The Rise and Fall of the Orange Order During the Famine: From Reformation to Dolly's Brae

Formed in 1795, the Orange Order had grown into a formidable popular organisation in its first forty years of existence. However, against a background of major social, political, and economic change, the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland made the forced decision to disband the Order in 1836 in the face of mounting government pressure. In spite of this, the extremely widespread Protestant association could not simply disappear and continued to thrive at local level. By 1845 it had been officiall...