On ‘The Twelfth’, the majority Protestants of Northern Ireland celebrate a battle that happened in 1690. In that battle a Dutchman defeated his Scottish father-in-law/uncle, and settled an argument over who was King of England, (& Scotland & Ireland- Britain had not yet been invented). Irish Protestants (who consider themselves British) see this as a victory over the minority Catholics. The fact that the Dutchman's army was funded by the Pope is now forgotten. The huge 11th Night bonfires, often draped mockingly in the Irish (Catholic) flag, are the highlight of many young Protestant boys’ summer holidays. Fires are lit beside freeways, in the middle of residential streets, and even up against buildings. The cleanup can take weeks. Some Protestants would like to turn the Twelfth into a more inclusive national holiday. It would take nothing short of a miracle for this to happen, but not the first miracle this tiny nation has seen in recent years.
