RIOTOUS ASSEMBLIES, 1795-1869.
While the Volunteers were celebrating the success of the French Revolution in Belfast, Dublin and Londonderry, in rural Armagh Protestant and Catholic peasant bands, known as Peep o' Day Boys and Defenders, had been fighting and raiding each other regularly since 1784. These clashes culminated in the Battle of the Diamond, near Loughgall, in September 1795 (Miller 1983, 1990). In part these were a continuation of the agrarian protests that had erupted across Ireland since the Whiteboys had first appeared in 1761. But they also introduced a new sectarian dimension which initially was specific to the proto-industrial, social and economic conditions of County Armagh. This sectarianism was compounded by the heightened political tensions that were produced by the raised profile of the Catholic and national questions in the wider political arena since the 1780s (Beames 1983; Gibbon 1975; Smyth 1992) . The "battle" would probably not have been significant had not some of the Protestant victors met afterwards to create a more structured organisation to counter the Defenders. This society was to become the Orange Institution. The Orange Order, as it is commonly known, received support from sections of the rural gentry and middle classes and spread rapidly across southern Ulster, although local groups remained largely independent of centralised control until the second half of the century.
ORANGE PARADES AND DISPLAYS.
Since the establishment of the Volunteers there had been only occasional reports of public celebrations of the Williamite victories, but in 1796, less than a year after the formation of the Orange Order, it was reported that 2,000 men spent July 12th parading from Portadown, Loughgall, and Richhill to the demesne of Lord Gosford. They arrived, he reported the next day to Lord Camden, the Lord Lieutenant in Dublin, at
about five o'clock in the evening marching in regular files by two with orange cockades, unarmed, and by companies which were distinguished by numbers upon their flags. The party had one drum and each company had a fife or two in front with painted wands in their hands who acted as commander...The devices on the flags were chiefly portraits of King William with mottoes alluding to his establishment of the Protestant religion, and on the reverse side some of them 1 perceived a portrait of his present Majesty with the crown placed before him, motto God save the King...They were perfectly quiet and sober...each company... saluted me by lowering their flags
(published in Crawford and Trainer eds. 1969).
Lord Gosford, who had otherwise been antagonistic to the Orangemen, suggests that the day was peaceful and orderly, but the Newsletter notes that in the afternoon following
"words" between one Mr M'Murdie and a member of the Queens County Militia, M'Murdie "received a stab of which he died" (BNL 15-7-1796) (1). The following year 12,000 are claimed to have paraded in Lurgan, 6,000 to 7,000 people, wearing orange or blue cockades and including "numerous groups of girls", paraded in Belfast carrying flags depicting King William on horseback. Both parades were reviewed by General Lake, attended by the Belfast Yeomanry Cavalry. However, in Stewartstown. County Tyrone, an "affray" between Orangemen and members of County Kerry Militia left 14 people dead and many wounded (BNL 14-7, 17-7-1797).
These first parades established much of the procedure that would become the norm for Orange commemorations for the next few decades. The parades were tolerated, if not overtly encouraged, by the gentry, vilified by liberals and by the Whig press, but was able to appear as a peaceable rural custom until a flash point produced an eruption of violence. Unfortunately the violent incident was soon to be considered as an expected feature of the parades rather than an aberration. Although it is unclear how much continuity there was between the Volunteers and the Orangemen, these early Orange parades owe much to the practices of the Volunteer movement. They adopted the militaristic format and paraded in companies, they bore expensive flags decorated with the image of King William and were reviewed by the local aristocracy or military commanders. But they also drew on the more ephemeral tradition of the agrarian bands who had similarly marched to music in a military manner, appointed officers and identified themselves with white cockades or sprigs of oak
(Beames 1983, Donnelly 1981).
Orangeism remained strongest in the rural areas (2) . In Armagh, Down and Tyrone parades were widespread and sometimes attracted large crowds, 7,000 were reported at Lurgan in 1815 and 2 0,000 at Waringstown the following year (3) . Newspaper reports suggest that although the Twelfth was widely celebrated, most parades were small scale affairs which passed off without much disturbance. Occasionally we get a fuller picture of the growing local importance of the day from the scale of the decorations and preparations. In 1812 Dr John Gamble described Tandragee as "a perfect orange grove" and noted the "lofty arch, which was thrown across the entire street", in which "orange was gracefully blended with oak leaves, laurels and roses" and bits of "gilded paper" were interwoven with the flowers. The doors and windows of the houses were also decorated with "garlands of the orange lily". He also remarks on the
number of banners, all decorated with King William "grim as a saracen on a sign post" and which were "more remarkable for loyalty than taste or variety" (McClelland 1980). In 1815, in Lurgan the BNL (July 18) reports:
the morning being fine, was ushered in by the ringing of bells, discharges of small arms and the display of four Orange flags from the top of the steeple of our church here. After having proceeded to erect a statue of King William on horseback, which they had previously prepared, and erecting several beautiful arches in the streets, the (7,000) Orangemen...marched in orderly procession...with a display of 120 beautiful flags.
In 1822 Dr Thomas Reid describes the scene at Caledon, County Tyrone on July 12th:
the way was strewn with Orange lilies, and at particular places was thrown over it triumphal arches, decorated with orange festoons, and garlands innumerable. The scene was quite delightful, and reminded me of the fabled stories of fairyland I had read at school (Reid 1823 pl89).
The triumphal arch originated in ancient Rome as a device to honour victorious military leaders. Persons passing under the arch supposedly shared in the virtues and qualities which decorated it (Saxl and Wittkower 1948) . In 16th and 17th century England arches were used extensively in royal pageantry, elaborate designs incorporating floral decorations were erected across principal streets to mark royal visits and coronations (Bergeron 1971). They remained a popular form of welcome into the 19th century: one was erected in Bristol in 1816 to mark the visit of the Duke of Wellington and they were erected by Friendly Societies and similar bodies (Gosden 1961). The earliest reference to such an arch in Ireland dates from 1790 when the Bishopgate in the Londonderry city walls was rebuilt as a replica of a triumphal arch in honour of King William. In 1795 Ferryquay Gate and, in 1810, Butcher's Gate were also remodelled in a similar style (Miller 1989) . These were solid stone-built, permanent affairs, in contrast to the
ephemeral floral Orange arches, but this is presumably the inspiration for the triumphal arch on Orange parades.
However there is another set of values and meanings surrounding the arch. It is important for the Loyal Orders as a symbol of God's protection and it also signifies the strength in unity of a brotherhood. The arch appears in the regalia of numerous structurally similar organisations such as the Freemasons and Friendly Societies (Buckley and Anderson 1988) . For Freemasons it signifies the "arch of heaven": all surviving 19th century masonic banners contain the arch as the central, dominant symbol (Lepper and Grossie 1925; Simpson 1924, 1926) . A similar design appears on an early Orange chart of 1798 which is now in Armagh County Museum, besides numerous other symbols common to the Freemasons. It is within this tradition of meaning, of fraternal solidarity and strength through unity, that floral arches were erected by Friendly Societies on their parade days in the early 19th century, where the concept of a triumphal arch would not be appropriate. However, all the 19th century reports regarded the floral arches as symbolic of Protestant triumphalism, and it was in this manner that they generated public reaction.
By the 1820s the element of display and decoration had increased substantially from earlier customs (4). Although arches were still little more than bunches of orange lilies, purple rockets and some evergreen suspended from a cord spanning a principal road, they were powerful symbolic displays. Some were more elaborate: in August 1828 two arches were erected in Enniskillen for the anniversary of the Battle of Newtownbutler; one was decorated with "God save the King" and references to William III, George IV and the Enniskillin Regiment, and the other bore the slogan "Wellington, Peel and the Present Administration" (BNL 19- 8-1828). This is the first report of political slogans appearing on an arch. Instead of the displays being
contained within a moving body of men they were now an extension of the public architecture. As such this marks the beginnings of the visible sectarianisation of space. Although the earliest descriptions quoted above suggest scenes of arcadian pleasure, of villages and towns gaily decorated with flowers, the idea of the "triumphal" arch points to the darker background of conflict and to a vanquished population as well as to the victors. In Dromore the "Grand Arch" was affixed to the house of a publican and spanned the "road leading to Dublin; under which every coach (and) cart...was obliged to pass" (NW 20-7-1826). These were acknowledged as expressions of Orange triumphalism, their location forced recognition of that claim and thereby often provoked resentment. In 1829 two arches in Newry, decorated with orange ribbons and "surmounted with a likeness of King William on horseback" were taken down by the police, while at Maghera riots broke out as Catholics attempted to remove an arch (BNL 17-7- 182 9) . Although arches continued to provoke opposition, they had become a firmly established part of the celebrations.
DESCENT INTO VIOLENCE - RIBBONMEN AND FREEMASONS.
After the violence at the parades in the 1790s, when political expectation and tension were high, the Twelfth had remained largely peaceful. The Orange Order was discussed at Westminster after trouble in 1813, but it was argued that it was better to ignore the problem and allow it to fade away (BNL 16-7-1813) . But further clashes between Orangemen and Ribbonmen at Kilrea in 1818 marked the beginning of a new phase of violence and the first indications of a more serious campaign to control the parades. Reporting the violence that left 3 people seriously wounded, the Newsletter (21-7-1818) concluded
The disposition of the lower orders of Irishmen to get into party associations has long been the subject of
serious concern to the truly and constitutionally loyal.
Concern increased as violent disturbances or riots followed Orange parades at Middletown and Killyleagh in 1822 and 1823 and Belfast, Donaghadee, Downpatrick, Dromore and Newry in 1824 (BNL 30-7-1822, 15-7-1823, NW 15-7-1824), at Ribbonmen assemblies at Crebilly in June 1819, Maghera in 1823, Castlewellan and Ballygawley in the following year (BNL 9-7-1819, 17-6-1823, 23-3, 20-7-1824) and after a Masonic parade at Drum Co. Monaghan in June 1823 (BNL 15-7- 1823) .
The legacy of the Volunteers, of Freemasonry, of the United Irishmen, the Defenders and of radical Presbyterians, of popular involvement with political activity and debate, had left its mark in Ulster. This was especially true of the area of the Linen Triangle, from east Tyrone, Armagh and Down through to south Antrim. This was the area where fraternal organisations had been, and remained, strongest. It was an area with numerous book clubs and reading clubs and it had the highest literacy rates in Ireland (Adams 1987, Hewitt 1951). Daniel O'Connell's unsuccessful campaign for Catholic Emancipation coincided with an increase in popular display of political identity in the years after 1810. It was around this time that the name Ribbonmen first began to appear in news reports. The early reports link the Ribbonmen to acts of violence. These have been used to place them within either the agrarian Whiteboy movement or situate them within the non-political and non sectarian tradition of "faction fighting", a form of recreational violence that was carried on between feuding peasant groups and which regularly disrupted fairs, patterns, cock fights and similar sporting and social gatherings (Beames 1983, Connolly 1982, MacLysaght 1950, O'Donnell 1975) . But Garvin (1981, 1987) argues that they were effectively the heirs to the Defenderist tradition of rural Catholic radicalism. He claims that they espoused a
vague nationalist political rhetoric, which was largely concealed by the secretive, undocumented structure of Ribbon organisation. Ribbonmen came from a wide range of social backgrounds but the farming, trading and artisanal ranks of Catholic society were prominent in leadership positions. Garvin argues that this was part of a strategy by the trading classes to lead and direct local defence groups and unite them into a widespread and coherent political body (5).
The early Ribbon violence occurred at open social occasions, at fairs, races and after Orange or Masonic parades, but the Ribbonmen were also prominent in establishing funeral processions as a suitable event for public displays of strength (Garvin 1981) and at claiming St Patrick's day as a popular and specifically Catholic event (6) . There is no record of when the earliest St Patricks day parades were held, but in 1822 The Irishman reported that "there has been an immemorial practice of walking in procession on the anniversary of St Patrick" and the previous year 20,000 people had paraded (22-3-1822) . At a meeting of the Catholic Association the following year, O'Connell noted that although Ribbonmen throughout the north usually paraded on St Patrick's day, this year they had agreed not to (BNL 24-6-1823) . From the 1820s St Patrick's parades were regularly held in Castledawson, Downpatrick, Newry, Toome and in the Glens of Antrim, and smaller celebrations were recorded in Belfast. The Ribbonmen appeared in "regular marching order, with a drum and fife" wearing white and green colours and "sashes corresponding with their head dresses" and they paraded "with colours flying and music playing" (BNL 19-3-1824, 21- 3-1826) . Usually the news items only refer to the "usual insignia" (the same is said for Orange and Masonic flags at this time as well) and not until 1847 does a report from Seaforde, Co Down, mention more: "flags, inscribed with mottoes and devices... several having the portrait of St
Patrick" (NW 20-3-1847). St Patrick was becoming co-opted and sectarianised in the early 19th century as a Catholic and Irish saint, in the same way as King William was redefined as a Protestant hero, by being adopted as the patron of one section of the lower classes of a society, which was increasingly divided in its loyalties and aspirations.
Freemasonry was established in Ireland in the early 18th century and a Grand Lodge founded in Dublin in 1725, although it struggled to exert central control over local lodges until the second half of the 19th century (Stevenson 1990). The regular and widespread occurrence of oath-bound secret societies in rural areas from the 1760s is probably due to Masonic inspiration. Ulster was a fertile ground from the beginning, but it experienced a rapid growth in lodges in the 1770s and 80s and again in the early 19th century, in the rural areas of Ulster unofficial lodges or "hedge-masons" remained a strong tradition (Beatty 193 3)
(7). Freemasonry was a varied and heterogeneous organisation and was able to accommodate men from a range of classes, from all religions and diverse political opinions. It was important in bringing together a socially diverse range of individuals, of stimulating debate and developing radical ideas and encouraging self-help education and literacy. The membership of lodges varied according to the local situation. In the towns individual lodges were often drawn from specific occupations or social groups, but in the rural areas a single lodge might include gentlemen, farmers, weavers and artisans (Beatty 1933, Grossie 1909, Johnston 1977, Leighton 1938). This was the same social background as the other similar fraternities but without a formalised sectarian separation because, in spite of Papal edicts in 1738, 1751, 1821 and 1825 which forbade Roman Catholics from becoming Freemasons, throughout the 18th century Catholics comprised a large proportion of the membership (Smyth 1993). It is not clear
how many individual lodges were of mixed faith, but a number in Ulster seem to have had both Catholic and Protestant members and members of mixed lodges went to church together on St John's day, June 24 (Grange 1980) . But in the early 19th century political climate of Ulster it was difficult to avoid identification as either Protestant or Catholic, individually and collectively, and this may help to explain why we find reports of Masons clashing with Orangemen, with Defenders and later with Ribbonmen (Smith 1993, de Vere White 1973). But rather than disappearing with the growth of sectarian politics. Masonic lodges had their most dramatic expansion in the period between 1800-20, and the area which witnessed the most growth was the region of Ulster that also sustained the Orangemen and the Ribbonmen (Crossle 1973).
Many of the founder members of the Orange Order were Freemasons and it is readily accepted that both Orangeism and Ribbonism owed much of their symbolism, structure and organisational practices to Freemasonry (Dewar, Brown and Long 1968) (8). We should add to this list the importance of the masonic tradition of holding both commemorative and funeral parades. Parades on St John's day were reported from the 1720s onwards, but in Ulster masonic parades took off in parallel with the Volunteer practice. At the first Masonic parade in Belfast in 1781, the
Master, Wardens and Brethren of the Orange Lodge Number 257 of this town together with many of the gentlemen of the Old True Blue Lodge, headed by the Mayor and Corporation amounting to about 80 gentlemen, preceded by a fine Band of Musick...the whole procession consisting of 200 Free Masons marched to church in due form (BNL 26/29-6-1781).
From the 1780s onwards parades were regularly held in Belfast and in numerous towns in Counties Antrim, Armagh and Down. Funerals were important events for masonic lodges in the 19th century, with some lodges averaging more than one funeral parade every year (Simpson 1926). Early 19th
century reports of Masonic parades were often carried in the form of Notices of Thanks (to whoever gave the church sermon) which were inserted in the Belfast Newsletter, but note the location and the lodges attending but little else. However, the numbers suggest that they were at least as widespread if not more numerous than Orange parades, although Freemasons attracted little of the notoriety or