It has long been the role of organisations such as the Orange Order to carry the symbols of Protestantism in Ireland, which both discursively define the Protestant community and demarcate it from its Catholic, Irish Nationalist and Republican other. The symbols the Orange institution displays in its ritual marching culture effectively signify the values, attitudes, beliefs and historical narrative which constitute the discursive content of the religiously-labelled community. As communal signifiers, Orange symbolism - and the symbolic act of an Orange parade in itself - represents the self-esteem of its members in Ireland. Hence, attempts to challenge the perceived right of Orangemen to march will therefore be resisted at all costs: an 'insult' to Orangeism is thus interpreted as an insult to the entire Protestant community, due to the symbolic functioning of Orangeism.

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• Sociology - Social Sciences