It is the democratic will of Ulster people to remain separate from the Irish nation. This point is now internationally recognised (officially) and is known as the 'consent principle'- established in treaties between the British and Irish governments.
A majority of voters in Ulster vote to remain part of the United Kingdom by voting for unionist parties. These voters include many Catholics. Indeed polls consistently show that 50% of those voting for nationalist parties would not vote to leave the UK. One reason for this is the fact that Ulster benefits from high UK public expenditure levels. A lot of this nationalist voting is misguided and done on an identity basis. Interestingly polls on identity show a high consensus that Ulster people - both unionist and nationalist voters - see themselves as uniquely 'Northern Irish' - before being British or Irish. This substantiates the existence of a separate Ulster identity.
The fact that the majority of Ulster people vote for unionist parties - parties supporting union with Great Britain (i.e. remaining in the United Kingdom) - often leads to confusion and misunderstanding. At a deeper analysis the primary political objective of the Ulster people is to retain their unfettered right to national self-determination, rather than maintenance of the Union. In this sense Ulster people are essentially nationalist - i.e. Ulster Nationalist; their allegiance is to Ulster. The primary loyalty of Ulster people is to Ulster, secondly to the Crown and thirdly to Westminster. This point again is often misunderstood by so called experts who cannot fathom why Ulster people, who claim loyalty to Westminster, often defy Westminster legislation. This is because it is often contrary to the best interests of Ulster people and their primary objective politically - i.e. maintenance of their right to national self-determination.
Promotion of Demonstration Against Home Rule 1912
This point is often lost on Irish republicans who believe that they can achieve their objective by coercing the British government into handing over Ulster to Ireland. This again is flawed. The destiny of Ulster in the final analysis will be for the Ulster people to determine. Even in such a doomsday scenario of the UK government trying to cede Ulster, the Ulster people would seize control of the country and remain independent. If this was after a war and Ulster ended up with reduced borders so be it; peoples determine borders and these are not immutable. An all island state is not now and never will be an option.
Essentially the Ulster people's primary objective is to always remain a free people - un-subjugated by anyone else. The confusion over this is due to the misleading parlance often used to describe the constitutional issue Ulster has suffered from since 1920. In addition many of the sporting bodies have retained pre 1920 status - and Ulster people are often forced to play for Ireland to participate in their sports internationally. Admittedly not all Ulster sportsmen and women currently share this desire for separate national teams. Ulster people are largely ignorant of history and their political spokesmen are not as astute in using well articulated, simplifying political spin. The following clarifies many of the misleading phrases used (true meanings on the right) -
Northern Ireland - Ulster
Ireland - Ulster and Ireland
Irish Unity / United Ireland - Irish Annexation of Ulster
Ulster Unionists - Ulster Nationalists
Sinn Fein - Ourselves Alone and the Irish Death Squads.
This desire to remain free strikes at the very heart of the Ulster psyche, the 1641 rebellion against Ulster settlers has certainly left a legacy of a 'siege mentality'. Historically the Ulster peoples existence has been one of a struggle to remain free. This stems from the slaughter of Ulster people in the 1641 Rebellion, the Siege of Derry when Ulster people stood against King James attempts to subjugate them, through to the Home Rule Crisis of 1886 and to 1912 when the Ulster people mobilised against the threat of Irish Rule etc.
Lord Carson signing Ulster's Solemn League and Covenant.
This continued into modern times. The creation of 'Northern Ireland' in 1920 led to unwanted self-government in Ulster. Alleged malpractice by this administration, particularly at local government level in issues such as housing, led the catholic population to campaign for civil rights. This eventually led to the suspension of Stormont, the deployment of troops and the terrorist campaign by Irish government supported terrorists. In 1974 the Westminster government tried to impose a solution of power sharing and increased Irish say in Ulster's affairs through the Council of Ireland. Again the Ulster people mobilised against this threat to their national freedom and a workers' strike - the Ulster workers Council General Strike of 1974 defeated this diktat.
Ulster People Protest at Stormont Against the Sunningdale Agreement.
Following a prolonged terrorist campaign Westminster again tried to appease the terrorists by giving the Irish government a consultative role in Ulster - the Anglo Irish Agreement of 1985. Again the Ulster people mobilised against this and it was unsuccessful in being a serious threat to the position of Ulster.
Ulster Protests Against the Anglo-Irish Agreement (Belfast, 1985).
Following cease-fires by the terrorist organisations in the 1990s, an agreement amongst local parties has led to the return of on - off devolved, power sharing government to Ulster (the ruling Executive consists of all main parties). This has only been possible as unionist parties can view it as an essential sharing of power amongst Ulster people to build trust, overcome misunderstanding, allow the Ulster people to rediscover their lost identity and build a new Ulster nation for the new Millennium, firmly cemented within the UK union, but with sensible co-operation with Ireland. Irish nationalists can view it as gradual Irish annexation of Ulster by the salami technique. However the constitutional issue in the long term remains unresolved.
The Orange Order Celebrations culminating in the 12th July celebrations commemorating the Battle of the Boyne exemplify the above long historical struggle of the Ulster people to remain free. Essentially these celebrations are Ulster's National Day - when all the historical events held dear to the Ulster psyche are commemorated and celebrated. The celebrations mark battles that have allowed the Ulster people to remain a free people - unfortunately due to the continued threat against this freedom these are battles that the Ulster people have to keep wining. It was because the battles allowed the survival of the Protestant people, that allows Republican propagandists to portray these as triumphalist and bigoted against Catholics. This is myth. In reality the Celebrations are those of a people not a religion. The desire is to maintain civil and religious liberty for all - something that would not occur in the culturally imperialist scenario of Irish annexation of Ulster. For the Irish Gaelic Catholicism is Irish, nothing else. Hence the intransigent bigotry and intolerance of those groups in Ulster, who today regard themselves as Irish, and force the government to refuse to allow those of another culture to parade along roads by their areas for maybe ten minutes per year.
Orange Order Banner.
The Ulster people's only crime is a wish to remain a separate people in peace and prosperity within the United Kingdom. For this and because this is misunderstood the Ulster people are generally pilloried and vilified the world over.
Far better for these people to understand the Ulster saying painted onto many an Orange Arch, that echoes politically the very core of the Ulster psyche - "We will never forsake the Blue skies of Ulster for the grey mists of an Irish Republic".
