ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the concept of 'identity' in terms of the people of one small town in Northern Ireland. The town, like many in Northern Ireland, is mixed in its religious composition. Assumptions about the association between religious identity and political allegiance are widely held in Northern Ireland. It is this association between the religious and the political which is referred to by the term 'politico-religious'. The months of July and August, when this display occurs, are aptly known in Ulster as 'the Marching Season'. Much of the colourful display of politico-religious identity which takes place during the Marching Season owes a large part of its dynamism to the Protestant organisation, The Orange Order, and, to a much lesser extent, the Catholic organisation, The Ancient Order of Hibernians. A brief examination of the background of these organisations is necessary for an understanding of the role which they play in Northern Ireland society today.
