Ulster Day parades held across Northern Ireland to celebrate unionist resistance to a Dublin parliament
Parades were held across Northern Ireland at the weekend to commemorate Ulster Day – when almost half a million citizens signed a pledge to oppose an all Ireland parliament by “any means necessary”.
Over 2000 people were expected to take part in parades in Tandragee, Ballymena, Carrickfergus and Newry to mark the historic event which took place on 28 September 1912 – when approaching 500,000 men and women signed an oath known as the Ulster Covenant.
Re-enactments of the signing of the historic pledge – made in opposition to Home Rule for Ireland – took place in Carrickfergus and Tandragee on Saturday.
The Westminster government had planned to give some autonomy to the island of Ireland, based in a parliament in Dublin. It prompted fierce resistance from unionists, particularly in Ulster.
The pledge was led by prominent unionist political figures of the day, Sir Edward Carson (leader of the Irish Unionist Party) and James Craig (the Unionist MP for East Down).
The Saturday afternoon parade in Tandragee was led by the Schomberg Fife and Drum Re-Enactment Band. The Schomberg Mourne Ulster Scots group said that on the 28th September 1912, in the Kingdom of Mourne, many people had attended church services in advance of the signing of the Covenant.
“It was great to play our part in marking this anniversary yesterday in Tandragee, and a special thanks must go to Moyrourkan True Blues LOL 305 for the invitation to take part”, the group said on Facebook.
The County Armagh Grand Orange Lodge congratulated their local lodge for marking “this very important event in Unionist history”.
DUP deputy leader Michelle McIlveen, who attended the event in Carrickfergus on Saturday, posted on social media that “despite the rain, it was a great night” for the parade, led by the Goldsprings True Defenders Flute Band. As well as a parade through the town, the CWA Brass band performed in the town hall to mark Ulster Day.
UUP MLA for the area John Stewart said the annual event “remains a powerful reminder of the courage, conviction and unity of our forebears. Their stand for faith and freedom continues to inspire us today”.
Ahead of the parade, Mr Stewart said that people in the town like marking Ulster Day because it is such an important date in the unionist calendar. He added: “It is potentially getting bigger each year because people are very keen to promote their British identity”.
The parade in Ballymena was branded as the Ulster Covenant Festival 2025 – and included events from a re-enactment of the signing of the covenant to Lambeg drumming.
Last week, one of the organisers of the Tandragee event – Jamie-Kyle Moore – told the News Letter that today, “the Ulster Covenant is still a declaration of our Britishness… something that today, many would argue, has been eroded with the Irish Sea border.”
The 1912 covenant was signed in a passionate atmosphere by all classes of Unionism, including labourers, professionals, gentry, aristocracy and clergy.