No surrender? the legacy of the Ulster Solemn League and Covenant

This article examines the legacy of covenanting language and imagery in Northern Ireland. Although the media has spent the last 40 years portraying Ian Paisley as the political heir of Sir Edward Carson, the leader of the Free Presbyterian Church is much more of a seventeenth century Protestant extremist than a modern political figure. As such, Dr Paisley has consistently turned to the 1638 Scottish Covenant as the only true document that informs Ulster Protestantism. Despite the fanfare surrounding its appearance in 1912, the Ulster Covenant is a forgotten relic of the Unionist past compared to the enduring legacy of the Great War. © 2013 Board of Transatlantic Studies.