Catholic Unionist

Among those who vote for mainstream Unionist parties Catholic Unionists support the more moderate Ulster Unionist Party , as opposed to the Democratic Unionist Party because of the latter party's involvement in some contentious Orange Order parades and because of the anti-catholic religious doctrine of the DUP Party leader Ian Paisley . Many Catholic Unionists vote for mainstream Catholic Nationalist parties such as the Social Democratic And Labour Party or for the non-aligned Alliance Party Of Northern Ireland , notwithstanding the former's support for a United Ireland .

CATHOLIC UNIONISTS

Richard Doherty , author, military historian and RUC reservist from County Londonderry .

Sir John Gorman , a Catholic Ulster Unionist Party delegate.

General Sir John Winthrop Hackett . Known as 'Shan' Hackett, he was born in Australia to Irish Catholic parents. Hackett was a professional soldier in the British Army . He served as Commander in Chief of the British Army Of The Rhine and later as Commander of the Northern Army Group for NATO . He also wrote the best seller The Third World War , a work of fiction that laid out a "what if" scenario of a possible conflict between NATO and the Warsaw Pact during the 1980s. He had a home in County Donegal .

Edward Haughey, Baron Ballyedmond , OBE . Educated by the Irish Christian Brothers in Dundalk; self-made pharmaceutical tycoon who served as a nominee of Taoiseach Charles Haughey in Seanad Éireann .

Sir Denis Henry, was born in County Londonderry in 1864. A son of prosperous Catholic businessman, he was elected MP for Derry in 1916 and later served as Solicitor-General For Ireland and then as the First Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland.

William Mulholland , a Belfast born engineer who later emigrated to the United States Of America .

Sir Oliver Napier , was the first leader of the Alliance Party Of Northern Ireland The Alliance Party is not, as such, a Unionist party. Although they support the union, they only do so as long as those are the wishes of the people of Northen Ireland. Many of its members would not regard themselves as ''Unionists'' in the conventional sense.

John Cushnahan , former leader of the Alliance Party¹.

IRISH UNIONISTS IN THE SOUTH OF IRELAND

Kevin Myers

Stan Gleber Davies

Conor Cruise O'Brien , former member of the UK Unionist Party and the Irish Labour Party .

VOTING TRENDS

Despite the fact that roughly 24% of Northern Irish Catholics want N.I. to remain in the United Kingdom , fewer than 2% of Catholics vote for Unionists parties. It is also clear that not all those who support the union would regard themselves as ''Unionist''. It should perhaps be noted that only 1% of Protestants vote for Nationalist parties.

FOOTNOTES

SEE ALSO

Ulster Unionist Party

Alliance Party Of Northern Ireland

Irish Unionism

EXTERNAL LINKS

Ulster Unionist Party

Alliance Party

Information About

Catholic Unionist