Orange Order chief Mervyn Gibson meets Leo Varadkar

The Irish leader and Minister for European Affairs Helen McEntee met with the Grand Secretary of the Orange Order, Reverend Mervyn Gibson and a delegation of Orange Order members from south of the border in Government Buildings in Dublin on Monday.

During the meeting, they discussed issues affecting Orange Order members in Ireland, including Protestant schools and education in general, infrastructure and the cultural needs of Protestant communities in border counties.

The government reports they also discussed support for tourism projects including further development of the Battle of the Boyne site, the possibility of a Williamite Trail from Antrim to Aughrim, and Second World War commemorations.

Speaking after the meeting the Taoiseach said: “The colours on our flag are white, orange and green in equal measure.

“Sometimes I feel that we haven’t fully lived up to that.

“The Good Friday Agreement acknowledges that people in Northern Ireland have the right to be British, Irish or both, and accepted as such.

“We should acknowledge that there are many people in our state that feel themselves to be both British and Irish.

“It’s something that we should accept too.

“On many occasions, I have said that our job should be to build bridges, not borders.

“I strongly believe that states can best be judged on how they treat minorities.

“This visit today is another step in an ongoing engagement between the government and the order.

“We must always keep channels of communication open as a basis for respectful discussion on matters of common interest.

“I Iook forward to ongoing dialogue between the government and the Orange Order.”

Mr Varadkar recently became the first serving Irish head of government to visit the Orange Heritage Museum in Belfast in June and went on to provide funding for the rebuilding of a fire damaged Orange hall in Co Donegal after an arson attack this year.