Bessbrook, Co Armagh: The normally sedate village of Bessbrook was transformed into a kaleidoscope of colour yesterday as over 5,000 Orangemen took part in the Co Armagh Twelfth celebrations.
Undeterred by the early morning rain, hundreds of spectators, anxious to get a good spot to view the Orangemen and bands, began lining the three-mile long parade route as it wound its way to the assembly field on the Mountnorris Road.
The Armagh demonstration is always the biggest Orange Order parade outside Belfast and soon the rolling countryside was echoing with the sounds of accordions, flutes and bagpipes.
The main speaker was the Orange Order's immediate Past Master, the Rev Martin Smyth. During his address the south Belfast MP criticised the North's Parades Commission. Referring to the decision to ban Orange supporters and bands from the Ardoyne on the return leg of the Belfast parade, he said it was time the commission began to deal realistically with issues.
The division between the Portadown District and the leadership of the Orange Order in Armagh over contacts with the Parades Commission was clearly visible. Although Portadown District Master, David Burrows, was part of the platform proceedings, there was no visible contact between him and other lodge officers. Mr Burrows was part of a delegation of Portadown Orangemen that met the Parades Commission.