Taking a breath for a minute from current events but with considerable relevance, I thought it may be encouraging for regulars here to note that we are, in our own way, making waves further afield. Last night the BBC and UTV broadcast their own versions of the twelfth. These broadcasts were largely at variance with the broader news coverage locally and completely opposite to the international coverage which, surprisingly enough, focussed on events in Belfast.
On the 6th of June we had a guest post by Sammy McNally. An exclusive if you will.
By the 9th of June this had been picked up by well respected Blogger Alan in Belfast and referencing his re- blog on Slugger on the 8th. All of which correctly linked and referenced the original article by Sammy.
Yesterday, the same story was run in the Independent Newspaper (London Version). Note the lack of accreditation other than to Alan, although without any link to his own excellent site, let alone Slugger or Sammys article here in the first place!
Although the mainstream media may be protecting their readership, particularly
online by not linking to original sources I think they are damaging their credibility by not doing so. Well done Sammy on making the Indo, even without acknowledgement. And well done to this blogs readers and commenters. You are being heard and listened to even though it may not be apparent yet.
Thank you one and all
"We in coming days may be" 
Bangordub,
Thanks for that.
Sky have taken a slightly different view of what is appropriate coverage for the Belfast parade. Based on the carryon last night Ross should have enough material for quite a few programmes.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/twelfth/ross-kemp-joins-belfast-twelfth-of-july-parade-for-new-series-of-extreme-world-29411188.html
Having viewed the BBC programme this year I think it is reasonable to expect that the BBC will have another (very similar) complaint to deal with. Whatever ‘context’ there was in last year’s porgramme seems to have been removed this year.
It cant have been pleasant for the presenters (who are not the issue) to read the Independent article and know that the parade, which was in the words of leading Unionists, going to lead to ‘inevitable’ violence and still have to carry on as if this event was really a uncontroversial family fun day rather than the first act of a politcal drama encouraged by a ‘reckless’ Orange order leadership intent on stirring up sectarian tensions and sirpatrickmayhem.
I wonder if this may have been the final defiant gesture by BBC NI before announcing that the longest running outside broadcast programme has been retired.
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On behalf of:
Sammy Mc Nally:
The BBC coverage of the Belfast parade contrasts markedly with Sky’s – where Ross seems likely to to have garnered enough material for a good few programmes.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/twelfth/ross-kemp-joins-belfast-twelfth-of-july-parade-for-new-series-of-extreme-world-29411188.html
This years BBC program seems to have shed whatever ‘context’ there was in last year ‘s programme and it can’t have been pleasant for the presenters(who are not an issue) to read the Independent and still have to present the proceedings as a fun family festival against a background of leading Unionist politicians predicting ‘inevitable’ trouble , the Orange Order ‘recklessly’ stirring up sectarian tensions, the sectarian behaviour of marchers on their way into the city and the morning stand off in Ardoyne.
This years programme was perhaps a last defiant (No Surrender) gesture by BBC NI – before they retire the program and they will presumably be expecting to have to expalin their actions again to the BBC Trust.
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Thanks to Claire McCollum for making the Twelfth sexy. Now, where’s me sash 😉
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Pic Please FF?
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Just before you 2 venture too far down this road is she not married to a rather large ex rugby player…..
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I don’t care. I shall take her a romatic stroll along the Garvaghy Road. Maybe a wee court in Drumcree graveyard. I hope she likes cheap wine.
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BD, one of the most ridiculous loads of nonsense I ever saw. Flirty MILF TV presenter tries in vain to make Orangeism and Orangemen appear exciting and sexy. May as well put lipstick on a pig.
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You should have seen me in my open necked long-sleeved shirt on Friday, FF. I had the same sex appeal as a young Tom Jones. My strut was exciting too. Raaaaar!
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In that case yon Claire McCollum chick will be all over you like a rash 😉
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http://t.co/mzJ2nplUxC
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I wonder will she do a feature on me for next year? Walking Orange moj(it)o!
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So what do you make of the performance in front of St Matthew’s the other night? There’s a video doing the rounds – and it’s not sexy at all. I’m sure Claire would be scundered.
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FF,
You obviously didn’t know the sash is actually a hymn?
Me neither but I am assured it is. Something about the thing being worn at Derry, Aughrim, Enniskillen and the Boyne. An astounding feat given that the Order was founded in 1796, 106 years after the Boyne. Still, History is a big thing with the order and far be it from me to question their historical credentials, never mind the cultural ones.
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The sash my Father wore.
Hope it all makes sense now 😉
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My turn to debunk, then!
The tune of the Sash is used in some CoI and Presbyterian churches in more rural parts as the 23rd Psalm. Try singing “The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want, he maketh me down to lie,” instead of “It is old but it is beautiful, and its colours they are fine.”
The OO was actually founded in 1795 and didn’t just come out of nowhere. There were Orange and Boyne societies in such places as Dublin and England long before, and parades every year since 1690 (in Dublin).
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Yes Carrickally,
And they were playing the Sloop John B last year I suppose?
Parades since 1690? I’ll bite on that one, any evidence or supporting information?
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The article in the Independent paper was even more limited than the website >>>
The BBC is facing criticism for scheduling live coverage of Orange Order marches on “The Twelfth”, despite the long history of sectarian violence associated with the events.
The broadcaster will show 75 minutes of the march in Belfast, and the march in Magherafelt, in Northern Ireland, today. Around 10,000 people line Belfast’s streets to watch the parade that marks William of Orange’s victory over Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
Last month the BBC Trust rejected a complaint that it provided “uncritical promotional coverage” of the event and failed to give “due weight to the negative aspects of the parade”. The Trust found that the event was “controversial” but that its news coverage meant that BBC Northern Ireland had not been in breach of impartiality rules. Tension has increased this year with the removal of Democratic Unionist Party deputy leader Nigel Dodds from the House of Commons on Wednesday, after his complaints over restrictions placed on the marchers by the Parades Commission.
A spokesperson for BBC Northern Ireland said: “Our coverage … forms part of a wider portfolio of programmes about local community diversity.”
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The orthodoxy must not be challenged! And linking to online “subversives” certainly wouldn’t be acceptable 😉
Anyway, sure have you not heard that according to the British media the latest round of violence is all due to “Unionist disenfranchisement”. So that’s ok then. Its not their fault. Its those nasty Orish in the Falklands of the north Atlantic who are the cause of all the rouble. Or some such bollocks.
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Séamas,
The Indy chap played it with a pretty straight bat i.e. reported the facts – but the inference was that the BBC had a case to answer for its coverage .
carrickally,
What do you think of the BBC program the Twelfth – presumably you would back their decision to just concentrate on the spectacle?
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Yes, I wish though you were able to hear some of the bands clearer and get more history about the lodges and their banners.
The former can’t be helped because as the parade moves through, the 3 minutes or so it takes to play a march means that the whole cannot be heard. The latter though could be improved by a bit of research and the lodges providing details to Schomberg House who could then forward it on to BBC. I must say though, I really liked the litte feature on Alan Campbell and his father. I knew prior to his bronze at London that he was an Orangeman and you can tell from the interview that family and religion are obviously core to him, outside of rowing.
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carrickally,
The feature on the Campbells was excellent and a very good adertisement for the positive elements of Orange/Protestant culture.
I dont know if you saw the Orange Order paintings which were shown in the programme – one was of last year’s beach-boys-incident outside St Patricks which served as a sharp reminder of the of the realities of the Belfast march – and realities which Walter Love(BBC) and Dr Gavin Hughes (TCD Historian) up in the BBC’S crows nest steadfastly avoided – except to mention that the parade had stopped outside the Parades Commsiion ‘making a protest’
In fact an Orange leader (the Grand Master of Belfast?) was stopping to encourage ‘reckless’ protests later in the day – he finished of with the old favourite ‘no surrender’ the (hardly) coded message oft interpeted as a call to ‘action’ – sometimes of the violent variety.
To add further to the sense of reality-avoidance by the programme, the cameras went off to Clifton Street to discuss Orangeism further – Clifton Street of course being near the scene of the St Pats incident last year and the playing of the sash this year. Our two cheerful chaps atop the BBC stuck rigourously to the see-no-hear-no-and-mention-no-setarianism-or-controversy, a position which seems to have ignored the BBC Trust’s published comments on controversial subjects when they dealt with last year’s complaint against the program.
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POINT OF ORDER:
Some recent comments made their way directly to the spam folder on the blog server. Thus I did not see them. Sammy McNally made me aware of this. I have now approved all the comments affected. Apologies to those affected. BD
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WorldByStorm has a good review of the Irish Times article with the (not terribly Irish-sounding) Catholic Unionists. Well worth a read for some insightful views.
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It’s great that Sammy has decided to say something sensible for a change. Fair play!
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Fear Feirsteach,
You will need to be careful with that class of talk or FJH will have you marked down as a letsgetalongerist.
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Please cease and desist from upsetting FJH. I like a quiet life, lol 🙂
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Carrickally,
The ‘Sash’ as a hymn.
You learn something new everyday. Although doesn’t the tune date from a mid 19th century music hall song called ‘the hat my father wore’.
Take it the ‘Old Orange Flute’ is a much older song.
The oldest orange lodge must in or around Portadown???
Would i be right in saying some of the earliest lodges are from Co. Cavan???
What about the oldest flute band still on the go.
Anything on that, Carrickally.
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PT, The tune of the Sash is indeed an Irish music hall ditty. I’ve no idea which direction it crossed over from – church to light entertainment or vice versa.
The oldest “Orange” song would be Lillibulero – also, incidentally, the tune of “Rock a bye baby” and, as with most nursery rhymes, chock-full of historic references.
The oldest lodge is Dyan No 1. Apparently they were sneaky buggers in Tyrone and carted off the first ever warrant before the Loughgall hallion battalion had a chance to claim it on their home turf. Numbering is a rather strange issue after that – some lodges chose numbers to suit a reference – LOL1916, LOL710 are two off the top of my head. I don’t think LOL747 has any links to Boeing.
I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the oldest lodges hailed from Cavan and Monaghan, generally CoI areas in a time when the initially Orange was very much a vehicle for CoI groups against Presbyterians and Catholics’ groups such as Defenders and United Irishmen. It’s interesting to see the lengths that O’Connell went to when disassociating the Catholic Association from the UI, and also the low esteem in which “Irish” were held by the Upper Canadians during the War of 1812, with frequent reference to the worst sort of Americans being UI.
Oldest flute band I think is Churchill in Londonderry, my own is one of the oldest with first recorded bum note in 1858 and still massacring well known pieces such as Aces High from the movie the Battle of Britain:
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Congrats Mr Dub.
Its certainly true that these Blogs and Comments are getting read.
I offer evidence from the main letsgetalongerist rival…I think there is genuine concern there that indulging an extreme loyalist voice has merely embarassed other moderate unionist voices into abandoning that message board.
Id suggest and Sammy wont agree ( he never does ;)) that the main narrative of several years blogging has been challenged by the likes of Mr Dubs blog.
The wistful cry on Slugger tonight highlighting the numbers of nationalist blogs undescores this.
Frankly no unionist would worry to much about the (high) numbers of nationalist blogs or (low) numbers of unionist blogs …Unionists have never had to make their case ( they dont know how) . nationalists have historically HAD to make a case. So id suggest its not a matter of the Quantity of nationalist blogs…its the Quality.
But Mr Dub may be like me…constantly surprised at the numbers we get…and constantly surprised at the Quality.
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Of course the irony is that Slugger is a unionist blog, albeit it one that allows nationalists a voice. It’s the Belfast Telegraph of the blog world!
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