Up to 14,000 people gathered for the annual Orange demonstration in the seaside village of Rossnowlagh, Co Donegal, on Saturday, where the Co Armagh Grand Master, Mr Denis Watson, made a strong attack on the Parades Commission.
Mr Watson, an anti-agreement member of the Northern Assembly, was the guest speaker at the demonstration, which passed off peacefully despite three hoax bomb alerts phoned to a Belfast radio station. While the fire brigade did arrive at one stage, the hoax alerts did not disrupt the parade.
There was a low-key Garda presence as members of up to 50 Orange lodges with 15 bands took part. The assembly area was lined with chip-vans and stalls selling Orange paraphernalia, cheap toys and sweets.
There was a relaxed, "family day-out" atmosphere, with most of those marching and watching coming from rural areas of Northern Ireland. Several women's lodges from Belfast took part, including the Sandy Row and Shankill Road districts, as did lodges from Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan. While a handful of people waved Ulster flags, the only Union Flags on display were on toys and T-shirts on sale at the stalls.
It was noted by many, including Mr Watson, that it was ironic that an Orange demonstration could now be held with less trouble in the Republic than in the North.
"It is a great pleasure to be in Donegal. It is great to see the freedom that you have to wear your regalia and proudly carry your colours free from hindrance," Mr Watson said. To cheers, he said he was "nearly feeling homesick" when he arrived and could see no grey Land Rovers.
He said that while they could have "a very pleasant afternoon" in Rossnowlagh, this was not the case in some areas of Northern Ireland "because of elements in the community, aided and encouraged by unelected quangos designed to be anti-Orange and unashamedly sectarian in their decisions".
There was applause and cheers when Mr Watson announced from the platform that the Parades Commission had reversed its decision barring the main Twelfth parade in Belfast from going to Ormeau Park. In calling for the Parades Commission to be scrapped, Mr Watson seemed to forget momentarily which jurisdiction he was in.
"It is time the Parades Commission sat down and considered their future, and decided to pack their bags and clear off, and let this country - or Northern Ireland - get back to normality in some shape or form," Mr Watson said.
The proprietor of the Sand House Hotel, Rossnowlagh, Mr Brian Britton, said the hoax bomb alerts were regrettable, as the parade had always been accepted by the local people. "This is a multi-denominational community and the parade has always been trouble-free," he said.
On the long, curved strand, bowler-hatted Orangemen and kilted bandsmen looked slightly out of place as they walked by the water's edge. The main excitement of the day happened when a number of cars left parked on the beach were nearly stranded as the tide came in.
Despite good weather, there appeared to be very few people in the village other than those who had come for the Orange demonstration.
Alongside a stall selling goldfish, and another where soft toys could be won, a DUP stall was manned by leading party member Mr Gregory Campbell. Pictures of the Rev Ian Paisley and Princess Diana were displayed alongside unionist pamphlets and tapes of loyalist songs. In relaxed mood, Mr Campbell said he believed that members of residents' groups opposed to Orange parades in the North should have visited Rossnowlagh.
"They could see how a village in the Republic can co-ordinate the activities of a lot of Orangemen. They complain about a huge security presence, but I have seen no more than 15 guards here today. Every year, there is never any difficulty here at all," Mr Campbell said.