Harryville, an obscure suburb of Ballymena, may become a watershed in the conflict in Northern Ireland. On the other hand, it may be just another milestone in the unending saga of bigotry. For the last three months loyalist thugs have waylaid local Catholics on their way to Mass at the weekend, on the pretext that they are administering a quid pro quo for the opposition of Catholics in Dunloy to Orange church parades through that village. It is a typical piece of perverted logic to justify bullying and bloodlust, and has been roundly condemned by leaders of the Protestant churches.
In the last week, however, a number of prominent local Protestants have also stood up to say that the Harryville Catholics have every right to go to church in peace. The Ulster Unionist mayor of Ballymena, Mr James Currie, announced at the beginning of the week that he intended, out of solidarity, to accompany them next Saturday - a courageous gesture defying the violent mindset of history which should not be underestimated. Others have said they will do likewise. Mr Ian Paisley Junior says that his name has been put on a loyalist death list for proclaiming that freedom of worship is a basic right. Mr David Ervine of the Progressive Unionist Party has denounced the attacks on Catholics while insisting that paramilitary organisations are not responsible.
A mood of opposition to the thugs is building up in Ballymena, based on civic pride as much as on the official position of the churches reflected with masterful ambiguity in the rules of the Orange Order that interference with the beliefs of others is indefensible. If this were to become generalised, leading to recognition at the grassroots that religious bigotry is a prime political factor in the North, much could change in relations between the communities.
It is time for everyone to examine their own consciences in the matter, rather than find fatuous reasons for maintaining the status quo. And positive local leadership, from clergy and politicians, is essential. The leap from freedom to worship to devising institutions which command general support, may not be immediately obvious in surroundings where religious and political fervour share the same well springs and the same unshakeable conviction. But mutual tolerance, political and religious, is the only foundation on which a secure future for Northern Ireland can be built.
There are salutary lessons in the survey, reported today, into attitudes towards the RUC which was commissioned by the Northern Ireland Police Authority after last summer's post Drumcree confrontations. Not surprisingly, given the abrupt change of tactics at Drumcree, distrust of the force among Catholics increased, and a majority of Protestants said they wanted no change. But there was also support among a minority of Protestants nearly one third for reform. The issue lies at the centre of the institutional debate in the North. It has become confused, in many minds, with symbols, which overshadow the fact that there is very little disagreement about the need for good policing in a law abiding society.
That should be the focus of political dialogue the common ground rather than the well defined differences. Harryville has helped to bring one element of conflict into the opera and, with luck, will help to concentrate some minds in a positive direction. The trick is to recognise that this is only one small corner of an immense tapestry of received attitudes that must be sublimated and transformed.