Parades by both loyalists and republicans have passed off peacefully amid hopes that the forthcoming marching season will be as calm as last year's.The Apprentice Boys organised a number of small so-called feeder parades along contentious routes in Belfast, but there were no incidents.
The peaceful forerunner to the main loyalist marching season could prove significant as the local parties and the British and Irish governments prepare for intensive proximity talks in London later this month. Both unionist and republican representatives continue to co-ordinate efforts at community level to calm local tensions, especially at interface areas in Belfast.
In the south of the city, marchers were prevented by the PSNI from crossing Ormeau Bridge and parading along the lower Ormeau Road on their way to joining the main rally.
It was the 10th year the march had been rerouted. The marchers and one band were directed along another route and boarded a bus to take them to their main parade. Temporary barricades have been put in place at the bridge, but they were not needed and were soon dismantled.
A senior Loyal Order figure said he was disappointed at the decision by the Parades Commission not to permit the marchers through the nationalist enclave.
The commission was established in 1997 to rule on contentious marches, and dialogue between the community and the Apprentice Boys is ongoing.
In north Belfast, another feeder parade took its usual route past the republican Ardoyne area. Previous years had seen significant violence that set the tone for the marching season.
Police officers took up position yesterday between a small republican protest and marchers at a flashpoint known locally as Ardoyne Shops, but did not otherwise get involved.
Another loyalist march in Maghera, Co Derry, was also subject to restrictions but, again, the event passed off peacefully.
There were republican rallies across the North with parades in in Belfast; Armagh; Downpatrick and Newry, Co Down; and Swatragh, Co Derry.
In an effort to secure permission for its marches, the Grand Orange Lodge of Antrim has initiated an outreach programme.
It has begun a "communications strategy" aimed at informing the public in general, and local communities affected by parades, of the aims of Orange processions.
This strategy, entitled "Forward Within the Community" entails a series of meetings with local councillors and elected representatives and consultation with the police service and the local District Policing Partnerships. The Orange Order has also held an open "cultural awareness" function and a special information "open day" to which all were invited.
The invitation was extended by the County Grand Master, Mr William Leathem.
In his letter of invitation, he said the initiative is aimed at "promoting greater understanding of our culture and traditions in a relaxed atmosphere". The Orange Order still refuses to meet the Parades Commission and insists it is not involved in any negotiation or consultation with local communities.
The Orange Order hopes that the intensive effort to explain what it sees as the true rationale for its assemblies will "result in the minimum of interference from those who legitimately wish to protest and from the authorities entrusted with the protection of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly".