IT WAS as far removed from the tone of Drumcree as any Orange Order parade in Ireland's marching season could be. Co Donegal's Grand Orange Lodge "demonstration" at Rossnowlagh - the only July 12th celebration held in the Republic and known for its peaceful and festive character - attracted an estimated 15,000 people.
Twenty lodges from Co Donegal attended the parade, as did their visiting brethren from counties Leitrim, Cavan and Monaghan, along with lodges from all over the North.
There was also an international Orange Order dimension, with members from Scotland, England, New Zealand and Australia present.
While a large Garda presence was evident, with members of the force drafted in from Sligo and Letterkenny, Supt Michael Duffy of Ballyshannon, who oversaw police operations, said the Garda was there solely "for traffic control measures".
The Donegal Grand Order Lodge, which co-ordinated the event, headed the parade, walking six abreast. They were escorted by a Garda squad car and flanked by gardai.
All along the winding one-mile route from the "assembly field" to the centre of the village spectators settled down to view the march, some waving Union flags, others eating ice creams or sipping cold drinks. Sandwich-board men evangelised and Orange mementos were on sale.
The event was "a family day out", and the biggest concern of many visitors seemed to be the weather. The only disruption came in the shape of a high-spirited individual in a tartan cap and red wig who floated before the sitting crowds as the Rev William Porter conducted a religious service. The exuberant young man was soon discreetly ushered away by a Donegal lodge steward.
Following the parade, the guest speaker, Mr Robert Saulters, the Orange Order's Grand Master, complimented the Donegal order on its "high standard of organisation", before thanking local people and the Garda for their co- operation.
He welcomed the "wisdom and insight" the Republic of Ireland's Orange Order had to offer; describing their "difference" of perspective as enlightening.
A speaker from Co Derry said: "No one could level the charge that the Orangemen in the South were trying to subvert the State", adding that they should be applauded for "making a contribution to the state far beyond their size".
Other platform speakers included the Imperial Grand Master, Mr Charles Farrell from New Zealand, and the grand masters for those counties represented at the march.
Meanwhile, the Very Rev John Patterson, Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, said yesterday that events in Portadown would settle the future of the island "for better or worse".
He told the 11 a.m. service that "only when opposing groups are prepared to listen to their neighbour, however uncharming the neighbour may seem, can we hope for a new society".
He said that the "civil power inevitably will be the real loser if the situation again ends in strife".