What party do Protestants vote for?

The Reamer

I was just thinking that pretty much all the parties in the 26 county state are republican in some way or other and certainly old Sinn fein and it's successors SF, FF and FG would be have been founded with a pro republican, pro-catholic, anti Union and anti Protestant ethos.

In the past I would imagine that most Protestants would have had little choice but to abstain from voting or else vote for independent Protestant candidates.
I think abstentionism would have been quite common in the past as most probably would not have recognised the then newly established 26 county state.

But today I was wondering whether the passage of time would mean that Protestants would be more enclined to vote for parties that would be traditionally hostile to their interests. I think it most likely that they would vote FG as FG would traditionally be more representative of Upper Middle Class, landowners and prosperous farmers, who would be more likely to be Protestant rather than catholic. Whereas FF & Lab would be more geared towards the working class, typically catholic.
Or perhaps they only vote for Protestant independents or catholics that are sympathetic to them?

super_furry

You seem to be working under the misunderstanding that all protestants are Ulster Unionists.

The Reamer

super_furry wrote: »

You seem to be working under the misunderstanding that all protestants are Ulsterr Unionists.

I'm not talking about ulster unionists. I'm talking about the post 1922, 26 county state specifically.

drquirky

The Reamer wrote: »

I was just thinking that pretty much all the parties in the 26 county state are republican in some way or other and certainly old Sinn fein and it's successors SF, FF and FG would be have been founded with a pro-catholic/anti Protestant.

In the past I would imagine that most Protestants would have had little choice but to abstain from voting or else vote for independent Protestant candidates.
I think abstentionism would have been quite common in the past as most probably would not have recognised the then newly established 26 county state.

But today I was wondering whether the passage of time would mean that Protestants would be more enclined to vote for parties that would be traditionally hostile to their interests.
Or perhaps they only vote for Protestant independents or catholics that are sympathetic to them?

As freedom of thought is very important to us, we don't vote as a bloc for any specific party. I think you'll find that there are Protestants of every political persuasion and who hold many differing views on the Republican position.

To me a true democracy would mean that people could vote for whomever they most agreed with and not have to worry about silly sectarianism and early 20th century politics. Couching anything in Protestant/ Catholic terms only suits certain extreme and destructive elements...

The Reamer

^^ Of course, I'm not suggesting that Protestants would vote as a bloc, nor even that a majority would vote as such. Rather I am suggesting that a trend might exist for Protestants to avoid voting for parties that were traditionally hostile to their interests. It would be very understandable, particularly in the Cork region where OSF & pre FF oversaw the massacre forced exile of many protestants in the region - the Dunmanway massacre being just one such example. Still in living memory for some and in first hand accounts for many.

baby and crumble

Sigh.

There are plenty of Irish Protestants that are also republican, or at the very least don't assume that Catholic politicians are the devil.

When it comes to deciding who to vote for, I examine their stance on issues that are important to me personally- not what people within that party did or said 60 years ago.

Why is there so much mystery around Protestantism? It's not like we're a different species it something. We're not all upper class, we're not all descendant from landlords, we're not all the same politically.

Chips Lovell

I'm curious to know what "interests" are unique protestant.

The Reamer

I know, but the general trend would be that Protestants would be of a higher class than catholics.

I'm not so sure re the voting. I mean in the catholic shere, old habits certainly die hard with people voting FG or FF because their great grandfather voted FG or FF and still do so despite that party screwing them over. But perhaps that's only a catholic phenomenon.

Are Protestants more willing to let the past be the past?

Would you vote for a CoI independent before a catholic?

The Reamer

Vladimir Kurtains wrote: »

I'm curious to know what "interests" are unique protestant.

Well i suppose maintaining greater influence for CoI on public affairs.
Opposing land reform by the catholics as Protestants would have been more likely to be landowners and reform in the form of the land commission destroyed many estates.
Opposing deValeras policy to favour catholics in hiring civil servants.
Resisting futher breaks with Britain by opposing the transition of the 26 county free state from a dominion into a republic.

I would think CoI republicans are few and far between. Republicans of any creed are getting scarcer these days since republicanism is more or less discredited.

Corkbah

Simple ...they vote for whomever they consider they want in government based on promises/political opinions etc.

Doesn't matter what party they belong to - Protestants are the same as Muslims, Jews and other religions in this country....ordinary people !!

Whats next a thread on "Wonder who the Jews vote for in German elections ? " ...pffft ...makes no difference, a person who casts a vote does so regardless of their religious choice, they vote for the person they believe can fulfil their election promises.

im invisible

I thought they'd be too busy working to vote for a party, altough maybe lemonade and fairy-cakes and dancing around the May-pole, or maybe tea and scones (pronounced 'scons') after harvest

Corkbah

The Reamer wrote: »

I know, but the general trend would be that Protestants would be of a higher class than catholics.

I'm not so sure re the voting. I mean in the catholic shere, old habits certainly die hard with people voting FG or FF because their great grandfather voted FG or FF and still do so despite that party screwing them over. But perhaps that's only a catholic phenomenon.

Are Protestants more willing to let the past be the past?

Would you vote for a CoI independent before a catholic?

First "opinion" I disagree with ...there are many protestants who are in jail, just like many catholics....there is no difference.

why are you mixing religion and politics .... just because someone's grandfather voted for X party ...and his father...doesn't mean the person voting should vote the same - although their political views may have been influenced by their upbringing....nor a catholic/protestant thing ...its a personal upbringing thing, political parties encourage young people to get involved in politics so they can influence their decisions and shape the future of government.

as for your last question :

would you vote for a CoI independent before a Catholic ?

.... how can you tell the difference by looking at a picture on a poster or listening to election promises .... I would vote for a CoI independent if I believed he/her ideas were similar to mine and I thought that they were the best person for the job.

Isn't current president CoI ?...wasn't McAleese CoI ? ...did it make any difference to your life knowing that ?

Ps. I'm Roman Catholic.

baby and crumble

The Reamer wrote: »

Well i suppose maintaining greater influence for CoI on public affairs.
Opposing land reform by the catholics as Protestants would have been more likely to be landowners and reform in the form of the land commission destroyed many estates.
Opposing deValeras policy to favour catholics in hiring civil servants.
Resisting futher breaks with Britain by opposing the transition of the 26 county free state from a dominion into a republic.

But all of those issues are long past. Fair enough maybe at the founding of the state those things might have been important to Protestants, but now? All my mates who happen to be Protestant are more concerned with issues like fiscal reform, marriage equality, taxation, job creation etc. Not worrying about stuff thy happened years and years ago. I couldn't give a fig what religion my elected representatives are so long as their beliefs generally echo my own. Granted, hard core Catholics are less likely to be interested and on the same page as me regarding some issues like marriage equality and abortion, but someone's religion doesn't specifically come into the debate for me.

savvyav

Both sides of my family are Southern Protestant farmers- one side always voted Fine Gael, the other side always voted Fianna Fail. The FG side vote for them as they consider Fine Gael to be the farmers' party, while the FF side vote for them as some FF politician helped out my great-grandfather when his business went bust during the war. However, my uncle is now a Labour county counceller and I usually vote Labour or Independent, just because FG and FF don't really appeal to me.

Having said that, I would imagine my older relatives would be more likely to vote for a CoI independent over a Catholic. In my experience, rural Protestant communities are quite tight-knit (we all know each other and are distantly related in some way) so we tend to support each other. For younger Protestants, this wouldn't be as important so we'd probably vote for the candidate who we like the best! Haven't a clue how 'city Protestants' would view it though.

the_syco

The Reamer wrote: »

Opposing deValeras policy to favour catholics in hiring civil servants.

Welcome to 2013.

nuac

The Reamer wrote: »

Well i suppose maintaining greater influence for CoI on public affairs.
Opposing land reform by the catholics as Protestants would have been more likely to be landowners and reform in the form of the land commission destroyed many estates.
Opposing deValeras policy to favour catholics in hiring civil servants.
Resisting futher breaks with Britain by opposing the transition of the 26 county free state from a dominion into a republic.

I would think CoI republicans are few and far between. Republicans of any creed are getting scarcer these days since republicanism is more or less discredited.

Is there any evidence that De Valera had a policy favouring Catholics in hiring Civil Service

There was a Local Appointmen ts COmmission re senior appointments in local authorities

He intervened in the Mayo County Library case, where the local Library Committee refused to appoint Ms Dunbar, a member of Church of Ireland

The Reamer

I disagree, I mean look at Northern Ireland. There Protestants generally vote for pro Union Protestants and catholics generally vote for republican catholics.

As said, here in the 26 county state, there is an enormous tendency to vote for a party based on tradition and who your ancestors voted for in the 1920's. I know people who vote FF because their family was FF. Indeed one would often here people comment of families that "the are FG" or "they were always FF".

I imagined that Protestants, given the hostility traditionally held for them by the catholic parties, would possibly allow a similar theme to influence but not rule their voting habits.

Or perhaps this is a unique that is unique to catholics. I imagined that the post 1922 situation may have brough about a seige mentality because of the catholic dominated state and this may increase this type of voting.

Then I suppose, protestants may be more likely to consider election candidates objectively nowadays, would that be true?

Figure this. If you were presented with two candidated who were equal in every respect but one was RC and the other was CoI, which would you vote for?

Brian Shanahan

drquirky wrote: »

As freedom of thought is very important to us, we don't vote as a bloc for any specific party. I think you'll find that there are Protestants of every political persuasion and who hold many differing views on the Republican position.

Traditionally protestant voters here though have tended to vote FG more often than for any other party.

This doesn't mean that they vote en masse as a single block, but protestant Irish have traditionally tended to be prosperous middle-class, the kind of people the FG would naturally chase after.

P.S. The question as framed by the OP is frankly bloody ridiculous and offensive.

The Reamer

Savvyav, I think you have just borne out the points I was making.

I generally that that Protestants would vote FG as it was the landowners party.

Voting based on ancestral tradition is probably the rule certainly amnongst rural people and probably much less common in urban areas. Indeed, rural working class are most likely to vote Lab.
All of what you say is correct regarding rural communitites. Indeed my family are landowners but my father comes from a FF family and my mother from a FG one. It appears that my siblings inherited the FF voting tradition so that will now be a quirk that he will be a landowner and be FF.

Perhaps protestants are more content to move on from the past and let by gones be by gones and look at things in an unbiased way.

Brian Shanahan

Vladimir Kurtains wrote: »

I'm curious to know what "interests" are unique protestant.

Up to a few years ago I would have said "cricket", but with the increased profile of the Irish team, that is no longer valid.

The Reamer

Brian Shanahan wrote: »

Traditionally protestant voters here though have tended to vote FG more often than for any other party.

This doesn't mean that they vote en masse as a single block, but protestant Irish have traditionally tended to be prosperous middle-class, the kind of people the FG would naturally chase after.

P.S. The question as framed by the OP is frankly bloody ridiculous and offensive.

Apologies, I did not intend to offend the Protestant community, I was just qurious as to their voting trends as all established parties in the 26 county state would traditionally have been hostile to them.

baby and crumble

The Reamer wrote: »

I disagree, I mean look at Northern Ireland. There Protestants generally vote for pro Union Protestants and catholics generally vote for republican catholics.

You can't compare the two. NI is a specific set of circumstances, with bitter sectarian views that hold to this day. (Not saying everyone, just my opinion) I don't know ANY protestants that vote simply because of something that happened 80/90 years ago. Now, of course I wouldn't be having political conversations with my fathers generation, but I know he votes based on who he thinks is best for the job.

The Reamer wrote: »

As said, here in the 26 county state, there is an enormous tendency to vote for a party based on tradition and who your ancestors voted for in the 1920's. I know people who vote FF because their family was FF. Indeed one would often here people comment of families that "the are FG" or "they were always FF".

Maybe, but maybe that's just your experience? My experience (which is within people in their 30's and down) is that people don't vote that way as much any more. Perhaps in some places and in some families, this is the case. But then I don't think it's religion that is the deciding factor, more the basic views and ethos of the party, which is less and less decided upon religion.

The Reamer wrote: »

I imagined that Protestants, given the hostility traditionally held for them by the catholic parties, would possibly allow a similar theme to influence but not rule their voting habits.

I think an awful lot of people have let that go. I know I have, my parents have, my friends have. Why hang on to grudges throughout generations where there is little or no experience of that kind of party hostility?

The Reamer wrote: »

Or perhaps this is a unique that is unique to catholics. I imagined that the post 1922 situation may have brough about a seige mentality because of the catholic dominated state and this may increase this type of voting.

Perhaps it it- I couldn't really say why other people vote the way they do. And I think your imaginings might be 50 years or so out of date.

The Reamer wrote: »

Then I suppose, protestants may be more likely to consider election candidates objectively nowadays, would that be true?

I think most people do, at least in my generation.

The Reamer wrote: »

Figure this. If you were presented with two candidated who were equal in every respect but one was RC and the other was CoI, which would you vote for?

Honestly? I doubt I'd even know, unless they were extremely local to me and subsequently attended my church. But all things being equal I'd probably vote for the independent first, because I think they can be more objective than party politicians, then I'd go down to gender- I'd be more likely to vote (in an IDENTICAL situation) for a woman, because I personally think if all politicians are equal we need more women in the Dail. If that didn't separate them, I'd look at age- someone who is closer to my age than my fathers would get my vote. Religion would honestly not be something I'd really consider.

But all things being completely and utterly equal, I'd vote for whoever had the nicest picture on the ballot cards. In an entirely equal situation, might as well have TD's that are easy on the eye.

What about you OP? I'm assuming you're Catholic since your questions are being posed to Protestants. Would you vote Catholic in such an equal situation?

The Reamer

Me? Well I am not a catholic by any stretch but I do come come from a catholic background which, I suppose, is probably the more relevant point.

Well I would probably favour an independent as they are don't have to "tow the party line".
After that it would be track record, policies and ability.
All else being equal, I might be inclined to vote for the Protestant as I feel that they may be less inclined to be sucked into the whole "parish pump cute hurr" game which seems to be dominated by catholics. Perhaps CoI members have an upbringing with a greater emphasis on being ethical? I don't know. But generally in my experience, Protestants are more educated and perhaps not as, I don't know..... crude as your average catholic.

Surnames are a fairly reliable indicator as to creed. Anglo-Irish names tend to be CoI and aboriginal Irish names tend to be RC.

GRMA

Bit of a mad thread, most of my extended family are Protestants and they vote the same way as normal people do, I think most voted labour last time out but that had nothing to do with their religion, they'll vote someone else next time probably.

I know a COI minister who is a member of SF, tbh there is a lot of intolerance of him with many of his peers and the COI establishment as anyone can see if they read copies of the COI journal/magazine and replies to his letters published therein

baby and crumble

The Reamer wrote: »

Me? Well I am not a catholic by any stretch but I do come come from a catholic background which, I suppose, is probably the more relevant point.

Well I would probably favour an independent as they are don't have to "tow the party line".
After that it would be track record, policies and ability.
All else being equal, I might be inclined to vote for the Protestant as I feel that they may be less inclined to be sucked into the whole "parish pump cute hurr" game which seems to be dominated by catholics.

Surnames are a fairly reliable indicator as to creed. Anglo-Irish names tend to be CoI and aboriginal Irish names tend to be RC.

I really hope you don't mind my asking, but how old are you? You seem to have some very old school opinions of Protestants and Catholics.

JustinDee

The Reamer wrote: »

I know, but the general trend would be that Protestants would be of a higher class than catholics

Utter tripe.
The only way the word "general" can be applied to such a lazy label, is "the general assumption would be . . . etc etc"

The Reamer

GRMA wrote: »

I know a COI minister who is a member of SF

Really. That's a bit of a mindf*ck! Highly unusual.

Do you think it is an example of his open mindedness and catholic dominated SF's intolerance?

The Reamer

JustinDee wrote: »

Utter tripe.
The only way the word "general" can be applied to such a lazy label, is "the general assumption would be . . . etc etc"

Not tripe actually. I read in a census summary profile of Relisio something to the same effect that Protestants were more likely to be landowners and professionals. Press Release Census 2011 Profile 7 Religion, Ethnicity and Irish Travellers, CSO.

Even Savvyav gave anecdotal evidence to suppport this.

Chips Lovell

The only way people's religious affiliation comes into the equation is if that alters their voting patterns. It doesn't matter if protestants are statistically more likely to be landowners or professionals. If they end up voting on the same lines as Catholic landowners or professionals, then their protestantism has nothing to do with it.

GRMA

The Reamer wrote: »

Really. That's a bit of a mindf*ck! Highly unusual.

Do you think it is an example of his open mindedness and catholic dominated SF's intolerance?

How are SF intolerant to Protestants? There are lots of Protestant members and SF policies are hardly dictated by Rome, most members hate the church for its hatred of republicans

JustinDee

The Reamer wrote: »

Not tripe actually. I read in a census summary profile of Relisio something to the same effect that Protestants were more likely to be landowners and professionals. Press Release Census 2011 Profile 7 Religion, Ethnicity and Irish Travellers, CSO.

Even Savvyav gave anecdotal evidence to suppport this.

You just happened to happen upon it, eh? Link the section that says Protestants were generally of a higher class than Roman Catholics.
The old begrudging "no such thing as a poor protestant" generalism is alive and well with the bored student of today, it seems.
Since you like the anecdotal in this pot-stir of a thread of yours, have you ever been to The Ranch in Inchicore, for example?

The Reamer

baby and crumble wrote: »

I really hope you don't mind my asking, but how old are you? You seem to have some very old school opinions of Protestants and Catholics.

I'm 26. I do have quite an interest in how the Protestant community has interacted and adapted to the catholic dominated state over the past 90 odd years.
Perhaps Protestants of my age may not think of all this and may not consider it but certainly my parents generation had all this stuff still rooted in their heads.

I am quite curious as to why it is that catholics seem to maintain a "grudge" despite success in achieving a 26 county state while the Protestant communities who were often the victim of catholic republican expropriations and pogroms in the 20's would appear, from this thread, to not hold any grudge and are content to let by gones be bye gones.

Whether it is a coping mechanism to deal with the catholic dominated state or perhaps a genuinely more objective worldview I am not sure.

old hippy

We're pretty much the same as everyone else. Although watch out when a full moon's about...

The Reamer

JustinDee wrote: »

You just happened to happen upon it, eh? Link the section that says Protestants were generally of a higher class than Roman Catholics.
The old begrudging "no such thing as a poor protestant" generalism is alive and well with the bored student of today, it seems.
Since you like the anecdotal in this pot-stir of a thread of yours, have you ever been to The Ranch in Inchicore, for example?

Source: http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/census/documents/census2011profile7/Profile%207%20Education%20Ethnicity%20and%20Irish%20Traveller%20entire%20doc.pdf

Page 14. There are other referneces within the document but this is the first one I saw now that I opened the document.

No, I've never been. What is "The Ranch"?

JustinDee

The Reamer wrote: »

Source: http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/census/documents/census2011profile7/Profile%207%20Education%20Ethnicity%20and%20Irish%20Traveller%20entire%20doc.pdf

Page 14. There are other referneces within the document but this is the first one I saw now that I opened the document.

No, I've never been. What is "The Ranch"?

You have winced the alleged point you're trying to make. The way you posted too implied that there is considerable difference between protestants and others. There isn't.
The two comparisons were of protestants vs the total population which also includes protestants.
What is the breakdown for Roman Catholics, who according to the census, populate 84%?

What a weird thread. Best suited to the barstool, I would think.

sink

Theobald Wolfe Tone
Charles Stewart Parnell

I suggest you read about them.

bobbysands81

This thread is utterly ridiculous, the amount of false assumptions the original poster makes is absurd.

baby and crumble

The Reamer wrote: »

I'm 26. I do have quite an interest in how the Protestant community has interacted and adapted to the catholic dominated state over the past 90 odd years.
Perhaps Protestants of my age may not think of all this and may not consider it but certainly my parents generation had all this stuff still rooted in their heads.

I am quite curious as to why it is that catholics seem to maintain a "grudge" despite success in achieving a 26 county state while the Protestant communities who were often the victim of catholic republican expropriations and pogroms in the 20's would appear, from this thread, to not hold any grudge and are content to let by gones be bye gones.

Whether it is a coping mechanism to deal with the catholic dominated state or perhaps a genuinely more objective worldview I am not sure.

What grudge?

Also, the 20's was nearly 100 YEARS AGO.

OCorcrainn

The Reamer wrote: »

I'm 26. I do have quite an interest in how the Protestant community has interacted and adapted to the catholic dominated state over the past 90 odd years.
Perhaps Protestants of my age may not think of all this and may not consider it but certainly my parents generation had all this stuff still rooted in their heads.

I am quite curious as to why it is that catholics seem to maintain a "grudge" despite success in achieving a 26 county state while the Protestant communities who were often the victim of catholic republican expropriations and pogroms in the 20's would appear, from this thread, to not hold any grudge and are content to let by gones be bye gones.

Whether it is a coping mechanism to deal with the catholic dominated state or perhaps a genuinely more objective worldview I am not sure.

The mask has slipped, hello Keith.

oscarBravo

The Reamer wrote: »

...the 26 county state...

I stopped reading here.

lottpaul

Taking the OPs question at face value I've voted FG, Labour, Green, PD, plus Independent and SF in Euro/Local elections. Never voted FF but that was largely due to the lack of any individual FF candidate that I felt was worth voting for in Kerry South. Family would be either FG or Labour but nothing to do with Protestantism -- just the "farming vote", vaguely left wing "liberal" vote etc

the_syco

The Reamer wrote: »

look at Northern Ireland.

Look at a country that have killed each other recently for their religion, and who still fight over it.

The Republic of Ireland is not like this.

bmaxi

I think the notion of Protestants being upper class is a myth. I was reared in a working class area which had a relatively large Protestant population and I had many Protestant friends. Most of them went into their fathers' trades, like printers, decorators, bricklayers etc., only one went to secondary school and eventually became an Anglican priest. Of those I still keep in touch with, three live in Tallaght, two in Coolock and one in Santry, hardly Ascendancy territory.
I know there are fairly large concentrations of Protestants in places like Greystones and Dalkey but I'm pretty sure they're dwarfed by their Catholic neighbours. I think the Catholic elite like to prolong this myth as it gives the hoi polloi a hate figure and disguises the fact that most of the injustices perpetrated on them have been perpetrated by their fellow Catholics.
On reaching voting age my friends and I would have voted mainly for the Labour Party, some for FF. I didn't know anyone who voted FG, they would have been considered the Toffs party and none of us were Toffs.

Benny_Cake

Bit of a pointless question. The Protestant community is pretty diverse now,in addition to those who have been members of Protestant churches going back generations, there are people who would be from a Catholic background, as well as recently arrived immigrants. Would a farmer attending his local COI in Tipperary be likely to have the same motivations when it comes to casting his voters than a Nigerian-born Pentacostalist woman living in Ballyfermot? Hardly.

It sounds like the sort of question that someone might have asked 40 years ago when Ireland was a much more homogenous society and even then it would have been of questionable relevance.

The Reamer

bmaxi wrote: »

I think the notion of Protestants being upper class is a myth. I was reared in a working class area which had a relatively large Protestant population and I had many Protestant friends. Most of them went into their fathers' trades, like printers, decorators, bricklayers etc., only one went to secondary school and eventually became an Anglican priest. Of those I still keep in touch with, three live in Tallaght, two in Coolock and one in Santry, hardly Ascendancy territory.
I know there are fairly large concentrations of Protestants in places like Greystones and Dalkey but I'm pretty sure they're dwarfed by their Catholic neighbours. I think the Catholic elite like to prolong this myth as it gives the hoi polloi a hate figure and disguises the fact that most of the injustices perpetrated on them have been perpetrated by their fellow Catholics.
On reaching voting age my friends and I would have voted mainly for the Labour Party, some for FF. I didn't know anyone who voted FG, they would have been considered the Toffs party and none of us were Toffs.

I know there are a great many working class protestants, but what I am saying is that if you looked at protestants and catholics, percentage wise there would be a higher percentage of protestants that woudl be described as working class.
Also, I never suggested that Protestants were any sort of bogey man nor do I consider them a hate figure. I have nothing against protestants. Indeed, I have a number of Protestant friends.

FWIW I would be of the opinion that my Protestant friends are more wel. behaved and more responsible than many of my catholic friends, some of whom can be quite uncouth.
I defineitely think there is something to be said of Protestants being more cultured and better off.
Admittedly though, I would be talking about rural communities with large proportions of landowning people. I accept that things may be different in urban areas.

Hootanany

The Reamer wrote: »

I was just thinking that pretty much all the parties in the 26 county state are republican in some way or other and certainly old Sinn fein and it's successors SF, FF and FG would be have been founded with a pro republican, pro-catholic, anti Union and anti Protestant ethos.

In the past I would imagine that most Protestants would have had little choice but to abstain from voting or else vote for independent Protestant candidates.
I think abstentionism would have been quite common in the past as most probably would not have recognised the then newly established 26 county state.

But today I was wondering whether the passage of time would mean that Protestants would be more enclined to vote for parties that would be traditionally hostile to their interests. I think it most likely that they would vote FG as FG would traditionally be more representative of Upper Middle Class, landowners and prosperous farmers, who would be more likely to be Protestant rather than catholic. Whereas FF & Lab would be more geared towards the working class, typically catholic.
Or perhaps they only vote for Protestant independents or catholics that are sympathetic to them?

FG I would think

The Reamer

Hootanany wrote: »

FG I would think

THat's what I would have went with too if i was forced to choose but I thought that there would still be far more resistance to these parties and that independents and abstention from voting would be more common.

I am genuinely surprised to see that Protestants are willing to vote for the same political parties who, at the foundation of the 26 county state, actively encouraged the persecution of Protestants which included incidents such as the Dunmanway and Bandon Valley Massacres. It is hard to fathom. It could be compared to Jews voting for some neo-Nazi party. Granted, there's not much choice in politics in this state but it is still surprising nonetheless.

THe labour party is really only popular in urban areas with large volumes of working class so that may be popular among urban Protestants.
Outside of that all of the parties originate as various splinter groups and factions of old Sinn Fein which had catholicism and the routing of Protestants as a core objectives.

Nodin

The Reamer wrote: »

I know there are a great many working class protestants, but what I am saying is that if you looked at protestants and catholics, percentage wise there would be a higher percentage of protestants that woudl be described as working class.
Also, I never suggested that Protestants were any sort of bogey man nor do I consider them a hate figure. I have nothing against protestants. Indeed, I have a number of Protestant friends.

FWIW I would be of the opinion that my Protestant friends are more wel. behaved and more responsible than many of my catholic friends, some of whom can be quite uncouth.
I defineitely think there is something to be said of Protestants being more cultured and better off.
Admittedly though, I would be talking about rural communities with large proportions of landowning people. I accept that things may be different in urban areas.

It's due to continued nonsense such as the above that I have a great problem in taking this thread seriously.

An Coilean

The Reamer wrote: »

Resisting futher breaks with Britain by opposing the transition of the 26 county free state from a dominion into a republic.

Most protestants i know would resent the suggestion that their religion means they are pro-British.

Death and Taxes

Op what religion was the First President of Ireland, and what was his contribution to the Gaelic revival?
Really surprised this thread has been left open!

crockholm

Then of course,there is the placing of flags within COI churches, many were regiment banners, I know, but when people see British flags in Irish churches some might wonder about one's allagience,ditto with vatican city flags.