1999: A Novel of the CelticTiger and the Search for Peace (Irish Century Novels) by Morgan Llywelyn

Author:Morgan Llywelyn [Llywelyn, Morgan]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2010-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

While Barry waited to see McCoy he made appointments with Unionist politicians and prominent Protestant businessmen. The invitation to become part of a photographic archive depicting Northern Ireland’s most influential individuals met with an enthusiastic response from everyone he approached.

None of them asked if Barry planned to include any Catholics in the collection.

His first call was to a building contractor who lived off the Malone Road; possibly the most desirable residential area of Belfast. Frederick Liggitt was a senior member of his local Orange Lodge.

Founded in 1795, the Orange Order had since its inception been a secret society devoted to the preservation of the Protestant ethic and the demonstrable superiority of Protestants over Catholics, as exemplified by the victory of William of Orange over his Catholic rival, King James II, at the Battle of the Boyne on the twelfth of July, 1690.

The date of that victory, which marked the ascendancy of the House of Orange to the throne of England and of Protestantism to the state religion among the ruling classes of Ireland, was commemorated each year throughout Northern Ireland with almost three thousand Orange parades. Marching triumphally through the towns and villages, celebrating their victory over the evils of the Roman Church as if it had happened yesterday, Orangemen in their bowler hats, bright orange sashes, and tightly furled umbrellas appeared to be a colourful anachronism. In reality they were the tip of the iceberg that had been crushing the life out of the Six Counties since the partition of Ireland.

The “Marching Season” was a month-long nightmare for the Catholics of Northern Ireland.

The Orange Order was the best known of the so-called loyal orders that dominated most social and political life in the north, and were militant about remaining within the United Kingdom. In his archives Barry also planned to include members of the Apprentice Boys of Derry and the Royal Black Institution, but he had decided to begin with an Orangeman. From many sources he had identified Frederick Liggitt as a major financial contributor to loyalism and a potent force behind the scenes.

On Saturday morning Barry parked Apollo at the kerb and surveyed his surroundings. Houses in the Malone Road area were large, and almost without exception built in the Victorian style. Not so much as a scrap of blowing paper was allowed to disturb the beautifully manicured lawns, the precisely pruned shrubbery.

One exception to the Victorian dominance of the neighbourhood was the home of Frederick Liggitt. Although built of red brick like the others, it boasted crenellated battlements and an armorial scroll carved from marble mounted over the front door. The brass door knocker—an exact duplicate of the one at Ten Downing Street—gleamed from constant polishing.

A small, neat woman with tightly permed hair responded to Barry’s knock. She identified herself as Mrs. Liggitt and, with no further conversation, showed him into a panelled library complete with roaring fire. Silent as a ghost, she then disappeared.

Liggitt rose from a leather armchair beside the fireplace and strode forward, hand outstretched.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.