"The Twelfth" aka "Glorious Twelfth"

My Irish great-great grandparents, William and Catherine McDonnough Lynam with their six surviving children. (Five others died in infancy.) My great-grandfather, Barney Lynam is on the left in back. His brothers were John, Joseph and James; sisters were Anna and Katherine. This picture was taken sometime after William died in 1898. His picture was inserted - what we would call photo-shopped today. William was born in County Westmeath, Ireland in 1832 and Catherine was born in County Antrim in 1832. They met and married in Ripon, WI in 1856 living there and then in Somerset, Ohio before moving to a farm near Brooks, Adams Co., Iowa in 1878.


When I first became interested in family history and could trace some of my great-great grandparents back to Ireland, I became fascinated with that country and all things Irish. One of the first things I learned about my great-great grandfather and grandmother was that they were both Catholic. Interesting....my parents were Protestant as were theirs. Even Great-grandpa Barney was Protestant. I learned that both he and his brother James had married non-Catholic women which is the reason I was not raised a Catholic.

But reading all the Irish history put me directly on the side of Catholic Ireland. Which is why I became so incensed the first time I saw tv coverage of Orangemen marching on the "Glorious Twelfth" in Northern Ireland. I don't remember how many years ago that was. Certainly before the 1998 peace agreement which largely ended thirty years of violence between the predominately Catholic groups who want a united Ireland and the mainly Protestant unionists who want Northern Ireland to remain a part of Great Britain.

"The Twelth" also known as "Orangemen's Day" celebrates the victory of Protestant King William of Orange over Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. At the time I saw the tv coverage, "The Troubles" between nationalists and unionists was at its peak. Instead of parading in their own areas, the Orangemen paraded through the predominately nationalist areas, taunting with fifes and Lambeg drums, flaunting unionist dominance in Northern Ireland. It was obvious to me they wanted to provoke trouble. Why couldn't they just stay in their own part of town?


After several relatively peaceful years, today's "Glorious Twelfth" began with overnight riots in Belfast. Three police officers were shot and another two dozen injured as they tried to control the rioters - mainly pro-British Protestant groups burning Irish flags and photos of the politicians in favour of a United Ireland. Why the renewed violence now? Perhaps because it is the 320th anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne?


I could never side with the Protestant Orangemen. I'm glad my Catholic great-great grandparents left Ireland when they did.