Orange Order welcomes PSNI praise after successful Twelfth

The order cancelled all its traditional mass demonstrations and urged supporters to stay at home, applaud any bands which might pass their front door and to listen to its new venture, Radio Boyne, instead.

With the Twelfth falling on a Sunday this year, the main festivities were held on Monday instead.

Speaking on Monday evening ACC Todd welcomed the fact that the Twelfth celebrations passed “without major incident”.

Senior Sinn Fein figures had been accused of blatantly breaching pandemic restrictions in the run-up to the Twelfth by attending the funeral of senior republican Bobby Storey, and there were fears some unionists might blatantly breach restrictions in response.

However in the event, with only a handful of exceptions, the vast majority of band parades reportedly took place within the restrictions – only 30 socially distanced people to a parade and, as per Orange requests, no members of the public following them.

ACC Todd said: “I am pleased that today has passed without major incident. I would like to thank and acknowledge the hard work of the organisers of many of today’s events and those within local communities who contributed to this largely successful day.

“I would also like to thank my officers and staff who have worked tirelessly and will continue to do so throughout the night to keep our communities safe.

“I would ask everyone, particularly those with influence, to continue to work with us to ensure that the rest of this holiday period can be enjoyed in peace and safety.”

Roger Gardiner, Orange grand secretary for Co Armagh, welcomed the PSNI acknowledgement of the efforts made to keep within the guidelines.

“We did not expect anything different,” he said. “The only real events held by the Orange on Monday were really just a few members laying wreaths at war memorials across the Province. In Co Armagh we held a small outdoor event with less than 30 members who were all socially distanced.”

The Co Armagh event took place at the Museum of Orange Heritage, Sloan’s House, Loughgall, on Monday afternoon.

TUV leader Jim Allister also praised the handling of the Twelfth.

“Many eyes were on the unionist community on Monday, ready to grasp any real or perceived breach of the regulations,” he said.

“The reality is that they were left scrabbling around desperate to find something to complain about as the vast, vast majority heeded the Orange advice to have a Twelfth at home and celebrate responsibly.

“The institution has provided tremendous leadership on this and I am delighted that the unionist community has responded so well.

“Cancelling what is unquestionably one of the largest cultural events in Europe and foregoing generations of tradition was a big sacrifice which deserves much wider recognition than it has received to date and stands in stark contrast to the actions of others in recent days.

“While Stormont can no longer even give press conferences about the pandemic because the joint head of government blatantly broke her own guidance to honour a terrorist, there is no need for any Orange leaders to go into hiding. Orangeism rose to the challenge in 2020.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Alistair Bushe

Editor