Orange order of business at the Seanad

The shadow of Her Britannic Majesty loomed large over Leinster House yesterday.

In what used to be the Earl of Kildare’s ballroom, Drew Nelson became the first grand secretary of the Orange Order to address the Seanad — and he did not hold back.

Despite the fact the Queen his organisation protests its loyalty to has seen fit to shake hands with former IRA commander Martin McGuinness, Mr Nelson would only address Sinn Féin senators via the Seanad chair as Gerry Adams looked on from the visitors’ gallery, jacketless and with his shirt sleeves rolled up.

The Sinn Féin president was careful not to show any form of reaction as the Orange Order leader denounced republican terrorism, but was one of the first to begin applauding when Mr Nelson sat down.

Though respectful to its setting, the speech was noticeably trenchant, presenting an Orange worldview which still remains strikingly defensive.

This became particularly apparent when Mr Nelson seemed to suggest Catholics had been treated better in the North than Protestants had been in the South since partition.

There was not even a nod to acknowledging how intimidating many nationalists in the North find the Orange Order parades, with Mr Nelson describing them as quasi-religious experiences for participants, insisting any opposition was “corrosive” to the Cath-olic/Protestant relationship.

Mr Nelson also called on the Republic to join the Commonwealth and encourage an Orange Order parade in its capital after the disaster of the last attempt — yet there was little suggestion of what the Orange Order would do in practical terms to make Northern Catholics feel more secure — apart from the suggestion of using some of those marches to attract tourism to the whole island.

The drumbeat became more muted when Mr Nelson reflected on his order’s history and announced: “While we want to remember 1690, we do not want to live in it.”

The theme of Mr Nelson’s speech was that the “burden of history” needed to be abandoned, but the tone of its underlying re-assertment of Orange Order stridency merely emphasised how hard that illusive prize still remains.

A few hours later in the Dáil chamber down the corridor, Mr Adams had smartened-up and put a jacket on for leaders’ questions, but, in what was generally considered ill parliamentary manners, hurried out while independent group spokesperson Shane Ross was putting his first probe to the Taoiseach in the setpiece exchange.

As the Sinn Féin president exited via a side door, Fine Gael’s Michael Ring shouted out: “Is Deputy Adams off to meet the Queen?”

The House erupted in laugher, but Mr Adams did not seem to see the funny side — despite it being the only light relief in a day heavy with the sound and symbolism of continued separation on this island.