Hate Crime in Northern
Ireland Comes to Moree Lodge
Could
you help us to re-build?~~~See Below,
Arson!
1. History of the Old Building
Moree Orange Hall
Moree Orange Hall was built at Drumballyhue Crossroads in 1952. The
site had
previously been occupied by a primary school.
The Orange Hall was built through the voluntary labour of the lodge
members
of that time which numbered approximately 20 men.
The slates and timber for the roof were obtained from Lyle's Brewery
at
Donaghmore, Co Tyrone some 8 miles away.
The hall was named "Queen Elizabeth II Orange Hall" and was opened on 13th
September 1952 in the presence of approximately 5000 people.
Since 1952 the hall has been home to Moree LOL 195 with a membership
of 20-25
men.
2. What was lost in addition to the building?
In addition to the loss of the actual building gifts, furniture and lodge memorabillia were destroyed leaving a gap in the lodge history. What has also been lost is the availability of the building which for decades has brought Protestant people together.
3. Who done it?
The RUC investigating to date have been unable to arrest anyone for this crime of arson.
.
The Queen Elizabeth II Orange Hall which is the meeting place for Moree
Loyal
Orange Lodge No. 195 was burnt to ashes at approximately 3:00 AM on
Tuesday
morning 15th July 1997.
A neighbour who came on the scene alerted lodge members and called for
the
fire brigade. By the time the firemen arrived the roof had collapsed.
The hall had been attacked on numerous occasions over the past 10 years.
These attacks have included removal of Union Flags during the
months of July
and August from the flag poles, smashing of windows and attempted arson.
At
great expense to the lodge members panes of glass were eventually replaced
with reinforced bullet-proof glass, wooden doors were replaced with
steel
doors in order to make the hall more secure.
It would appear that when the hall was burnt this time the operation
was
carried out more professionally with time being taken to remove a window
frame and access gained to the roof space where fires according to
the Royal
Ulster Constabulary were started in at least 4 different places.
The destruction of the Queen Elizabeth II Orange Hall has been linked
to a
Sinn Fein protest to prevent members of the Orange Order from parading
the
village of Pomeroy after the traditional 12th July celebrations.
Many Protestants see this attack as yet another chapter in the attempts
by
Sinn Fein/IRA to drive them from the Pomeroy area, alongside the murder
of
part-time soldiers, Boycotting of Protestant businesses and the re-routing
of
Orange Order Parades.
The burning of our hall is aimed at removing a visible sign of the
Protestant
culture and faith from the Pomeroy area and denying the local Protestant
community of a meeting place.
The lodge members are devastated that their property should be destroyed
and
are now making plans to erect a replacement building. Ulster
Protestants are
stubborn people and like "facts" do not go away. With your help
and support
we can replace the previous hall with a new one of which we all can
be proud
of and help to preserve our culture and our Protestant faith in this
part of
Ulster.
We would urge you to support us through financial donations large or
small.
Donations can be made payable to Moree LOL 195 and sent to:
Moree LOL 195
C/O House of Orange,
65 Dublin Road
Belfast
Northern Ireland
BT2 7HE
4. Cost and what is needed
The cost of replacing the hall will be somewhere in the region of #80,000,
and #20,000 to replace the contents of the hall. Some of the
historical
items which had a lot of sentimental value are irreplaceable such as
an old
banner which had been mounted on a wall.
The lodge is planning to have the hall rebuilt in 1999.
As is the case with many organisations our funds are quite small and
we have
already begun a fund raising plan to finance our replacement hall.
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