- Northern Ireland is in its third month without a functioning government following May elections.
- The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland estimates half a million people will take part in events.
- About 2,500 police officers will be on duty for Independence Day celebrations in Northern Ireland.
“Orange Order” members began to parade through Belfast under tight security on Tuesday marking the 1690 victory of Protestant King William III over his Catholic rival.
Almost immediately crowds of spectators clutching union flags gave way to a heavy police presence — armoured white cars and officers in dark green uniforms — as the pro-UK marchers passed a nationalist, pro-Ireland neighbourhood, a reminder of the sectarian divisions which come to the fore as during unionists celebrate “The Twelfth”.
The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland estimates half a million people will take part in events at 18 locations across Northern Ireland to celebrate the culmination of the “marching season”.
Long a flashpoint for sectarian tensions, the July 12 marches and lighting of massive bonfires commemorate William of Orange’s rout of the deposed Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, and comes as the restive province wrestles with political crisis.
Northern Ireland is in its third month without a functioning government following May elections.
[embedpost slug=”northern-ireland-londonderry-is-rediscovered-by-drought/”]
