The depth of hatred and contempt for another group of people required to involve oneself in composing, singing and revelling in a song specifically celebrating the murder of an entirely innocent young woman is breathtaking and deeply disturbing all at once.
Condemnation rightly piled up high yesterday after the utterly shocking and vile video surfaced of loyalists mocking in song the brutal murder of Michaela McAreavey.
They had gathered, purportedly, to commemorate and celebrate the centenary of the Northern Irish state. Yet somehow a sizeable crowd amongst those assembled deemed it fitting and appropriate to partake in the singing of a song which many will justifiably conclude marks a new low in terms of levels of depravity in this society.
Were they on parade that day? Will the Loyal Orders be inviting these individuals and their lodge to join them on parade again - even through the towns and villages of Tyrone?
None will have been unaware of the horrific story of Michaela, the young schoolteacher, whose life was cruelly stolen from her just days after she celebrated her marriage and whilst on honeymoon with her new husband.
All that mattered was that she belonged to The Other, a recognisably Irish Catholic woman.
Her devout faith and much celebrated relationship with the Gaelic Athletic Association through her father and husband would have sealed her fate to many as a worthy and legitimate target.
Someone conceived of the idea and then put words to the song. Others learned and, clearly not for the first time, sang the song for an audience, correctly believing that it would be greeted with howls of laughter and approval.
There is a poison at the heart of Orange and loyalist culture which has for so long been denied or excused but which should not be indulged any longer.
There are many, many decent people belonging to the Loyal Orders. There is and will always be a place for these institutions and their traditions on the island of Ireland, including after the point of which the country is reunited.
But we simply can not continue to ignore the fact that, every single year, celebrations of loyalist and orange culture continue to involve antagonising and denigrating The Other as if a failure to so do will somehow diminish the value and worth of the culture and gatherings. On that note, the flags will have been going up in mixed communities and at interfaces once again in recent weeks and soon bonfires, including those placed at interfaces, will be adorned with all things Irish, Catholic and unacceptably Other.
Antagonism and an absence of tolerance remain fundamental characteristics of an Orange Order which never embraced the Good Friday Agreement nor the many necessary changes required to usher in a more equal and demonstrably better society, and its role in street agitation over recent months will have only fuelled the bitterness.
Condemnation is a start, but on its own doesn’t remotely come close to addressing the scale of the problem. The elephant in the hall that day was no stranger to the brethren.
Ignoring him should no longer be an option.
