For some in our part of the world, sectarianism is their identity, and they almost wallow in how they choose to apply it to themselves. It has not always been this way.
“In 1788 and 1789 there were important centenary anniversary commemorations.
In early December 1788 the closing of the gates was remembered by special church services in both the cathedral and a Presbyterian church, followed by a civic procession, a military parade and the burning of Lundy.
It also involved a special dinner, attended by town dignitaries as well as Catholic clergy.
In August 1789 commemoration of the breaking of the boom and the relief of the city included a sizeable procession to the cathedral which involved not only the members of the corporation but the Catholic bishop and his clergy, as well as the Presbyterian clergy and elders.
On both these occasions the siege was commemorated as a great blow against tyranny which brought liberty to people of all Christian denominations…
In the atmosphere of late eighteenth-century Ireland, with the rise of a tolerant Irish patriotism, events of 1688-9 were seen as part of the Glorious Revolution with its constitutional benefits for all, embracing Presbyterians and members of the Church of Ireland, and Protestants and Catholics”.
From The Sieges of Derry, William Kelly (Four Courts Press, 2001)
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Difference doesn't have to lead to division, but it will if we want it to. In the first 15 minutes of this recent podcast, Jimmy Dore talks from a US perspective about how social cultural division is inflamed by power élites for their own ends.
Illustration above from National Library of Ireland.
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