Dolly's Brae conflict

The Dolly’s Brae conflict occurred in County Down in Ulster on 12 July 1849. A contested procession by Orangemen resulted in a skirmish between the Orangemen, local Catholics and Ribbonmen and the police. The Catholics dispersed, following which the Orangemen proceeded to attack local Catholics and destroy property. An official report on the conflict stated that there were thirty deaths. However, this figure is contested by historians. The violence led directly to the Party Processions Act, curtailing activities perceived to be sectarian in Ireland. Nevertheless, the conflict entered Ulster Protestant folk memory as the ‘Battle of Dolly’s Brae’.

The 1840s were a significant decade in Irish history. The Great Famine began in 1845, resulting in around one million deaths. A nationalist rebellion by William Smith O’Brien’s Young Ireland movement occurred in 1848.

Sectarian tensions rose during the decade. The Orange Order experienced a revival, having been suppressed in previous years and were once again allowed to hold processions, which they did. Catholic groups also held their own processions. Early in 1849 a riot broke out in Crossgar in County Down raising tensions before the traditional Orange marching season in July.

Sectarian tensions had been building up in South Down throughout the 1840s. In 1848 local magistrates had persuaded South Down Orangemen to re-route their annual 12 July march away from areas with a majority Catholic population. This included Dolly’s Brae, which was known as the site of a sectarian murder of a Catholic at the beginning of the century. The Orangemen’s compliance brought taunts of cowardice from Catholic Ribbonmen, who had even composed a song about the affair. The Orangemen were determined to march their traditional route the next year. It had become a point of honour for them.

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