01/11/2007

Gutted Orange Hall To Be Rebuilt

A dozen or so members of the Orange Order in County Cavan have been left feeling vulnerable by news that their Orange Hall has been destroyed in a fire.

However, one of the organisation’s leaders has promised to rebuild the gutted property.

Drew Nelson, the Orange Order's Grand Secretary said that Drumartin Orange Hall near Cootehill is the third Orange Hall in the county to be destroyed out of 10 over the last 20 years and that members in the area felt vulnerable.

"There's no doubt we'll rebuild this hall, as we've rebuilt every one of the 208 halls that have been subject to arson attacks during the Troubles," he added.

It is a small hall with an active working lodge of about a dozen members: "They're a lodge which would be quite well involved in local affairs," he said.

"For instance one of the events they had in the hall this year was a fundraising event for the Holy Family School for handicapped children in Cootehill.

"Obviously that shows a lodge that is involved in their local community."

He said members were generally becoming more involved in civic life in the Irish Republic and said that he had also been contacted by Irish government officials expressing their sympathy and support for the lodge.

Gardai officers are trying to establish the cause of the blaze.

(BMcC)


Related Irish News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

08 July 2010
Loyal Order Rejects Marching Deal
Party politics may have clouded the issue of an expected deal on reforming the way in which parades are handled in the North. While having no impact on this year's 'Marching Season' as it would have taken some time to implement, the Grand Orange Lodge has this week rejected proposals that would have led to the disbandment of the Parades Commission.
05 February 2008
Government Grant for Orange Order
The Government has announced grants worth €250,000 to help fund the Orange Order in four southern border counties. A company, Cadolemo Ltd, set up by Orange lodges in Cavan, Monaghan, Leitrim and Donegal will receive the money over the next two years.
03 October 2014
Orange Hall Destroyed By Fire
An Orange hall in Co Donegal has been destroyed in a fire. The Convoy Orange hall was reported in the early hours of Friday morning. An investigation into the cause of the fire is currently underway, but gardaí have said early indications suggest forced entry was made into the building.
18 January 2011
Orange Hall Attacks Condemned
The Sinn Fein MP for Mid-Ulster Martin McGuinness has said that those who carried out attacks on four Orange Halls in Co Tyrone in recent days "were motivated solely by sectarian hatred". The Stormont Deputy First Minister said: "Numerous attacks on churches, Orange Halls and GAA clubs have been rightly condemned by all political parties.
17 August 2009
Tensions Rise As Co Derry Orange Hall Targeted
A weekend attack on a rural Orange Hall is being blamed on dissident republican elements. Republican graffiti linked to the splinter group was daubed on the Bellaghy building on the Ballynease Road and several drainpipes were damaged.