News Letter Letters: Footballers’ song caused great upset

(A letter to Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney)

The Worshipful District Master Bro Glen Espie BEM, officers and members of Cookstown District LOL No 3 would wish to express our anger and concern at the celebrations of the Republic of Ireland women's football team in their dressing room after their win against Scotland in the World Cup play off match at Hampden Park.

The IRA chant which they seemed to enjoy singing after their victory has caused great annoyance and upset to the members of our District Lodge who have had eight members murdered by the IRA during their campaign of genocide against the Protestant and unionist community during the period of the Troubles.

Those foolish immature girls who sang this rant sadly know nothing about the history or the actions of the IRA whose organisation killed more Roman Catholics and Irish citizens than any other during this period.

At our District meeting last Monday night we had a moment's silence in memory of the the people who tragically lost their lives in the village of Creeslough as a result of the gas explosion. We wanted to share our sympathy with our neighbours in Donegal as each year we have the pleasure of joining with them for the 12th July in Rossnowlagh.

Despite the sorrow and suffering that many within our District and the Orange Order have experienced over the years we have listened to those in the Republic of Ireland who have encouraged us to move forward and come together to join with them in a new Ireland supposedly free from such sectarian bitterness. This blatant sectarian rant from those young girls who didn’t live through the Troubles or witness any atrocities has shown a completely different outlook to what this new Ireland would have for Ulster Protestants.

There are many traditional Irish songs and ballads that these girls could have chosen to celebrate their victory or indeed they could have used their native Irish language to perform such a song but sadly they had to resort to chanting an out-of-date rant about a defeated and discredited IRA organisation that was littered with murderers, touts, paid informers, drug dealers and gangsters.

While many have issued apologies, and rightly so, it still does not take away the disgraceful scenes we witnessed on our screens and it was done at a time when everyone in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland should have been respectful and shown proper sympathy with the families of the bereaved in Creeslough after the explosion which killed 10 people.

Sadly, in Northern Ireland we have saw at first hand the carnage and misery that indiscriminate IRA bombs and explosions have done to our people over the years with no remorse from them.

We trust that Uefa in their investigation will ban this football team from participation in the World Cup finals in New Zealand and Australia and, if not, the government of the Republic of Ireland should make this decision as they have disgraced your country and its people.

Our District lodge members had hoped that those in the Republic of Ireland would have learned their lessons from the past and moved forward to an era of reconciliation, hope and peace. The actions of these girls has sadly shown us the reality of the direction the Republic of Ireland is going. Nothing has changed. How sad and disappointing for everyone, especially the victims of IRA terrorism.

Glen Espie BEM,Worshipful District Master

Walter Millar, District Secretary