DRUMCREE Church is where the Presbyterian Young Irelander John Mitchel was married in 1837.

His bride, Jenny Verner, was the daughter of James Verner, Deputy Grand Master of the Orange Order.

Although critical of the order, Mitchel wrote: “Religious hatred has been kept alive in Ireland… for the simple reason that Irish landlords and British statesmen found their own account in it.”

His analysis might be regarded as a core principle of republican anti-sectarianism.

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Gerry Adams echoed that sentiment three weeks ago at the annual Greaves School in Dublin.

He spoke of needing to uphold and promote “the rights of our unionist neighbours – this includes the rights of the Orange Order and other loyal institutions. The protections in the Good Friday Agreement are their protections also”.

So why did a significant section of the Sinn Féin leadership rush to the Garvaghy Road last weekend to defy Mitchel’s teachings? Even Gerry himself turned up.

The obvious answer is that Orangemen wanted to march down the road against the wishes of the local community.

True, but Sinn Féin could have simply issued a statement condemning........

© The Irish News