Were they really criminals and vagabonds? The common view of the Irish at the time (and if they were circus folk they may even have been travelers/Pavee) was that they were all kind of that way.

In other words, I suspect a bit of 19th century xenophobia from your sources crept in.

Other than that, though, this is kind of hilarious. I also had no idea there were Orangemen in any part of Canada *shudder*. That's a breed I would love to see become extinct. And I'm neither Irish nor Catholic, juuust saying.