John Redmond and Irish Catholic loyalism

Commenting on the reception given to John Redmond by Belfast nationalists on his visit to Ulster in late October 1914, the northern correspondent of James Connolly's socialist–republican newspaper The Irish Worker reported that ‘Never were so many Union Jacks hung out to honour Sir Edward Carson as there were ... in honour of J.E. [Redmond]’. The month before, home rule had been enacted and Redmond had controversially called upon Irish nationalists to join the British army and fight ‘wherever the firing line extends’ in the war against Germany. Irish catholic enlistment was heaviest in Ulster—in particular Belfast—and for Redmond's visit Union Jacks were flown alongside green banners commemorating the 1798 rebellion and emerald flags incorporating the Union ensign in the style recently adopted for Australia and New Zealand's national standards. To opponents of the war, however, the Union flag was a symbol of loyalty and subservience to Britain and so the Irish Worker dubbed Redmond's northern supporters ‘Catholic Orangemen’; but what of the man for whom all the flags were flying?