Posted on 07/12/2025 4:00:51 AM PDT by jerod
Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend parades across Northern Ireland on Saturday as the annual Twelfth of July commemorations take place.
The event memorialises the Protestant King William III's victory over the Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690.
It is the biggest day in the Orange Order's marching calendar and this year - the 335th anniversary of the battle - is currently forecast to be a very warm day.
The main parades will be held in 18 venues across all six counties, with villages, towns and cities taking their turn to host their neighbouring lodge members.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
Growing up in d’Ottawa in the 60s and 70s, there were still LOLs (Loyal Orange Lodges) in various small towns in the Ottawa Valley. These lodges often had parades on the Saturday nearest the 12th. I would guess that most lodges have shuttered their doors now.
When I moved to Valgary in 1992, few had even heard of a ‘LOL’, and there were no parades anywhere in Alberta, AFAIK.
Personally, I find it disgusting that the commemoration of this battle is used by some, perhaps many, both Protestants and Roman Catholics, to inflame hatred on both sides of the issue.
Perhaps those who want to co-exist, need to be relocated to a safe location, then the RUC, er, PSNI, should just tear down the barricades and let the extremists animals at each other. Let the ‘papists’ and the ‘heretics’ have a go at each other.
"But the old flute was banned, and its fate was pathetic
'Twas fastened and burned at the stake as heretic"
Back in the bad old days that parade would have been a prime target for an IRA battalion with their Armalites.
Oh, it is the biggest mixup
That you have ever seen
My father, he was orange and my mother she was green
I have sung that one numerous times our pub’s Tuesday evening Irish sessions. I include a verse seldom heard in performances I’ve seen…
“When I’d sing those rebel songs
Much to my mother‘s joy,
My father would jump up and say “now listen here me boy,
that’s enough of that lot”, he’d then toss me a coin
And have me play the Orange Flute, or the Heroes of the Boyne.”
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