The Orange Institution (more commonly known as the Orange Order, the Orange Lodge or the Orangemen) is a Protestant fraternal organisation based in Northern Ireland. Founded in 1796 near the village of Loughgall in County Armagh, its name is a tribute to the Dutch-born Protestant King of England, Ireland and Scotland William of Orange, who defeated the army of Catholic James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. Although based in Northern Ireland, the Institution also has a significant presence in lowland Scotland and lodges throughout the Commonwealth and United States.
Politically, the Orange Order is strongly linked to unionism. Critics have accused the Order of being sectarian, triumphalist and supremacist. As a Protestant society, non-Protestants cannot become members. Catholics, and those whose close relatives are Catholic, are banned from becoming members.
Read more about Orange Order: History, Requirements For Entry, Structure, Throughout The World, 'Diamond Dan'
Famous quotes containing the words orange and/or order:
“An orange on the table,
Your dress on the rug,
And you in my bed,
Sweet present of the present,
Cool of night,
Warmth of my life.”
—Jacques Prévert (1900–1977)
“The complete life, the perfect pattern, includes old age as well as youth and maturity. The beauty of the morning and the radiance of noon are good, but it would be a very silly person who drew the curtains and turned on the light in order to shut out the tranquillity of the evening. Old age has its pleasures, which, though different, are not less than the pleasures of youth.”
—W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965)