Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland
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The Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland is the autonomous Grand Lodge that organises the Orange Institution in Scotland.
In 1976 in Scotland, the Grand Lodge was frustrated in its attempt to expel a leading member of the Ulster Defence Association, Roddy MacDonald, from the Order, because of widespread support for the loyalist. The Order's democratic organisation makes it difficult for the Grand Lodge to overrule county or individual lodges. Other Scottish members were later convicted of smuggling guns and explosives to the UDA, although the Ulster Volunteer Force is thought to command more support among Scottish loyalists in recent years.
Ian Wilson, the Grand Master of the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland, began contributing a column to the weekly newspaper, the Scottish Catholic Observer, at the invitation of Harry Conroy, the editor, which is distributed in hundreds of Catholic churches across Scotland. The first article, published in January 2006, set out a more conciliatory approach to be adopted by the Orange Order towards the Catholic Church. It sought to explain the ethos of the order and its mission to modernise.
Scottish Orangeism is against Scottish independence; on 24 March 2007 more than 12,000 Orangemen were bussed in from around the UK, including Northern Ireland, England, and Wales, to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Act of Union 1707 and marched through Edinburgh's Royal Mile.[1] This culminated in a rally where its leaders urged members to vote against independence at the forthcoming Holyrood elections.[1]
