Westminster delegation of MPs enjoys Twelfth at Maguiresbridge

Ulster-born Kate Hoey, who represents the Vauxhall constituency for Labour, was one of the five members of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee who spent the day in Maguiresbridge.

The delegation – which also included committee chairman Laurence Robertson, Nigel Mills, Stephen Hepburn and Stephen Pound – had been in Belfast but travelled to Fermanagh on Monday evening.

Fermanagh & South Tyrone MP Tom Elliott met the delegation in Maguiresbridge.

He said: “They came down and Fermanagh Orange Order gave a presentation to them and had a meeting with them. Then they came to the Twelfth celebrations.

“We also arranged a meeting with victims’ representatives at Maguiresbridge as well, but the main reason for the visit was to experience a rural Twelfth and to see how it was managed.”

Mr Elliott added: “I know some of them have been to a Belfast Twelfth in the past, but I had lobbied them earlier in the year to try to get them to Fermanagh and was successful.”

Commenting on whether the visitors were pleasantly surprised with the atmosphere, Mr Elliott said they were particularly impressed with the age range involved and the quality of the bands, and added: “It was almost overwhelmingly so for them.”