Orange connection - King William of Orange - a region of Holland, the Dutch prince who was invited to be king of England when we ran out of Protestant heirs. Both he and his wife, his cousin Mary, were grandchildren of Charles 1st. Mary was Charles II Protestant neice, daughter of his (Catholic) brother James. Parliament invited her to become Queen and she insisted that William become King.

To wear orange is to declare yourself not Irish but English and Protestant.


"American Irish Catholics of wearing orange only" - you wouldn't get a good Catholic of ANY background wearing orange - it's usually seen as a pagan colour (and you thought pagans were all black!).

LTS