Apprentice Boys of Derry (Case Study) POLITICS & SOCIETY IN NORTHERN IRELAND, 1949-1993
Apprentice Boys of Derry One of the Loyal Orders If the Orange Order primarily celebrates the victory of William III at the Battle of the Boyne, the Apprentice Boys exists to commemorate the lifting of the Siege of Derry by William s supporters in 1689. Strongly associated with Protestant religion, though not at politically linked as the Orange Order. Membership limited to Protestant men. Clubs/Branches around the world, mainly: Scotland, England, Ireland, Canada
The War of the Two Kings (1688-91) & the Siege of Derry (1688-89) After James VII & II a Catholic assumed the throne in 1685, the mainly protestant British parliament invited William of Orange, a Dutch Prince, to come to England and be their King in 1688. James was supported by his French cousin King Louis XIV As William and his armies arrived in England, the Jacobites fled to Ireland and laid siege to the Williamite city of Derry in December 1688 Many of Ulster s protestants had fled to the walled city seeing refuge from the Catholic army. The city s governor, Col. Robert Lundy, wanted to surrender the city, but on 18 th December, 13 apprentices closed the city gates against the Catholic army shouting No Surrender After 105 days of siege, during which c. 4000 in the city died from hunger and disease, the siege was broken by Williamite ships breaking the siege up the River Foyle.
Symbolism of the Siege For many Protestants, the Siege of Derry acted as a powerful symbol of the constant threat (or siege) they lived under from Catholic domination and oppression. The brave resistance of the Apprentice Boys and the population of the city against the Catholic aggressors was, to them, the same as the danger faced by Ulster from domination by a Catholic independent Ireland. Just as the Apprentice Boys had, they must continue to resist the danger of Catholic aggression and domination. At the celebration of the closing of the city gates each year on 18 December, the crowd symbolically burns an effigy of the traitor and coward, Col. Lundy What does this act say about how members of the Apprentice Boys might feel about Protestant leaders who favoured dialogue or co-operation with the North s Catholic community?
Early History of the Apprentice Boys The people of Derry celebrated the siege throughout the 18 th century, but the first Apprentice Boys club was not formed until 1813 The organisation grew and by 1853 was in charge of organising the celebrations of the Siege in Derry through their General Committee The organisation is based around 8 Parent Clubs based in the city s Memorial Hall, including the No Surrender Club
Commemorating the Siege The Apprentice boys are primarily known for their commemorations of the Siege 18 Dec Closing the Gates 12 Aug Lifting of the Siege These events involve large marches by men in bowler hats and crimson sashes complete with bands and banners The event ends with a religious service in St Columb s Cathedral in the city. At its height in the late 1960s, up to 40,000 people attended the commemorations
Apprentice Boys in Context: Derry City after partition With the partition of Ireland in 1922, Derry became the 2 nd largest city in the new Northern Ireland Unlike Belfast, Derry had a large Catholic majority around 70% This concerned Protestants in the city and around the country who feared Catholic s could gain control of the city, or that it could be granted to the South under the Boundary Commission As a result, Derry s local elections were consistently gerrymandered to ensure a Protestant majority on the City s council. Other voting restrictions also impacted on this.
Apprentice Boys in Context: Derry City after partition Derry s Catholic population was mainly concentrated in the Bogside area of the city outside the city walls Symbolically, the Apprentice Boys parades took place on the walls above the Catholic population of the city Over the centuries and decades, including during Apprentice Boys marches, Protestants would throw coins over the walls down to the Bogside another symbol of their wealth and power over the Catholics.
The Apprentice Boys & The Start of the Troubles The activities of the Apprentice Boys had passed off without incident in general. Some even claimed the city s Catholics had attended and enjoyed the parades before 1968, though this is disputed by Catholics. This all changed with the beginning of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) In 1968, NICRA began organising marches to protest against discrimination in Northern Ireland especially in housing The first of these in August led to a counter protest by Protestants, led by Rev. Ian Paisley. The march passed off without violence, but tensions across Northern Ireland were beginning to rise.
The Apprentice Boys & The Start of the Troubles NICRA organised a second march to take place in Derry for 5 October 1968, to take place within the city walls Think about what symbolism this route may have had for the city s Loyalist population. When they heard about the NICRA march, the Apprentice Boys organised their own march for the same day and the same route This allowed Northern Ireland s Home Affairs Minister, William Craig, to ban both marches in the interest of peace. NICRA went ahead with the march anyway and were forced off the streets by RUC baton charges and water canon. Among the victims was leading Nationalist politician and MP Gerry Fitt who was batoned and badly injured. RTÉ cameraman Gay O Brien took dramatic footage of the police violence that soon spread around the world. For the rest of 1968 and into 1969, Civil Rights marches continued to be attacked by Loyalist mobs, with apparent police indifference or even complicity.
The Apprentice Boys & The Start of the Troubles 12 th August 1969 As tensions continued to rise, there was a feeling among all parties that the annual Apprentice Boys parade in 1969 would spark serious violence. Prior to the march, local Nationalist politicians including Paddy Doherty met with the Apprentice Boys leaders to appeal to them to cancel the march but they refused. The night before the march, Catholics in the Bogside began creating make-shift barricades and hoarding petrol-bomb making equipment. As the march proceeded, Catholic youths held back by barriers began throwing rocks at police and marchers. This quickly developed into rioting that went on for 3 days and is now known as the Battle of the Bogside. The violence only ended when the British Army entered the city and took control of it from the police They were still in the city when the Downing St Declaration was signed in 1994 This is widely considered as the beginning of the period known as The Troubles
The Apprentice Boys & The Parades Commission Parades in the early 70s were confined to only the Protestant areas of the city and not allowed on the city walls. Parades of both the Apprentice Boys and the Orange Order continued to lead to violence and disturbances so the British government set up the Parades Commission to adjudicate on controversial events. The Commission recommended that the Apprentice Boys engage with the city s Nationalist community to reach a mutual agreement over the Parades but they refused. In 1973, the IRA blew up the Walker monument the spot where the effigy of Lundy was traditionally burned.
The Apprentice Boys & Nationalist Control of Derry As the Troubles continued across Northern Ireland, the government passed a range of measures to grant civil rights demanded by Catholics including: One-man, one-vote An end to gerrymandering New rules for allocating public housing Abolishing of the old gerrymandered Derry Corporation This meant that Nationalists were able to gain control of Derry City Council and restrict the parades of the Apprentice Boys
The Apprentice Boys & Nationalist Control of Derry Relations between Derry s communities improved by the late 80s 1989 marked the 300 th anniversary of the lifting of the Siege of Derry In a gesture of goodwill, the Nationalist Controlled city council declared that the Siege of 1689 was an important part of the City s history and the heritage of all its citizens For the first time, the city council took part in the organising of the parades and celebrations of the anniversary In 1995, the Apprentice Boys were once again allowed to march on the city s walls, though the years had dampened the secarianism there were no anti-catholic slogans or throwing coins down to the Bogside.
Next Steps Rev. Ian Paisley Ecumenism in Northern Ireland Cultural Identity/Tradition through the Arts Poetry Drama Literature Music Art & Murals
How did the people of Northern Ireland express their religious affiliation and cultural identity, 1949-1993? Intro importance of RA & CI in NI, background (6) Prot CI intro, def. Prot state (6) Catholic CI second class citizens, discrimination (6) Prot. Religious ID (8) The Sabbath Link between Prot. Churches & Unionism Anti-Catholicism Cath. Religious ID (4) Symbols of Prot CI (8) Royals, flags etc The Orange Order & Marching tradition (6) The Apprentice Boys (10) Symbols of Catholic ID GAA, lang. etc. (6) Concl. effects, civil rights, violence, the troubles (5) (Total: 65) Important words to use: Sectarianism Bigotry Tolerance/Intolerance Cultural identity/tradition