DONAGHADEE ORANGE HALL, Donaghadee, County Down
The Orange Order is an icon of Protestant culture in Northern Ireland.
On July 12th each year Orangemen parade with marching bands to commemorate the victory of Protestant King William of Orange over Catholic King James at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
The Orange Order is a fraternal organization founded in 1795 to ‘uphold and defend the Protestant religion’ and ‘curb both the Pope and Popery in Ireland’.
Members take an oath of loyalty to the Crown, the Country, and the Protestant faith.
Small halls where local Orange Lodges meet were once dotted throughout the countryside in the north of Ireland, with flags proudly reflecting their British identity.
Monthly meetings would consist of hymns and bible readings, followed by a cup of tea with biscuits and sandwiches passed around. This social interaction was the glue that held many rural Protestant communities together.
EADIE MEMORIAL ORANGE HALL, Annalong, County Down
EDENMORE ORANGE HALL, Limavady, County Londonderry
KILLYCOOGAN ORANGE HALL, Portglenone, County Antrim
BENRAW ORANGE HALL, Castlewellan, County Down
CLOUGH ORANGE HALL, Clough, County Down
DRUMCLEA ORANGE HALL, Cloughmills, County Antrim
KILLYCLOONEY ORANGE HALL, Strabane, County Tyrone
LARGY ORANGE HALL, Limavady, County Londonderry
After the partition of Ireland in 1921, the Orange Order became synonymous with Protestant supremacy in Northern Ireland. While membership rapidly declined in the newly created Irish ‘Free State’, the Order held significant political power in Northern Ireland’s Stormont government.
James Craig, the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, stated "Ours is a Protestant government and I am an Orangeman". From 1921 to 1969, every Prime Minister of Northern Ireland was a member of the Order.
At its peak in 1965, the Order's membership was around 70,000, which meant that roughly 1 in 5 adult Ulster Protestant males were members.
CLIFTON STREET ORANGE HALL, Belfast, County Antrim
CLONES ORANGE HALL, Clones, County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland
MULLAHARA ORANGE HALL, Monaghan, County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland
BRADDOX ORANGE HALL, Monaghan, County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland
NORTH BELFAST ORANGE MEMORIAL HALL, Belfast, County Antrim
MILFORD ORANGE HALL, Milford, County Armagh
KILNASLEE ORANGE HALL, Dungannon, County Tyrone
STRAID ORANGE HALL, Ballymena, County Antrim
By the 1970s Protestant discrimination of Catholics led to ‘The Troubles’ - a 30 year sectarian battle between British Protestants wanting to retain the union with Great Britain, and Catholic nationalists seeking the reunification of Ireland.
Orange Halls became a symbolic target for violence, with graffiti, paint attacks, and arson commonplace. In response, many Lodges fortified their halls reflecting a culture defiant under attack.
After a series of contentious and violent parades in the 1990s Lodge membership became increasingly associated with paramilitary organizations, reflecting the ‘no surrender' attitude of the early days of the Order.
BALLYTRONE ORANGE HALL, Loughgall, County Armagh
ROSEDERNAT ORANGE HALL, Cloughmills, County Antrim
RASHARKIN ORANGE HALL, Rasharkin, County Antrim
MULNAHUNCH ORANGE HALL, Dungannon, County Tyrone
TANVALLEY ORANGE HALL, Banbridge, County Down
LEGANANNY ORANGE HALL, Castlewellan, County Down
THE BONN ORANGE HALL, Pomeroy, County Tyrone (rebuilt 2021)
JOHN SALES MEMORIAL ORANGE HALL, Strabane, County Antrim (rebuilt 2011)
BATTLEHILL ORANGE HALL, Drumcree, County Antrim
100 years after Partition, the demographic changes taking place in Northern Ireland are apparent in the Halls.
A once rural population is moving into expanding market towns and villages. Many halls have become surrounded by new housing developments, or isolated as county roads become arterial routes to urban centers.
A growing secularisation has brought a steep decline in Lodge membership, with many halls falling into disrepair.
Areas that were once predominantly Protestant are now becoming mixed, as census data shows a growing Catholic population will soon be the majority.
DUNLOY ORANGE HALL, Dunloy, County Antrim
TIMPANY ORANGE HALL, Fivemiletown, County Tyrone
THE BUSH ORANGE HALL, Coalisland, County Tyrone
OMAGH ORANGE HALL, Omagh, County Tyrone
DRUMLOUGH ORANGE HALL, Dromore, County Down
25 years after the Good Friday Agreement brought an end to ‘The Troubles’, cultural and political identities in Northern Ireland are changing. 30% of the population now identifies as ‘Northern Irish’, rather than ‘Catholic’ or ‘Protestant’.
Yet the Order maintains significant political power.
Brexit has created a ‘Sea Border’ where Northern Ireland is now constitutionally part of the United Kingdom, but economically aligned with the Republic of Ireland in the EU.
In response, the Order has said it ‘will not be found wanting in defense of the Union’, and has refused to rule out civil disobedience.
While some dismiss the Orange Order as a relic of the past, its political and cultural power still has influence as Northern Ireland decides its future.
NORTH BELFAST ORANGE MEMORIAL HALL, Belfast, County Antrim
BALLYMACARRETT ORANGE HALL, Belfast, County Antrim
adjacent to SANDY ROW ORANGE HALL, Belfast, County Antrim
CLIFTON STREET ORANGE HALL, Belfast, County Antrim
CLIFTON STREET ORANGE HALL, Belfast, County Antrim