Issue No.12 Spring 2003

Protestant Perspectives from County Donegal

By David McCombe

Recent interviews with Ian McCracken, Development Officer for Derry and Raphoe Action, and the Rev. Stanley Johnson, Rector of Ballymore Church of Ireland Parish Church unearthed some very interesting facts about the minority community of Protestants in County Donegal. We met in The Volt House, Raphoe, the Donegal office of Derry and Raphoe Action, a voluntary community development group, established in 1995 to create self-confidence and encourage community development processes in mainly rural Protestant communities in counties Londonderry, Tyrone and Donegal. Ian, is a genial man and former teacher, and a Presbyterian resident in Co. Donegal. His answers to my searching questions were honest and forthright.

“Do you feel any sense of religious discrimination against your denomination in the Republic?”
“I have never found any discrimination against me personally and I don’t recall any experiences of organised religious discrimination, although it may be hidden”. He suggested that people want to read into situations the possibility of perceived discrimination. However, no hard evidence for identified or real discrimination could be found.
“Was there any evidence to suggest that the Protestant population in the border areas has dwindled”?

He produced a statistical sheet showing the population changes in Donegal, 1841 – 1991. Although there was no breakdown for Roman Catholic/Protestant residents in 1841, from 1891 the following was recorded showing the decline in both communities over a century. The total population in 1891 was 185,635, split 142,893 R.C./41,945 Protestant, a 22.6% Protestant minority. By 1991 it was 111,427 R.C./14,046 Protestant (10.9%). Although the percentage of Protestants had more than halved in 100 years, the figures show a greater decline in the R.C. community by 3,567. It can be argued that there has been a greater decline in the Catholic population in Donegal. Said Ian, “It is anticipated that the Protestant percentage will increase slightly in 2002 figures. Worthy of note is the fact that partition had no visual effect on the population figures”.

A survey titled Protestants in Community Life, was produced and prompted my next query regarding Protestant people feeling ignored or overlooked within what is broadly a Roman Catholic culture.
“Do you think Protestants in the border region have a distinct political and cultural identity?”
“Yes,there is a cultural identity but no political identity – there is no link between the two”.
“Have you any personal views on contemporary Irish society?”
“Secular, mercenary, materialistic and greedy. Nevertheless, there are a lot of people with great vision working for the common good of the community”.

When questioned on the role of the Orange Order representing Protestant cultural identities in the border counties I didn’t anticipate an emphatic “NO” in reply. “There are approximately 500 Orangemen in Donegal out of 14,000 protestants. I have personal experience of members of the Order exhibiting attitudes and actions that are sectarian, bigoted and intolerant. However, this is not true of all members. All Orange Order members are Protestant, but not all Protestants are members of the Orange Order”.

The question of Anglo Irish identification arose- “Those who would hold to UK citizenship in preference to Irish tend to stem from an undercurrent of ‘Orange’ views, particularly in the Derry/Raphoe area and areas of Co. Donegal that bordered on Fermanagh and Tyrone. Most consider themselves to be Irish nationals by birth, and, whereas those in Northern Ireland can only claim UK citizenship – not UK nationals, they should realise that they are Irish nationals also, albeit Northern Irish nationals”.

Regarding partition, Ian stated that it appeared to be a good idea at the time, but couldn’t give a legitimate answer in present circumstances as to its validity. He posed the following question
“What do you think would happen if Tony Blair decided to withdraw troops from the six counties of Northern Ireland?” I replied that I believe that with the Ulster-Scots connection very prominent in Northern Ireland and Scotland’s desire to have control of its own affairs, then what might be seen is a possible union of Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Also, there could be a “role-reversal” similar to what occurred over the last 30 years, in the shape of Protestant /Loyalist /Unionist paramilitary activity aimed specifically at the Republic of Ireland. But, thankfully, it was not up to Tony Blair to decide our destiny. Rather, the wishes of the majority must be upheld.
I thanked Ian for taking time out from his busy schedule and we parted with a warm handshake.

My next destination was Dunfanaghy. I met the Rev. Stanley and and Rev. Sheila Johnson that evening at Ballymore Church of Ireland Rectory. Again the warm welcome and hospitality was typical of Donegal people.

My first question related to religious discrimination against his denomination in the Republic. “In all the time I have lived in the Republic the answer is a definite NO. Only once in thirty-four years in the South, immediately after Bloody Sunday, did I really sense any type of intimidation, and that occurred in a factory in Sligo where I was employed, and it didn’t really materialise into anything serious”.

Asked about any evidence of the Protestant population dwindling in the border areas: “There is a reduction in the number of children attending schools of the Protestant faith. Rural schools are closing in some places, and the decline in numbers means the danger of closure or amalgamation into larger units where the focus is less centred on an individual parish. The possibility of the loss of the parish school represents a major blow to that community. Church of Ireland ministers and others from other Protestant denominations now have four or five parishes to cover. Families are also smaller, but that is the trend within both communities”.

I queried any real or perceived discrimination against the Protestant population in the southern border counties “It may be there, but it never comes to the surface, whether it be real or perceived”. Did the Rev Johnson think or believe that Protestants on the border region felt ignored within what is broadly a Roman Catholic culture?
In reply he pointed out that Protestants had a tendency to “shy off” when it came to pushing ahead in the field of employment. I pointed to poor representation of Protestants serving in the Irish security forces and he agreed.

“I believe that Protestants would be very welcome in the police force, the Irish army, etc., thereby addressing what is generally regarded and correctly perceived in the North to be a hugely imbalanced field of employment”. He further illustrated from his observations that there was a form of “self-exclusion”, e.g., where Protestants in the past have had a tendency to observe Sunday all day, whereas Roman Catholics regarded Sunday afternoon as being the principle time for participation in most sporting fixtures, etc. However, as attitudes to Sunday change this “self-exclusion” is certainly on the decrease, with many sporting activities taking place on Saturdays or weekdays.

Raising again the issue of Protestants having a distinct cultural and/or political identity his answer mirrored that of Ian McCrackens. However he did point out that the Protestants of Donegal and the other border counties had a distinct cultural identity from their counterparts in the more southern counties of the Island where they were, or had been part of the ‘landed gentry’ in the past but although in a minority, they played a more important role in the community.

My next query re his opinion of contemporary Irish Society evoked another parallel response: “Materialistic and secular, post-Christian and much more European orientated; a decline in moral standards, although there are ethical standards. Undoubtedly though, the Roman Catholic church has lost most of its moral authority here”.
He acknowledged that the Orange Order did not represent Protestant cultural identities in the southern border counties.
“It may represent some Protestant cultural identity, but only close to the border”. Re Protestants in the south identifying themselves as ‘Anglo/Irish’, (given that the term denotes class) both agreed that the question did not arise in Dunfanaghy.

On the citizenship question I discovered there is a preference for Irish citizenship amongst Protestants. “Four generations of Protestants have been integrated with the Republic since partition and prefer to be known as Irish, to be part of the Republic of Ireland and proud of it. Both communities living in that particular part of Donegal co-exist in harmony one with the other”.

Could partition predicated on a sectarian headcount be justified, given the massive social and economic changes in this country?
“Partition should be retained until people can live together in peace. Also, I believe the Republic of Ireland could not afford the Northern People”.

I concluded my interview on this issue. In all, I found once more, two remarkably honest and warm-hearted people carrying on in their ministry to the people. I wasn’t disappointed with my journey to Donegal where I personally spend many weekends. From my own experience of the people of both communities over a number of years, the fact of co-existence in harmony really does exist.

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