Events in Northern Ireland move swiftly. At the end of May the power-sharing executive — the creation of Mr William Whitelaw, a former Northern Ireland Secretary — had to resign as a result of a national strike, and control of the Province was resumed by the Government at Westminster. While Government leaders deplored the collapse of the executive and still talked of power-sharing as the only acceptable solution for Northern Ireland, more far-seeing politicians wept no tears over its departure. The naive view of leaders on both sides of the Commons seems to be that if the Protestant majority in Northern Ireland can only be persuaded to give sufficient concessions to the Roman Catholic minority then the I.R.A. menace will swiftly disappear. It is difficult to understand that men with some knowledge of Irish history and some acquaintance with the political machinations of the Roman Catholic Church could fall for such a line.
On the surface, the Northern Ireland situation is made to appear as one where a terrorist organisation is acting on behalf of a persecuted and deprived minority in order to obtain for them the rights they have long been denied. The majority are made to appear very intransigent and extreme in that they will not concede the demands which the British Government have made on them to adopt a power-sharing executive and a Council of all Ireland. Sometimes it would almost appear as though the strong Protestant section are the men of violence; while, on the other hand, the atrocities of the I.R.A. tend to be overlooked.
But let us ask ourselves — What struggle is it that is going on in Northern Ireland at the present time? Is it really as it is made to appear on the surface? No, indeed — very far from it. The battle in Northern Ireland is just the age old struggle between Romanism and Protestantism. It is the battle between the supporters of Anti-christ and the supporters of the kingdom of Christ. What the Romanists seek is the extirpation of Protestantism from Ireland. That is why it is a battle to the death; that is why the Protestant motto must of necessity be ‘No Surrender.’ If the battle of Britain fought out in 1940 was one of vital concern for the preservation of the civil and religious liberties of our land, so is the struggle which is being fought out in Northern Ireland at present one of vital importance to the preservation of true Christianity and of civil and religious liberty in Ireland. Failure on the part of the Protestants of Ulster to win this struggle, surrender to I.R.A. terrorism or surrender at the Conference table by yielding to compromise solutions which cannot safeguard vital interests, would be fraught with terrible consequences, not only for Northern Ireland but for the whole of Great Britain. The Government must learn this if it is to face up to the realities of the situation. It must awaken to the fact that the Roman Catholic Church will never say. It is enough. Britain has already given half — and more than half — of Ireland to the Pope of Rome. He now says I must have the rest as well. If his wishes are met, will he then be satisfied? Was Hitler satisfied when he had taken Austria, Czechoslovakia and half of Poland? Of course not. He had the same cry, Give, Give. Let no politician be so naive as to think that Ulster will satisfy the power-lusting Papacy. Next will be Scotland’s turn, so vulnerable with its large Irish Roman Catholic population.
But what of the Roman Catholic minority in Northern Ireland — or for that matter the Roman Catholic majority in Eire? We can rest assured that the real interests of Roman Catholics north and south of the border will be best served by the maintenance of a Protestant Ulster. In this way the poor deluded Roman Catholics will have the best opportunity of hearing the glorious tidings of the Gospel of God’s grace which is able to set them free from the shackles of Popish domination. We feel very much for the Roman Catholic population of Ireland so long held in the grip of that anti-christian system. The priests of Rome have kept the poor people blinded and enslaved in superstition and idolatry. Let us pray for their speedy emancipation from that bondage. Let us pray not only that the Lord’s Cause in Northern Ireland will be maintained and advanced, but also that the kingdom of Satan and of Anti-christ throughout Ireland will be overthrown, and that the people of that fair land who for many centuries have devoted their children to the service of the Man of sin, may yet be turned by divine grace and be led to devote themselves and their children to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. May we not put our ‘Amen’ to the declaration of one who loved Ireland dearly: “A quenched Gospel was the origin of all Ireland’s calamities, and a rekindled Gospel can alone restore light, alone bring peace and induce prosperity.”