Parades are a prominent cultural feature of Northern Ireland. The overwhelming majority of

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

s are held by

Ulster Protestant Ulster Protestants are an ethnoreligious group in the Irish province of Ulster, where they make up about 43.5% of the population. Most Ulster Protestants are descendants of settlers who arrived from Britain in the early 17th century Ulster Pl ...

, unionist or

Ulster loyalist Ulster loyalism is a strand of Unionism in Ireland, Ulster unionism associated with working class Ulster Protestants in Northern Ireland. Like other unionists, loyalists support the continued existence of Northern Ireland (and formerly all of I ...

groups, but some

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cult ...

, republican and non-political groups also parade. Due to longstanding controversy surrounding the contentious nature of some parades, a

quasi-judicial A quasi-judicial body is a non-judicial body which can interpret law. It is an entity such as an arbitration panel or tribunal board, which can be a public administrative agency (not part of the judicial branch of government) but also a contra ...

public body, the

Parades Commission The Parades Commission is a quasi-judicial non-departmental public body responsible for placing restrictions on any parades in Northern Ireland it deems contentious or offensive. It is composed of seven members, all of whom are appointed by the ...

, exists to place conditions and settle disputes. Although not all parading groups recognise the commission's authority, its decisions are legally binding.

Unionist parades

The majority of parades in Northern Ireland (nearly 70% in 2003/4) are organised by

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

and/or unionist groups, leading some people to view attempts to restrict parades as an attack on Protestant and/or unionist culture. Parades typically take place on Saturdays, which means that participants and spectators do not have to take time off work, and avoid parading on Sunday, which some Protestants believe should only be spent on purely religious activities. The only exceptions to this are

the Twelfth The Twelfth (also called Orangemens' Day) is a primarily Ulster Protestant celebration held on 12 July. It began in the late 18th century in Ulster. It celebrates the Glorious Revolution (1688) and victory of Protestant King William of Ora ...

of July parades, which are held on the same date each year, (unless the 12th falls on a Sunday, in which case it is postponed to Monday the 13th), and church parades, which are held on Sunday.

Orange Institution

The

Orange Institution The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants. It also has lodges in England, Grand Orange Lodge of ...

holds hundreds of parades throughout Northern Ireland every year. The biggest of these are usually on the twelfth of July ('The Twelfth'), in commemoration of the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ) took place in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and James's daughter), had acceded to the Crowns of England and Sc ...

. Individual lodges also parade at various times of the year, particularly leading up to the Twelfth. Parades in memory of the dead of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, particularly the

36th (Ulster) Division The 36th (Ulster) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of Lord Kitchener's New Army, formed in September 1914. Originally called the ''Ulster Division'', it was made up of mainly members of the Ulster Volunteers, who f ...

at the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

, are held in July and November. Junior lodges from

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

, South Tyrone and

Fermanagh Historically, Fermanagh (), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of alleged Laigin or ...

parade annually at the end of May. On the last Saturday in October,

Reformation Day Reformation Day is a Protestant Christian religious holiday celebrated on 31 October in remembrance of the onset of the Reformation. According to Philip Melanchthon, 31 October 1517 was the day Martin Luther nailed his '' Ninety-five Theses'' ...

is celebrated with the year's last major Orange parades. In Belfast, these proceed to Saint Anne's Cathedral for a church service.

Apprentice Boys

The

Apprentice Boys of Derry The Apprentice Boys of Derry is a Protestant fraternal society founded in 1814 and based in the city of Derry, Ireland (now part of Northern Ireland). In 2021 it had over 10,000 members worldwide, with membership open to Protestant men only. T ...

exist in commemoration of the

siege of Derry The siege of Derry in 1689 was the first major event in the Williamite War in Ireland. The siege was preceded by an attempt against the town by Jacobite forces on 7 December 1688 that was foiled when 13 apprentices shut the gates. Thi ...

in the seventeenth century. The Boys' biggest celebration is held in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

on the Saturday nearest 12 August each year, in commemoration of the lifting of the siege. They also parade on the Saturday nearest 18 December, in commemoration of the original apprentice boys shutting the gates of the town against

King James II James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685, until he was deposed in the 1688 Glori ...

's troops, and at Easter. Most Apprentice Boys' parades are held in the city of Derry.

Royal Black Institution

The main parade of the

Royal Black Institution The Imperial Grand Black Chapter of the British Commonwealth, or simply the Royal Black Institution,

is held on the last Saturday of August and is known as Last or Black Saturday. This was originally held on 12 August in commemoration of the end of the siege of Derry, but in the 1950s the date of the event was moved. Local parades are held in Belfast in the two weeks beforehand. Its other major event is the "sham fight" at

Scarva Scarva ( meaning "shallow place, rough ford") is a small village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is at the boundary with County Armagh, which is marked by the Newry Canal. In the 2001 census it had a population of 320. Scarva ...

on 13 July, in which an actor playing William of Orange ritually defeats an actor playing James II, thus re-enacting the victory of the

Williamite A Williamite was a follower of King William III of England (r. 1689–1702) who deposed King James II and VII in the Glorious Revolution. William, the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, replaced James with the support of English Whigs. On ...

forces at the Battle of the Boyne. There is also a 12 August

Battle of Newtownbutler The Battle of Newtownbutler took place near Enniskillen in County Fermanagh, Ireland, in 1689 and was part of the Williamite War in Ireland between the forces of William III and Mary II and those of King James II. War in Western Ulste ...

celebration parade held in Fermanagh. It was previously held on the same date as the "Remembering the Siege of Derry", but has now been moved to the Saturday before in an attempt to attract larger crowds and more participants.

Bands

As well as accompanying the above organisations on their parades, many

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who play while marching. Historically they were used in armed forces and many marching bands remain military bands. Others are still associated with military units or emulate a military sty ...

s also hold their own parades, often as a fund-raising activity. These are often combined with band competitions—which other bands in the United Kingdom are invited to compete in—sometimes amounting to over 100 bands for a single parade. Band parades are more regular than loyal order parades, with numerous parades every weekend from early April until the end of September.

Nationalist parades

Parades are much less common among nationalist or republican communities. According to the Parades Commission, less than 5% of parades in Northern Ireland are nationalist/republican.

Ancient Order of Hibernians

Compared to most Protestant organisations the

Ancient Order of Hibernians The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH; ) is an Irish Catholic fraternal organization. Members must be male, Catholic, and either born in Ireland or of Irish descent. Its largest membership is in the United States, where it was founded in New Yo ...

parade relatively infrequently, their main parades being on

Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chris ...

, at Easter, and on

Lady Day In the Western liturgical year, Lady Day is the common name in some English-speaking and Scandinavian countries of the Feast of the Annunciation, celebrated on 25 March to commemorate the annunciation of the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mar ...

. At various points during the Troubles, Hibernians offered to cease parading if Protestant groups did the same.

Irish National Foresters

The

Irish National Foresters The Irish National Foresters' Benefit Society (''Coillteoirí Náisiúnta na hÉireann'' in Irish) is an Irish friendly society. The INF began in 1877 as a breakaway from the Ancient Order of Foresters after political disagreements. The INF g ...

are a nationalist fraternal organisation. Although they are open to Irish people of any religion, the majority of their members are Catholics. Their main parading date is the Sunday closest to 1 August.

Republican parades

Northern Ireland's biggest annual republican parade takes place in August, during

Féile an Phobail Féile an Phobail (''The Community's Festival''), also known as the West Belfast Festival is a community arts organisation known for its ''August Féile'' (Festival). The organisation is prominent for its promotion of Irish and international cu ...

. This began as a protest against

internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

without trial and evolved into a festival that celebrates

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

and republican culture. Republican parades are also held in January to commemorate

Bloody Sunday Bloody Sunday may refer to: Historical events Canada * Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia * Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence agai ...

, and at Easter to commemorate the 1916

Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...

. There is a Republican March every year to commemorate the anniversary of the

1981 Hunger Strike The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during the Troubles by Irish republicanism, Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976 when the British government wit ...

. The parade is attended by Republican figures such as

Gerry Adams Gerard Adams (; born 6 October 1948) is a retired Irish Republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020. From 1983 to 19 ...

. Republican parades are attended by Irish Republican bands that come from Scotland, England and Ireland, especially the march in August to commemorate the anniversary of the 1981 Hunger Strike.

Civil rights marches

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, groups of civil activists such as the

Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA; ) was an organisation that campaigned for civil rights for Irish Catholics in Northern Ireland during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Formed in Belfast on 9 April 1967,People's Democracy attempted to use the protest march tactics of contemporary protest movements elsewhere in the world to draw attention to political, social and economic discrimination against Catholics in Northern Ireland. The civil rights marches and the reaction to them were a major contributing factor to the outbreak of

The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

, due largely to heavy-handed policing.

Easter

Easter is a major parading time for both communities, and is often considered to be the start of the year's "marching season". A number of republican groups also commemorate the Easter Rising. According to Neil Jarman, Protestants began parading at Easter in the 1930s to counter republican parading, but "few people are aware of this, and Easter parades are now an accepted part of the loyalist tradition".

Non-sectarian parades

A number of parades are held in Northern Ireland, especially in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, which are not associated with any particular religious tradition. They are subject to the same laws and regulations as other parades.

Lord Mayor's parade

Several cities in Northern Ireland hold

Lord Mayor Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...

's parades marking the end of the mayor's term in office. These are usually

carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

-type events that evolved from the more stately affairs held in many cities in the United Kingdom since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. The Belfast parade takes place in May; the 2007 theme was "Love and Friendship".

Salvation Army

As in other countries,

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

in Northern Ireland sometimes parades with

brass bands A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting primarily of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands (particularl ...

. Salvation Army parades are generally not seen as controversial or sectarian, and their parades have not led to any problems.

Belfast Pride

An LGBT+ Pride parade has been held in Belfast each year since the early 1990s. As Northern Ireland has high levels of Evangelical Protestant denominations and traditional Romam Catholics,it is often controversial. In 2005 a number of Christian groups called for it to be banned, but the Parades Commission ruled that it could go ahead. It is sometimes described as one of the few genuine cross-community events in Northern Ireland.

Remembrance Sunday parades

War memorial parades are mainly attended by the unionist population of Northern Ireland, but recently nationalists have started to get involved. Some war memorial parades are run by Protestant organisations such as the Orange Order. However those on

Remembrance Sunday Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in Nov ...

(the Sunday closest to 11 November) are organised by local councils or the

British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British Charitable organization, charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants. ...

and commemorate war dead of all religious backgrounds. Remembrance Sunday parades usually consist of a march by veterans or local military units or both to a Remembrance Sunday ceremony, usually held at a war memorial, and often another march to a church service.

St. Patrick's Day parades

There are many parades on St. Patrick's Day throughout Northern Ireland. Although the parade celebrates the Patron Saint's stature as the Patron Saint of Ireland, it has been recognised that St. Patrick is the patron saint of the island of Ireland, and the patron saint of both Nationalists and Unionists throughout Ireland. In recent years, loyal orders such as the Orange Order and the Apprentice Boys of Derry have held parades to mark St. Patrick's day.Ian Paisley's Church recognize Saint Patrick
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Youth organisations

Some youth organisations, such as the

Boys' Brigade The Boys' Brigade (BB) is an international interdenominational Christianity, Christian youth organisation, conceived by the Scottish businessman William Alexander Smith (Boys' Brigade), Sir William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun acti ...

, take part in or organise parades and

drills A drill is a tool used for making round holes or driving fasteners. It is fitted with a drill bit for making holes, or a screwdriver bit for securing fasteners. Historically, they were powered by hand, and later mains power, but cordless bat ...

throughout the calendar.

Controversy

Parading is a controversial issue in Northern Ireland. In general, debates centre on the route of particular parades; people from one community often object to parades by "the other side" passing through or near "their" area, exclusively the Orange Order parades marching through mainly nationalist or republican areas. A few parades are seen as objectionable regardless of route. These involve or commemorate paramilitary groups, such as the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

and

Ulster Defence Association The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and undertook an armed campaign of almost 24 years as one of t ...

, and otherwise non-controversial parades have sometimes caused conflict because of a band or lodge carrying a banner or flag associated with a paramilitary group. Gay pride parades have also been controversial.

Attempts to control parading

Since the nineteenth century the British government and various local authorities have attempted to control parades and the disorder that sometimes accompanies them. The Orange Order and its parades were banned for a period in the nineteenth century. In an address to the British House of Commons, in July 1815, Henry Parnell called for an inquiry into the Orange Lodges in Ireland and noted that 14 petitions requesting such an inquiry saying: :to the existence of Orange Lodges in Ireland, was mainly attributed the disturbances of public peace, particularly by the celebrations of processions with certain insignia etc.... nd thatbesides the agitation which these necessarily produced they beget a counter spirit among the people, that led to animosities, which, in their consequences, produced riots. A Parliamentary Select Committee was set up to investigate the Orange Societies in 1835. When the Select Committee published its report a Cabinet council was held at the Foreign Office for the purpose of agreeing the terms of the resolutions which were to be submitted to the House of Commons by Lord John Russell, Secretary of State for the Home Department, on 23 Feb 1836. This resolution stated: :That it is the opinion of this house that the existence of any political society in Ireland, consisting exclusively of persons preferring one religious faith, using secret signs and symbols, and acting by means of affiliated branches, tend to injure the peace of society – to derogate from the authority of the Crown, to weaken the supremacy of the law, and to impair the religious freedom of his majesty's subjects in that part of the United Kingdom. That an humble address be presented to his majesty, laying before him the foregoing resolution, and praying that his majesty will take such steps for the discouragement of all such societies as may seem to his majesty most desirable. The Secretary of State read the following response from the King to the House of Commons on Thursday 25 Feb 1836: :William Rex – I willing assert to the prayer of my faithful Commons, that I will be pleased to take such measures as shall seem advisable for the effectual discouragement of Orange Lodges, and generally of all political societies excluding persons of a different religious persuasion using signs and symbols, and acting by means of associated lodges. It is my firm intention to discourage all such societies, and I rely with confidence upon the fidelity of my loyal subjects to support me in my determination. The following day Lord Russell read the response of the Grand Master of the Orange Order, the Duke of Cumberland, brother of King William iv to the House of Commons on 26 February. It said: :I have received your Lordships letter, with the copy of the resolutions of the House of Commons on the Subject of Orange Lodges, together with his majesties gracious answer there to. Before I received your lordships communication, I had already taken steps, with several influential members, to recommend their immediate dissolution. In conformity with the wish expressed by his majesty, I shall take all legal steps to dissolve Orange Lodges. The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland met in Dublin on 13 April 1836 and voted in favour of dissolving the organisation. However, Orangemen in Portadown met in secret and resolved to set up a provisional Grand Lodge in the town. The British government's policy of banning sectarian parades was eventually overturned after a campaign of defiance led by

William Johnston of Ballykilbeg William Johnston (22 February 1829 – 17 July 1902) was an Irish Orangeman, unionist and Member of Parliament for Belfast, distinguished by his independent working-class following and commitment to reform. He first entered the United King ...

. The

1st Government of Northern Ireland The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which existed from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended. It was subsequently abolished under the Northern Ireland Co ...

passed the

Civil Authorities (Special Powers) Act (Northern Ireland) 1922 The Civil Authorities (Special Powers) Act (Northern Ireland) 1922 (12 & 13 Geo. 5. c. 5 (N.I.)), often referred to simply as the Special Powers Act and known as the "Flogging Act", was an act passed by the Parliament of Northern Ireland during ...

, which allowed the Home Affairs Minister to do virtually anything he thought necessary to preserve law and order. Over the next thirty years this was used many times to ban or re-route nationalist, republican and some left-wing parades, marches and meetings. In 1951, the government passed the

Public Order Act Public Order Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Malaysia, Rhodesia, Sierra Leone, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, relating to public order offences. List Hong Kong *The Pu ...

, which required parade organisers to give the police forty-eight hours notice of their intent to parade. The local head of police could then ban or re-route the parade if he felt it might lead to a breach of public order. The only exceptions to this rule were funerals and parades normally held along a particular route. Since Orange parades had been allowed along the same routes without interference for years, this essentially meant that most Orange parades were exempt from having to give notice. The new Act was used disproportionately against nationalist parades, although from time to time Ministers attempted to stop unionist groups from parading through predominantly nationalist areas. This always met with fierce hostility from the Orange Order and often from within the

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it l ...

that made up the government. Several Home Affairs Ministers were forced to make public apologies after interfering with unionist parades and two (

Brian Maginess William Brian Maginess, QC (10 July 1901 – 16 April 1967), was a member of the Government of Northern Ireland, who was widely seen as a possible successor to The 1st Viscount Brookeborough as Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. Life He was ...

and W.W.B. Topping) were moved from the position after banning unionist band parades. From the late 1960s, parading and marching became a much more fraught issue. The Public Order Act was used against numerous marches, and the issue of parading and of who was allowed to march in what area became even more heated. In 1969 an Apprentice Boys parade in

led to what is now known as the

Battle of the Bogside The Battle of the Bogside was a large three-day riot that took place from 12 to 14 August 1969 in Derry, Northern Ireland. Thousands of Catholic/Irish nationalist residents of the Bogside district, organised under the Derry Citizens' Defence ...

, considered by many to mark the start of

the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

. Several months-long bans on parading were made in the early 1970s, although none of these covered the main Protestant parading period. The Special Powers and Public Order Acts were modified on several occasions in the 1970s and 1980s. Several areas have been the focus of a disproportionate amount of conflict over parading. These include Derry,

Ormeau Road Ormeau Road is a road in south Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. Ormeau Park is adjacent to it. It forms part of the A24. History The road, as currently laid out, dates from the first decades of the 19th century when a bridge was buil ...

in Belfast, and especially the Drumcree area of

Portadown Portadown ( ) is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is based on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population ...

. The

Drumcree conflict The Drumcree conflict or Drumcree standoff is a dispute over yearly Parades in Northern Ireland, parades in the town of Portadown, Northern Ireland. The town is mainly Ulster Protestants, Protestant and hosts numerous Protestant marches each s ...

flared up in the 1970s, the mid-1980s and the mid to late 1990s. Disputes over whether the Orange Order should be allowed to parade through mainly nationalist areas were often accompanied by severe violence. In 1983-4 a group of republican activists in the town researched the history of sectarian violence in the area as part of a campaign to have the Drumcree and other Orange marches banned from nationalist parts of Portadown. Their findings were distributed to visiting journalists in 1997 and presented in abridged form to the

that was set up by the British Government in 1998 in an attempt to deal with contentious parades. The Parades Commission has the power to ban, restrict, re-route or impose conditions on any parade in Northern Ireland. The Orange Order has refused to acknowledge the commission's authority, although the lodges involved in the Drumcree dispute have recently agreed on principle to negotiate.

Dates of major parades

Number of parades

According to the Parades Commission, a total of 3405 parades (not counting funerals) were held in Northern Ireland in 2007. The following table groups these parades by type and sponsoring organisation. The

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ; Ulster-Scots: '), is the police service responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it ...

uses different statistics, and recorded a total of 2863 parades in 2007. Of these, 2270 were loyalist, 144 nationalist, and 449 neither. Four of these were illegal and of these three were nationalist. 45 parades were re-routed, of which all but two (one nationalist, one other) were loyalist, and 78 parades had other conditions imposed, of which 70 were loyalist, 7 nationalist and one neither. Disorder occurred at just ten parades, of which nine were loyalist and one nationalist. This is a significant decline from previous years; in 2005 disorder was recorded at 34 parades.

Sources

*Neil Jarman, extract from ''Material Conflicts: Parades and Visual Displays in Northern Ireland'' (1997) *Key dates in the parading calendar at CAIN Web Service *Irish Emergency Parades Committee (IPEC) and Brehan Law Society, International Observer and Breannual report on marching season from 2001 to 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parades in Northern Ireland Culture of Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

The Troubles (Northern Ireland)