First Twelfth parade in Dundonald in 58 years brings tens of thousands to streets

Located just a few minutes drive east of the heart of Belfast, some were quietly concerned that crowds would head down to major events in the big smoke – but local pride won out, and the biggest day in the Orange calendar proved to be a roaring success in the town.

Lodges and bands from Bangor, Holywood, Newtownards, Donaghadee plus smaller towns and villages in rural parts of the North Down and Ards areas joined Dundonald’s own brethren to delight packed crowds of onlookers.

Since the town hadn’t hosted a parade since 1967, most of the marchers hadn’t walked its streets in their lifetimes – but afterwards, hoped it wouldn’t be another 58 years before they can do so again.

Setting off around 12.30pm, the midday sun beat down in temperatures of up to 27°C during the hottest Twelfth in 12 years.

The Met Office had urged caution due to the extreme heat, one official telling the News Letter their usual advice would be to stay out of the sun while it was at its peak – between noon and 3pm, the exact time of the parade in Dundonald.

The route set off down the town’s main dual carriageway link to Belfast, which offered little in the way of shade; while it subsequently moved along leafier residential streets, it returned to the carriageway for its final leg.

As the first bands didn’t get to the field until after 2pm, it meant marchers had a tough time in the baking heat under bright blue cloudless skies. Fortunately, the parade regularly paused to offer a couple of minutes’ rest, during which marshals were on hand distributing bottles of water to thirsty brethren and bands.

Musically, the skills of pipe bands seemed to go down especially well – they’re something of a rarity in that part of Co Down – while some of the old favourites such as ‘It’s A Long Way To Tipperary’ and, of course, ‘The Sash’ had large numbers of people enthusiastically singing along.

Among the crowd, competition was high for the few shady spots along the main stretch of the route. Some brought umbrellas to shelter under while others sported hats to protect themselves from the sun; a few men stripped their shirts off, though several of the crowd visibly suffered in the heat.

Most seriously, two supporters were overcome and had to be tended by medics; it’s understood at least one of them, a pensioner, was taken to the nearby Ulster Hospital for observation.

And supermarkets close to the parade route seemed to be doing a roaring trade from parched members of the crowd.

One supporter told the News Letter: “It always seems to be one thing or the other, doesn’t it? It’s either pouring or the sun’s beating down like this. But I’m here with my friends and we’re keeping an eye on each other.”

Over in the field, better known as Dundonald High School’s playing grounds, a funfair atmosphere held sway, with families giving a rapturous welcome to the tired but proud bands and brethren.

Among those finishing the route was North Down MLA Stephen Dunne, who was a standard bearer for his lodge.

“Carrying the standard, it’s a job that people often don’t want to have,” he smiled, “and in this heat it was quite the challenge – though the bands had it a lot worse, keeping heavy instruments with them. But we’ve had a great day, with tens of thousands of people lining the streets enjoying the sunshine and the best of Orange heritage.”

North Down MP Alex Easton is also a dedicated Orangeman who took part in the march. He had an advantage over many of his brethren, though; for the past few months, he’s been training to scale Mount Kilimanjaro.

“Luckily I’m quite fit right now, this heat is something,” he told the News Letter. “This is the first time in my lifetime the parade has been in Dundonald; it’s always exciting to find a route in a new place, and the people of the area certainly came out to support us, which is great to see.”