Carson threatens to ‘call out the Ulster Volunteers’ in fiery Twelfth speech

Ballymenoch, 14 July 1919 - Sir Edward Carson has described this year’s Twelfth as the ‘greatest’ he could remember.

There is a good reason that this year’s ceremonies and celebrations should eclipse those of recent years: the ending of the Great War, and the demobilisation of soldiers that has followed it, has allowed for far higher levels of participation than we’ve seen for some time.

An estimated 300,000 men participated in this year’s main Twelfth demonstration at Ballymenoch, near Belfast, which was held under the auspices of the Grand Loyal Lodge (GLL).

Scenes from the Twelfth celebrations. Clockwise from top left: Belfast Orangemen marching down Royal Avenue; the custom of saluting arches was observed by processionists; Commodore Watson's Loyal Blues were headed by a horseman representing King William; drums and flutes; Orangemen arriving at Ballymenoch, where the speeches were made (Images: Irish Independent, 14 July 1919)

A large body of demobilised troops from the 36th (Ulster) Division took part in the demonstration, although it is understood that a large number of discharged ex-soldiers refrained from participating as a protest against their treatment since leaving the army.

The echoes of war were still evident, most notably in the new colourful banners that depicted the Ulster Division's exploits at the front

The speeches
Colonel Robert Hugh Wallace, the Grand Master of the GLL, told the massive gathering at the field in Ballymenoch that home rule was not dead and constituted as a big a menace as ever. He referenced the support shown for an Irish republic by the catholic bishops; Rome’s greatest ambition was to destroy the British empire, he said.

However, it was Sir Edward Carson, MP for Belfast Duncairn, who delivered the fieriest of speeches after proposing a resolution demanding the repeal of the Home Rule Act.

Carson took aim at the Catholic hierarchy and Éamon de Valera, the head of Sinn Féin, an organisation which, according to Carson, in the ‘darkest hours of the war for the world’s freedom shot His Majesty’s soldiers in the streets of Dublin’.

Carson urged his audience to prepare for all eventualities and warned them he was willing once more to ‘call out the Ulster Volunteers’. He was not, however, afraid of an Irish republic, the idea of which he derided mockingly. He further stated that Ulster would have nothing to do with Dominion Home Rule either, which he sees as the ‘camouflage of Irish Republic’.

Summoning the spirit of resistance that was such a feature of Unionist politics in the pre-war years, Carson continued: ‘We are loyal men... The Government and the Constitution and the British Empire are good enough for us, and we tell them that the man who tries to knock a brick out of that sound and solid foundation, if he comes to Ulster, he will know what the real feeling of Ulstermen and Ulsterwomen is.’

The Marquis of Londonderry, Sir Edward Carson and Colonel Wallace addressing the crowd in Ballymenoch (Images: Irish Independent, 14 July 1919)

Carson’s speech also contained criticism of the Irish-American delegation which visited Ireland recently – ‘we will not brook any interference in our own affairs’ – and he condemned the ‘campaign of assassination of innocent policemen’. 

In the wake of Carson’s speech and in particular his threat to re-mobilise the Ulster Volunteers, the Freeman’s Journal has asked as to the whereabouts of the organisation’s arsenal of weapons. On 15 October last, the then Chief Secretary Edward Shortt was asked whether the authorities had been handed over all or in part the 50,000 rifles and 11 machine guns which were in the possession of the Ulster Volunteers.

His response left many nationalists unimpressed, including John Dillon, then leader of the Irish Party, who stated that the impression that there had been a widespread surrender of Ulster arms was a fraud. 

This week’s remarks by Sir Edward Carson ensures that these concerns have not gone away.

[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]