Belfast’s Twelfth celebration a quieter and subdued affair

The parade began at Carlisle Circus in north Belfast close to the city centre at 10am, with the Pride of Ardoyne band, led by youngsters wearing T-shirts declaring they would "play loud" and march "proud".

But the Pride of Ardoyne, the Millar Memorial band, the Britannia Flute band and the others in the vanguard of one of Northern Ireland's usually biggest and noisiest Orange Order parades played quietly and solemnly.

That was because the start of the parade passed by St Patrick’s Catholic Church on Donegall Street, the scene of unseemly Twelfth of July incidents in years past.

The North's Parades Commission had ruled that for a couple of hundred metres near the church the bands should march to a single respectful drum beat, and to the credit of all involved that is precisely what they did.

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When they had passed the restricted zone they opened up with dash and swagger, particularly the loud-beating animated drummers, but at St Patrick’s they observed the commission’s ruling.

Perhaps no one should expect plaudits for obeying the law but this is also the year of the "hated Northern Ireland protocol", of reported great loyalist unrest, of contentious bonfires.

Equally, it is also the year of Sinn Féin and the SDLP taking a failed legal action to take down a bonfire in the loyalist Tiger’s Bay in north Belfast, and of rumours of the Ulster Defence Association bringing guns in to ensure it stayed up.

If the Twelfth was going to kick off badly St Patrick’s Church was a likely location for it to happen. But no, the Parades Commission ruling was obeyed to the letter and the spirit. That set the tone for the day.

Giant bonfire

Indeed, the previous Eleventh Night also offered positive portents. There was no trouble at the Tiger's Bay bonfire, nor at the giant bonfire in Larne in Co Antrim.

The fire service said it was “exceptionally busy” dealing with loyalist bonfires over Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. A 17-year-old male suffered severe burns at a bonfire in north Belfast. He was reported to be in a critical condition after being engulfed in flames at a bonfire at Ballysillan.

On Monday evening, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said the parades which took place across the North passed off “without incident”.

DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson – who marched with the Ballinran Orange lodge in Kilkeel, Co Down – condemned burning of the Republic’s Tricolour on some bonfires. He said he also had seen British union flags burned at nationalist bonfires marking the introduction of internment in 1971.

“I don’t want to see election posters or flags burned on bonfires, I think we can celebrate our culture and our tradition in a respectful way,” he told the BBC.

“Respect is a two-way street. If you want to gain respect for your traditions and culture you’ve got to show respect for the traditions, culture and symbols of other communities.”

Single point

The Twelfth in Belfast, where tensions can be most pronounced, was a much-reduced demonstration, which also helped create the conditions for a more tranquil celebration.

The beginning of the Belfast parade which first processed into Royal Avenue in Belfast city centre took less than 10 minutes to complete. Normally the parade takes hours to pass a single point. Many in the crowd who lined the avenue looked as if they felt short-changed by the slimmed-down nature of the parade. How could it be over in 10 minutes?

Later, more bands joined the parade from Bangor, Sandy Row and the Shankill on its four-mile route to the grand parkland of Barnett's Demesne in south Belfast.

Those additional numbers – plus some careful social distancing by marching Orangemen and bands’ members – created a more impressive 45-minute parade. But still a far cry from the pre-Covid years.