Annual Drumcree parade is held, then protest at Orangemen being refused permission to complete the march
Orange Order members took party in the annual Drumcree parade yesterday, after the Rossnowlagh parade in Donegal on Saturday.
The Portadown parade started at 10.15am from Carleton Street in the town towards Drumcree Church for a service – with two bands in attendance.
The Parades Commission has refused permission for the order’s return route to proceed along the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road, a ruling maintained since 1998.
Members of the Orange Order have staged an annual protest during the Drumcree parade in Portadown for more than two decades.
A statement on Portadown Orange District LOL 1 Facebook page stated that “this district remains committed to completing our 1998 parade and are open and ready for to bring this to a resolution at anytime”.
Meanwhile, the traditional Rossnowlagh Orange parade took place in Co Donegal on Saturday.
The rolling hills and magnificent coastline of the area provided the backdrop to what the Orange said “must surely be the most scenic setting for any Twelfth parade”.
The annual Rossnowlagh procession is always held just days before the demonstrations in Northern Ireland.
Upwards of 50 lodges from Donegal, Cavan, Leitrim and Monaghan, as well as visiting Orangemen from Northern Ireland and further afield, took part in the parade which began close to St John’s Parish Church at 12.30pm.
This year saw numerous international Orange visitors at Rossnowlagh as they are in Northern Ireland to attend the meeting of the Imperial Grand Lodge.
This included visiting brethren from Australia, America and Canada. The parade then made its way down a narrow country road, lined with onlookers, to the demonstration field on the edge of the shoreline.
The Orange Order said: “The annual gathering is renowned for its family-friendly atmosphere and minimal security presence.”
A religious service, only yards from the rolling breakers of the Atlantic, was held at 3pm, conducted by the Rev Brian Russell, rector of Drumholm Parish. The return parade left the demonstration field at 4.45pm.
The Order said: “Orangeism remains vibrant in the border counties with brethren regularly taking part in parades and events right across the jurisdiction of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland.”