ABSTRACT
The banners of the loyalist organizations focus on different areas of interest, but these are essentially linked in their themes: Orange and Black approach Protestant identity from differing but complementary perspectives. It is faith that has enabled the Irish nation to sustain itself through all its troubled history, and it is the interweaving of faith and historical destiny that is addressed by the other banners. There are a much smaller number of banners at Hibernian commemorations compared with loyalist parades; but they still include a diverse range of images. The majority of the banners carry religious images of some kind, with 65 per cent of the images depicting religious personalities or places. The Pope has always featured prominently on Hibernian banners; but the popularity of the Pope, John Paul II, was enhanced when he became the first Pope to visit Ireland in September 1979. The Maid of Erin is less important than images of Catholicism on the Hibernian banners.
