A chara, - Rev Brian Kennaway is quite wrong when he asserts (Opinion, April 3rd) that the Orange march in Dublin on May 28th "will be for the Orangemen of the Republic a positive recognition of the validity of their culture and identity". That recognition will, unfortunately, be given to them by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Mary Freehill, and those who have supported her participation in a ceremony in Dawson Street to commemorate the foundation of the Orange Order in Dublin.
This State has laws and regulations governing the right to march. When the Garda Siochana granted permission for the Orange march to proceed, it did so presumably in accordance with those laws and consequently this State fulfilled its obligations to its citizens in upholding that right. However, by her enthusiastic endorsement of the march and plaque unveiling, the Lord Mayor directly involved the civic institutions of the capital city in the validation of Orangeism - an ideology based on the practice of anti-Catholicism and sexism, and which discriminates against those born out of wedlock.
So the civic institutions were challenged and failed the challenge miserably. The culture of Orangeism is not the culture of Protestantism. It is the culture of supremacy and religious sectarianism which has actively worked against peace and progress on this island. It is a futile exercise for Rev Kennaway to profile the Orangeman as a law-abiding, peaceful citizen.
Evidence to the contrary can be found not only in the history books but on the hill at Drumcree and in those areas where the Orange Order feels numerically strong enough to impose its triumphalism on its Catholic neighbours. These are the real indicators of Orangeism's contribution to culture on this island. Its continuing resistance to any attempt at political progress was shown most recently when the Orange members of the Ulster Unionist Council backed the Rev Martin Smyth for leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party.
Pretending that an Orange march in Dublin has nothing to do with what happens at similar demonstrations in the North of Ireland is not only puerile, it is also another illustration of the tight boundaries drawn around the concept of inclusivity by those who most loudly proclaim it. It is utterly depressing that positive values such as appreciation of cultural diversity and advocacy of a policy of inclusivity can be so thoroughly debased.
Proof of this State's tolerance or political maturity is not to be found in acquiescing to anti-Catholicism, or anti-Semitism, or racism. Rather it is to be found in our adherence to the ideals of those like Wolfe Tone who had a more noble dream than that of the Rev Kennaway - that of unity between Catholic, and Protestant and Dissenter on this island. It is for Rev Kennaway and his fellow Orangemen to explain their anti-Catholicism, not for this State to endorse it. - Is mise, Sile Carson,
The Grove, Millbrook Lawns, Tallaght, Dublin 24.