TheBelfast Protestant Association was a populist evangelical political movement in the early 20th-century.
The Association was founded in the last years of the 19th century by Arthur Trew, a former shipyard worker, who had become an evangelicalProtestant preacher and made fiercelyanti-Catholic speeches on the steps ofBelfast Customs House.[1]
In 1901, Trew was sentenced to twelve months' hard labour after he incited his supporters to riot in opposition to aRoman CatholicCorpus Christi procession in the city. His supporters regarded him as a martyr, and his speeches were taken over byThomas Sloan. Sloan was a superior speaker and organiser, and interest increased rapidly. He stood as anindependent Unionist in the1902 Belfast South by-election, and was elected to theBritish House of Commons against the official unionist.[1]
In 1903, Sloan founded theIndependent Orange Order, but he joined theIrish Unionist Party and disassociated himself from his former supporters. However, the Association continued, and worked hard inBelfast North to ensure that the official unionistDaniel Dixon held his seat against a strong challenge fromLabour Representation Committee candidateWilliam Walker.[1]
Soon after the1906 general election, the Association's treasurer, a Mr Galbraith, disappeared with all the funds, and the organisation collapsed.[1]