“It just felt like there was a tidal wave of support for it and we were on the wrong side of history.”
A history and politics graduate from Ballynahinch, Co Down, Carlisle came from a “policing family and security force background, we lost several friends and neighbours” [during the Troubles].
“It was very easy to categorise opposition to the agreement as just fundamentalists and people who would say no to everything, but there were lots of moderate unionists who couldn’t reconcile themselves with some of the content of it,” says Carlisle. It includes a replica “Lodge Room” – typical of that found in Orange lodges – and a memorial window commemorating the more than 300 members of the Orange Order who were killed during the Troubles.
“It divided our family. My sister was full-time UDR, her husband was RUC, they voted for it because they thought they were doing a good thing but within a few months they knew they shouldn’t have. But it was too late then.” “You can stand at events, and you can have your photograph taken and the symbolism that goes with that, but nobody understands the thunderous noise of the empty chair in thousands of households.”
But he says he “can understand” those who voted for it: “I remember preaching down in Fermanagh and talking to congregations where in the graveyards there were UDR men, part-time reservists, Protestants who’d been murdered… [they] said, we trust the leader [David Trimble] to try and move forward. As time went on, “we had convicted murderers and terrorists in government and that was very hard to take, for somebody who has never broken the law, being asked to respect what these people have to say.”Twenty-five years on from the Belfast Agreement, the Troubles are over and much has changed. The DUP is the largest unionist party.
“The unionist community never voted in any significant number for parties which supported loyalist terrorists.”Reverend Mervyn Gibson, grand secretary of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland. Photograph: Stephen Davison/Pacemaker “People who would never have addressed the issue are sitting in church before the service starts on Sunday morning, are now turning round and saying, this is getting dire, and nobody recognises this.”
Gibson says: “I think community relations are now worse. Yes, you have your set pieces, your choirs coming together, and schools… but that mistrust has come back again.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Sunak praises bravery of Belfast Agreement leaders as he calls for return of StormontBritish prime minister calls for redoubling of efforts to deliver on promises of the agreement
Read more »
Pope’s prayers for peace on 25th anniversary of Belfast Agreement welcomedArchbishop Eamon Martin says Pope Francis wants the Irish to renew efforts to find solutions to problems and to work to bring about healing and reconciliation
Read more »
Pope’s prayers for peace on 25th anniversary of Belfast Agreement welcomed by Archbishop MartinArchbishop Eamon Martin says Pope Francis wants the Irish to renew efforts to find solutions to problems and to work to bring about healing and reconciliation
Read more »
Paul Muldoon: Lines on the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday AgreementTo mark the anniversary of the Belfast Agreement, poet Paul Muldoon reflects on the historic accord
Read more »
'Disruptive' passenger removed from Belfast flight as airline condemns behaviourThe incident took place at 2.30pm on Saturday afternoon
Read more »
‘Hard won peace’ should not be taken for granted, Sinn Féin tells supportersParty celebrates 107th anniversary of Easter Rising at Milltown Cemetery in Belfast
Read more »