The Ulster Protestant League (UPL) was an

anti-Catholic Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics or opposition to the Catholic Church, its Hierarchy of the Catholic Church, clergy, and/or its adherents. At various points after the Reformation, some majority Protestantism, Protestant states, ...

supremacist

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

organisation in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The organisation was established in 1931 by a group inspired in part by the example of the

Scottish Protestant League The Scottish Protestant League (SPL) was a political party in Scotland during the 1920s and 1930s. The League was led by Alexander Ratcliffe, who founded it in 1920. Creation and initial years The SPL was launched by Ratcliffe in Edinburgh on ...

. It initially had some links with the

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule movem ...

(UUP), and UUP members such as

James Hanna McCormick Lieutenant Colonel (United Kingdom), LieutenantColonel JamesHannaMcCormick, (September1875 – May1955) was a professional soldier and Ulster Unionist Party, UlsterUnionistParty politician. Early life McCormick was born in Belfast,Ireland to Th ...

attended its meetings.Graham Walker, ''A History of the Ulster Unionist Party: Protest, Pragmatism And Pessimism'' The UPL complained that, during a time of

economic depression An economic depression is a period of carried long-term economical downturn that is result of lowered economic activity in one major or more national economies. Economic depression maybe related to one specific country were there is some economic ...

, some jobs were being given to

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

s, proposing that unemployed

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

s should be given priority. It also raised concerns that some Catholics were allowed to work in organisations such as the

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Royal ...

, and noted that some

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots heritage. It also ...

marches were occasionally banned by the

government of Northern Ireland The government of Northern Ireland is, generally speaking, whatever political body exercises political authority over Northern Ireland. A number of separate systems of government exist or have existed in Northern Ireland. Following the partitio ...

. In 1932, the UPL campaigned against the Outdoor Relief Strike, a cross-community protest for improved

unemployment benefit Unemployment benefits, also called unemployment insurance, unemployment payment, unemployment compensation, or simply unemployment, are payments made by authorized bodies to unemployed people. In the United States, benefits are funded by a compu ...

s. They claimed that the strike was a cloak for "the communist Sinn Fein element to attempt to start a revolution in our province", and congratulated the government on breaking up the strike. Michael Farrell, ''Northern Ireland: The Orange State'' The

Catholic Truth Society Catholic Truth Society (CTS) is a body that prints and publishes Catholic literature, including apologetics, prayerbooks, spiritual reading, and lives of saints. It is based in London, the United Kingdom. The CTS had been founded in 1868 by ...

organised a Eucharistic Congress at the

Ulster Hall The Ulster Hall is a concert hall and grade A listed building in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Situated on Bedford Street in Belfast city centre, the hall hosts concerts, classical recitals, craft fairs and political party conferences. History ...

in 1934, but this was called off after the UPL organised large protests in central

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

. Two demonstrators, UPL leader Dorothy Harnett and Presbyterian minister Samuel Hanna, were convicted of incitement to disorder. By the mid-1930s, the UPL was in sharp opposition to the ruling

, which they regarded as untrustworthy and soft on Catholics. Members of the group were active in anti-Catholic riots in 1935, and later in the year, some members gained seats in local elections. The group announced a new policy on Catholics: "neither to talk with, nor walk with, neither to buy nor sell, borrow nor lend, take nor give, or to have any dealings with them at all, nor for employers to employ them nor employees to work with them." The UUP were concerned at the growing Protestant discontent and sought to move closer to the Orange Order. By the

1938 Northern Ireland general election The 1938 Northern Ireland general election was held on 9 February 1938. Like all previous elections to the Parliament of Northern Ireland, it produced a large majority for the Ulster Unionist Party. The newly-formed Ulster Progressive Unionist ...

, the UPL was in decline, and the main loyalist challenge to the UUP came from the

Ulster Progressive Unionist Association The Ulster Progressive Unionist Association or, as it became within two months of its formation in June 1937, the Ulster Progressive Unionist Party (UPUP), was a political group formed to seek greater internal debate within unionism and to secu ...

, although

independent Unionist Independent Unionist has been a label sometimes used by candidates in elections in the United Kingdom, indicating a support for British unionism (not to be confused with trade unionism). It is most popularly associated with candidates in electi ...

John William Nixon John William Nixon, MBE (1880 – 11 May 1949), was a unionist politician and police leader in Northern Ireland who was alleged to be responsible for several sectarian atrocities, including the McMahon killings and the Arnon Street killings. I ...

who had become close to the UPL retained his seat, and the UPL candidate in Belfast Willowfield took 34.9% of the votes cast. The UPL remained active until the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. During the late 1930s, it organised in support of

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

's Nationalists in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, and organised heckling at

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

meetings.Fearghal McGarry, ''Irish Politics and the Spanish Civil War''

References

Anti-Catholicism in Northern Ireland Christian political parties in the United Kingdom Defunct political parties in Northern Ireland Political parties established in 1931 Protestant political parties Ulster unionist organisations