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A bridge and a traitor
Bridge and traitor
In 1965 O'Neill became the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland to welcome the Taoiseach, Sean Lemass. The point of the visit was to build bridges with the Republic. Paisley went around shouting no Lemass, and the line about the bridge and the traitor was his.
The Pope's death
The previous attacks had been just as sharp. When the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret made a courtesy call on Pope John XXIII in 1958, Paisley accused them of committing spiritual fornication and adultery with the Antichrists. When the Pope died in 1963, O'Neill lowered the Union Jack as a mark of respect, since one in three of his citizens was Catholic. Paisley went berserk, denounced the lying eulogies paid to the Roman Antichrist by the Iscariots of Ulster, and announced that the Romish man of sin was now in hell.
Easter Rising anniversary
A year later came the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising. O'Neill let Catholics march to mark it, because banning the march would only create tension. For unionists 1916 was the year of the Somme, and Paisley told a rally that by allowing the march O'Neill was supporting murder, treason, and sedition. Our forefathers suffered from bullets and bombs, he told the crowd, and so would they.
How did the Lemass visit come about?
Lemass made his visit to Stormont in January 1965, and it was the first meeting between the heads of government of the North and the South since partition. O'Neill had kept the plan secret from most of his own cabinet until it was done. He made a return visit to Dublin a few weeks later. Paisley protested outside Stormont during these exchanges.
Why did the Somme loom over Ulster Protestants?
The 36th (Ulster) Division went over the top at the Somme on 1 July 1916 and lost about 5,500 men killed, wounded, or missing in the first two days. Most of its soldiers were former members of the Ulster Volunteer Force. The Orange Order began marking the anniversary alongside its parades around the Twelfth of July. The loss became the central memory of Ulster's contribution to the war.
Why did the Pope's death trigger a flag row?
Pope John XXIII died in June 1963 after a short papacy that opened the Second Vatican Council. Flags across Belfast flew at half-mast in respect, including at Stormont, which prompted anger from hardline Protestants. John XXIII had made Catholic engagement with other Christian churches a goal of the council. His successor, Paul VI, continued the council until 1965.
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