Fermanagh Orangemen give cold shoulder to GAA

Just 10 per cent of Orangemen in Co Fermanagh would attend a GAA match while 73.8 per cent said they would not do so, according to a new survey. Similarly, 62.5 per cent of the Orangemen disagreed with inviting a GAA team to Twelfth of July celebrations, with just 18 per cent in support.

The findings are part of an extensive survey conducted by Co Fermanagh Grand Orange Lodge with the intention of increasing understanding and promoting good relations across the community there.

In excess of 600 Orangemen in Fermanagh, a third of the Order’s membership there, took part in the survey, as did a further 161 members of the public.

During the Troubles, 336 members of the Orange Order were killed, including 31 members in Fermanagh. Members of the Order made up about 10 per cent of the total deaths during the conflict, while in Fermanagh Orangemen accounted for more than 25 per cent of all deaths there.

Non-political organisation

Among comments on the GAA made by Orangemen in the survey, were that the association “insists it is a non-political organisation yet it names competition after IRA paramilitaries; the IRA have held events at GAA grounds; the GAA is a sporting organisation solely for the Nationalist/Catholic community; the GAA should be ashamed of calling their pitch after gunmen”.

Another comment read: “They also need to look into the naming of some of their clubs after PIRA and INLA terrorists eg in Derrylin. If they fail to do these things, then it makes it difficult for the Orange Order to engage with them and treat them as democrats.”

In a commentary the survey said: “Whilst the researchers support the view that there is little in common between the two organisations in theory, they believe that there is much in common in terms of the way both institutions represent their respective communities, and play a role in the social, cultural, political and historical life of each in a way which goes well beyond their stated aims.”