Orangemen gather at Boyne to recall battle

Stiff collars, Savile Row suits, bowler hats and tightly rolled umbrellas were in abundance

Stiff collars, Savile Row suits, bowler hats and tightly rolled umbrellas were in abundance. You would be forgiven for thinking you had stumbled upon a gathering of diehard fans of the British television series The Avengers.

However John Steed and his trademark buttonhole were nowhere to be seen.

Instead there were suits slightly more crumpled than freshly pressed after spending two hours on board a coach that travelled under police and Garda escort to reach the Battle of the Boyne site.

This was a grand occasion for the 400 or so members of the Independent Orange Order, for whom a visit to the site was like a pilgrimage.

READ MORE

Their last visit was in 1990 and the Rev Ian Paisley gave the sermon. This time he spoke about liberty and how the truth cannot live alongside a lie.

The political points were made by the grand master of the institution, Mr George Dawson.

Mr Dawson both commended the Taoiseach for rejecting any power-sharing with Sinn Féin, yet demanded to know why unionists should have to tolerate such an arrangement in Northern Ireland.

"He [Bertie Ahern] declared that he would not allow Sinn Féin into government while the IRA existed. Why should we have to put up with anything less? Why should we be forced to accept a cobbled-together, shambolic constitutional arrangement which has at its heart the representatives of terror organisations?" he asked.

Mr Dawson also called for an investigation into what he called "the forced exodus of Protestants" from the Republic after partition.

The Battle of the Boyne site remains open to the public until the first week of September. Bowler hats are optional.