Orange Order members and bandsmen praised after child wearing GAA top invited to hit a bass drum as Derry GAA minors are applauded for All-Ireland success

A member of the Craigavon Protestant Boys Flute Band allowed a child wearing a Gaelic top to hit his drum during a parade in Cookstown on Saturday night.

The image was published on social media and has been shared over 3,000 times as members of the public praised the band member for his gesture.

A post on the band’s Facebook post read: “You want a rattle at the big drum, not a problem son!

“Wee lads in Gaelic tops loving it in Cookstown tonight. Despite what some would have the world believe, we simply do it because we love it.

“These kids didn’t feel intimidated or different, they just wanted a rattle on the drum and Andy was only too happy to oblige.”

A day later, Derry GAA minors were applauded by Orange Order bandsmen when their bus travelled through Moneymore following their All-Ireland success.

Commenting on both incidents, Orange Order Grand Secretary Rev Mervyn Gibson believes stories like these are commonplace across the province but are just not reported.

He said: “There are a lot of good news stories that go on in local communities and villages across the province that aren't reported. It is a sign that we continue to move forward.”

Rev Gibson said the events in Moneymore reminded him of previous years attending rural Orange demonstrations where the parades would form up in a car park also being used by the local GAA players arriving for a match.

“They went in to get changed and then came out to play football, and the lodge paraded to their church. Two different cultures but they both tolerated each other,” he added.

“There are local relationships in local areas, and of course we live side by side so it's natural for there to be this overlap.

“That is not unusual in villages like that ... but people only look for the bad.”

SDLP Moyola councillor Denise Johnston said that acts like these are needed if Northern Ireland is to “move forward” in the future.

She said: “I took great heart from the reception given to the team, not just by the crowds gathered to welcome them back, but by Orange Order bandsmen in the area who were waiting to begin their parade in the village.

“This simple gesture of respect meant a lot to those who were there and it’s something we need to see more of across Northern Ireland if we are ever going to move forward.

“It also serves as an important reminder at a time when many are trying to raise tensions that the vast majority of people here want to live alongside their neighbours peacefully.”

SDLP member Rian O’Neill wrote on Twitter: “Although tensions and sectarianism often makes the headlines, it’s important to highlight the good news of coexistence happening quietly across Northern Ireland.”