Somme sacrifice of 1916 marked with band parades and commemorations

Thousands of spectators lined the route of the largest parade which took place in east Belfast on Saturday evening – a commemoration event first held in the early 1920s.​

Many of the thousands of 36th Ulster Division soldiers who were killed or wounded at the Battle of the Somme in 1916 were Orangmen.

The division suffered 5,500 casualties on the first day of the Somme offensive on July 1, with soldiers from both sides of the community fighting side by side.

One of the largest parades outside of Belfast was held in Coleraine, attracting around 1,000 participants and 20 bands.Ahead of the parades on Saturday evening, wreath-laying ceremonies took place at many war memorials.

DUP MLA Gary Middleton tweeted: “It was an honour to attend the cenotaph in Londonderry this evening with DUP colleagues. The Battle of the Somme, 107 years on. We will remember them.”

Orange Order grand secretary Rev Mervyn Gibson described the parade in east Belfast as “a great night”.

He said: "I took part in the east Belfast parade – the longest running Somme memorial parade – and it was a great night I have to say.

"The local [Orange] district had made efforts to improve the parade, working with bands and spectators, and then last night we had a great parade, and paid our respects to those who served and sacrificed in the 36th Ulster Division. It was an appropriate memorial to those soldiers."

Rev Gibson said barriers between the Albertbridge Road and the Short Strand area were placed there at the request of republicans for “propaganda” purposes.

"The Orange has been asking for those barriers to be taken down for years, because it adds to the lie that the people of the Short Strand are hemmed in. They are not hemmed in, and there are many other ways to enter and leave the Short Strand,” he said.

Rev Gibson was commenting in response to a social media message on the Short Strand Twitter feed, including a photograph of the barrier, stating: “Welcome to 2023. 500 metre long steel wall erected to protect our area & homes prior to Orange Order parade this evening”.

He responded saying: "We haven’t wanted the barriers, but republicans want them up for propaganda purposes. We don’t believe they are necessary”.

On Saturday morning Sinn Fein Lord Mayor of Belfast Ryan Murphy laid a laurel wreath at the city’s cenotaph.He tweeted: “Today I paid my respects to those who lost their lives during the Battle of the Somme, a hugely significant event in our shared history as an island. I am committed to being a Mayor for all identities and traditions in our society, irrespective of background.

Last week, a Grand Lodge spokesperson said: “The bravery and sacrifice of the 36th Ulster Division and indeed members of the Orange Institution from Great Britain and the Empire, is writ large in the history of Orangeism and has become embedded in our DNA.”