Twelfth Survived

The good news is there were no fatalities or serious injuries during the protests on the twelfth. 

This is taken from our third floor dormer in the front of our house.  Up the street is Crumlin Road Presbyterian church and the Edenderry Mill which was converted to condos.  Up beyond that about two blocks is Holy Cross Catholic church and beyond it 100 feet is the Ardoyne roundabout and then the Ardoyne shops, all less than a half mile away.

Since even the local news seemed to confuse the labels I want to clarify that the nationalists and the unionists are political identities having to do with the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, separated into two countries in 1922.  The nationalists and republicans (those wanting to be a part of the Republic of Ireland) and the unionists and loyalists (those wanting to stay with the United Kingdom) are the parallel political identities the latter feel stronger and were willing to take up arms to defend or change the outcomes.  The republican paramilitaries were the IRA and the loyalists paramilitaries were the UVF and the UDA.  The Orange Order is a fraternal organization and they hold parades from April to August with the biggest ones on the Twelfth of July commemorating King William III of Orange defeat of King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 becoming King and keeping a protestant rule since James had converted to Catholicism.  The vast majority of the people do not want to go back to "the bad old days" of The Troubles but they still hold tight to these identities which separate them.

We continue to help people embrace identities that cross over these old identities like Artist, Irish, Christian, Celtic, European, Men or Women, Human Being and Friends.