Unionist politicians and Orange Order members in Northern Ireland have reacted with disappointment and dismay at the decision by the Dublin and Wick low District Lodges to postpone the May 28th parade through Dublin city centre.
Ulster Unionist MP and Orange Order member Mr Jeffrey Donaldson described the decision as a "very sad development. Clearly, republicans have been using intimidation and their usual bully-boy tactics to put pressure on local people to prevent this march from going ahead.
"This is a challenge to society in Dublin to establish whether they have moved on sufficiently to resist these bully-boy tactics and allow the expression of other cultures and traditions." The DUP's justice spokesman, Mr Ian Paisley jnr, said he was "not at all surprised". "The level of intimidation towards the Orange Order has been obvious ever since the parade was announced. Despite the pretensions of pluralism, it is clear that Orangemen are not welcome in the South."
Mr Paisley said he believed that the march would be cancelled rather than just postponed. The more notice opponents of the event had, the more protests would be staged, he added.
The latest development was a particular blow after the "courageous and open-minded" stance taken by the Lord Mayor of Dublin and served only to prove hardliners opposed to any kind of pluralism right, according to a senior member of the Grand Lodge of Ireland, Mr David McNarry.
"I took so much comfort from the great words of the Mayor of Dublin - they were like a breath of fresh air to me and to many up here. It is so sad that all this talk about human rights should be set aside now because of a small minority," he said. "Sadly, this is a reflection on Dublin city if people cannot be guaranteed the safety to walk in a European, cosmopolitan city."
Mr McNarry said he had been looking forward to travelling to Dublin with his family to enjoy a day out and show his support for the Dublin and Wicklow lodges, as had thousands of Orangemen from the North. "It was clear that Sinn Fein would not like the message emanating from the event: `look, we can walk the streets of Dublin but we can't go down Garvaghy Road'. We knew that would galvanise their protests.
"I only hope that there will not now be a purge on Orangemen in the South where they are particularly vulnerable," he added.
A spokesman for Portadown District Lodge, Mr David Jones, described the postponement as "very regrettable". The Republic's society was supposed to have become pluralistic but this pluralism obviously did not extend to the Orange Order, he told The Irish Times. "From what I gather the march has only been postponed and will take place at a later date. I hope very much that this will be the case."