An Orange Order parade in Donegal: Rossnowlagh’s annual event in pictures

Thousands of people attended the annual Orange Order parade in Rossnowlagh, Co Donegal, last Saturday.

The parade, which takes place each year a week before the main Twelfth of July celebrations in Northern Ireland, was attended by groups from Donegal, Cavan, Leitrim and Monaghan as well as by members from across the North.

The event began close to St John’s Church, before making its way along country roads to the “demonstration field” overlooking the sea. A religious service was conducted by the Rev Brian Russell, rector of Drumholm, before a return parade left the field in the afternoon.

The event in the south Donegal coastal town was led by Donegal Orange Order county grandmaster David Mahon.

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The Protestant Orange Order each July commemorates the Battle of the Boyne, which happened in July 1690, when the last British Catholic monarch King James II was defeated by Protestant King William, sometimes referred to as William of Orange.

During the celebrations, members of the Orange Order – named after the victorious king and founded in 1795 – carry banners and flags in parades across Northern Ireland and host bonfires the night before.

The events in the North have at times in the past sparked significant social unrest and rioting.

The order, a “fraternal” organisation, has 35,000-40,000 members, including an estimated 2,000 in the Republic. There are Grand Orange Lodges in Scotland, England, the US, West Africa, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. There are Orange Order members in nine counties of the Republic with 44 Orange halls in Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan and Leitrim.