patrick’s Day, including the Ulster schools rugby cup, and spe­cial theatrical events, dances and dinners, were well attended in the 1920s and 1930s. On 18 March 1939 the Belfast Newsletter reported that ‘in Bel­fast and all over the province Ulster folk said good­bye to St Patrick’s Day with dances and other entertainments’. Special ceremonies of the troop­ing of the colour and presentation of the sham­rock to Irish regiments re­mained a tradition (begun by Queen Victoria at the end of her reign). There was, however, no official involvement in or recognition of St Pat­rick’s Day, apart from a number of dinners or dances on the day, organ­ised by the Duke of Abercorn, as governor of Northern Ireland.34On the unionist and government side there was no attempt to hold parades or make speeches on 17 March. The speeches of southern politicians on the day denouncing partition or declaring Ireland’s attach­ment to Rome were reported regularly in the northern press and some­times criticised in edi­torials but there was no attempt by the government in this period to re­spond.