TRANSPLANTED IRISH INSTITUTIONS - University of Canterbury

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Tours by Hennebery and the anti-Catholic lecturers were a part of a world-wide
scene which saw revivalist and sectarian speakers travel vast distances, speaking to wide
audiences and collecting money.
The L.O.I. and the H.A.C.B.S. were also institutions
which had associated international bodies. The Hibernians state that the symbol of the
globe on their regalia "while being symbolical of the world-wide dominion of the Catholic
Church, signifies, too, that our Society welcomes to its ranks peoples of every race, but we
insist that candidates for membership be practical Catholics."15
Each institution was implementing modes of social action that were not exclusive
to New Zealand. Their members were mostly Irish and in this sense the international
context was significant. Davis states that
like the Orangemen, the New Zealand Hibernians were a part of a loose confederation of similar
societies existing in many parts of the world. Neither restricted membership to men of Irish birth
or descent. Again, both bodies utilized symbolism and wore colours which could be interpreted as
provocative by their enemies. Together, therefore, they provided natural focal points for sectarian
and national antipathies. 16
The Irish diaspora in which thousands of Irish immigrated around the world was a global
exodus. When the Orangemen and the Hibernians acted out their rituals, made speeches,
recruited members and distributed their literature, they were enacting inherited traditions of
Protestantism and Catholicism which had their roots in many countries.
The rivalry between Protestant and Catholic communities lessened once they were
away from the country which had borne this sectarian conflict.
In Ireland, the Catholic
Church had developed the equation of Catholic = Irish and therefore that non-Catholic =
non-Irish. The Catholic Church was striving for Catholic religious and cultural ascendancy.
The Protestants were also acting in a sectarian manner, by wanting Protestant ascendancy.
This was the underlying reason for the sectarian divide between the two communities. The
Orangemen and the Hibernians, however, found a new identity in New Zealand. The L.O.I.
in particular evolved to become a charitable organization.
Faction fighting between the two communities was less in New Zealand than it was
in Ireland, but the sectarian nature of the organizations was ingrained and this remained. In
l50p. cit., H.A.C.B.S. Ritual Book, p. 7.
l60p. cit. , Davis, p. 63.