THOUSANDS OF members of the Imperial Grand Black Chapter of the British Commonwealth, more commonly known as the Royal Black Institution, will demonstrate today, marking the traditional end of the loyalist summer marching season.
More than 15,000 members of the institution, which dedicates itself to Protestantism, to “Christian and charitable outreach” and to what it calls “social and responsible citizenship”, will be on parade, accompanied by a wide range of bands, at six locations across Northern Ireland.
The biggest parade will be in Crossgar, where members of 107 preceptories will take part in the Lecale demonstration. It is 39 years since the parade was last held in the Co Down village.
The procession starts at midday and the speaker at the platform will be Colin Whiteside, assistant sovereign grand master.
The Co Antrim demonstration is in Lisburn and members from 82 preceptories will take part. The parade gets under way on the Belfast Road at 12.30pm and makes its way to Warren Park where a religious service will be held. The main speaker will be Raymond Adams, imperial grand chaplain.
There will be 70 preceptories on parade in Killylea, Co Armagh, where the main speaker will be sovereign grand master, Millar Farr. The procession will start at noon.
The Belfast demonstration will be held in Ballymena and starts at 11am on Balee Road West. Sixty-seven preceptories will take part and the main speaker will be William Mawhinney, grand master of the City Grand Black Chapter of Belfast.
The smallest parade of the day will be in Castlederg, Co Tyrone, where 25 preceptories will be on parade. In Co Derry the demonstration will be in Castlerock for the first time since 1993. Some 35 preceptories will be on parade.
It is expected platform speakers will appeal to members of the Orange Order to become members of the Black institution also.