Londonderry Maiden City Festival 2024 and Relief of Derry parades with 12,000 people, led by Apprentice Boys of Derry
The annual Apprentice Boys parade in Londonderry this weekend will be the largest procession in the loyal order calendar - involving some 12,000 people - and has the potential to be an international tourist attraction, organisers have said.
The annual Apprentice Boys parade in Londonderry this weekend will be the largest procession in the loyal order calendar - involving some 12,000 people - and has the potential to be an international tourist attraction, organisers have said.
The annual parade is part of a full day of deeply symbolic commemorative events marking the 1689 Relief Of Derry.
Organisers say the 1689 Siege of Londonderry is a landmark event in British and Irish history that continues to shape the history of both Britain and Ireland.
The Siege Museum in the city recounts that for 105 days, up to 30,000 Protestant people held the walled city of Londonderry against an attempted invasion by the Catholic King James II, until the relief fleet broke the boom across the River Foyle on 28 July, forcing the James' forces to retreat from 1 August that year.
This Saturday's parade is in turn the climax of a week of educational and cultural celebrations, organised under the banner of the 26th annual Maiden City Festival.
Billy Moore is General Secretary of the Apprentice Boys of Derry Association, which describes itself as "a Christian, historical and cultural organisation committed to maintaining the spirit of courage and liberty displayed by the Defenders of Londonderry in 1688-1689".
Up to 150 Apprentice Boys clubs, each accompanied by their own marching band, will parade in their own neighbourhoods all around NI before converging on Londonderry.
"It is by far the largest parade in Northern Ireland, if not the largest procession in Ireland," Mr Moore told the News Letter.
Some 10,000 participants in the parade are expected to be joined by 2000 spectators.
"It is certainly the largest of the loyal order periods in Northern Ireland, and we will have people on parade with us on Saturday from throughout Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, many from England, and quite a number from Scotland.
"We will also have representatives from Canada and Australia present and we are delighted that we're initiating a new member who currently lives in Holland, so we have a fairly diverse range of individuals and members from throughout the world who will be descending for the relief celebrations."
In years past, some nationalists had organised extensive protests against the commemorations.
"Many tourists and visitors were frightened and concerned about coming, but thankfully now with a better understanding of our history and our traditions, more toleration and acceptance of our culture, this can now be a major tourist attraction that can now, and in future, attract thousands of visitors from throughout the world."
This Friday night at midnight a replica 17th century cannon will be fired from the city walls four times, to symbolize one and three, "the brave 13 that closed the gates against James II".
Then a number of Apprentice Boys will symbolically close each of the four original gates into the wall city.
Some nine hours later, events on Saturday begin at 9:30am when the Londonderry-based clubs walk the full circumference of the city walls to commemorate those that died during the siege. The parade then moves to the War Memorial, where a short religious service takes place and a wreath is laid.
The procession then moves to St Columb's Cathedral for a public service of thanksgiving. Then a pageant will take place at the city end of Craigavon Bridge, detailing the final days of the siege, starting at noon.
The main march begins at 12:30pm when clubs from across NI but also England and Scotland will walk across Craigavon Bridge to be met by the general committee of the body's governing body at the city end of the bridge.
The parade then moves to the Ferryquay Gate of the city, from where the parent clubs will lead their branches through the old walled city and back over towards the Waterside by about 4:30pm.
At 5pm the parent clubs and general committee will reform again and parade back to the Apprentice Memorial Hall where the parade should finish around 6pm.
Mr Moore is also on the organising committee of the annual Maiden City Festival.
"We have had a very successful week of festivities which started on 3 August and continues right through to the parade," he said. "This has attracted quite a number of visitors to our city again, and has certainly been very successful.
"There has been song, music, dance and drama taking place and outstanding talks and lectures in the Apprentice boys Memorial Hall. It all adds to the diverse range of activities which are part of our celebrations for The Relief of Derry. This is the 26th year of the festival, which is going from strength to strength."