4000 people and 36 bands expected in Derry city for Orange Order’s flagship ‘Twelfth’

The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland confirmed Derry city will host the main county procession to mark the 334th anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne on July 12. The flagship ‘Twelfth’ in Tyrone, meanwhile, will take place in Newtownstewart. The City of Londonderry Grand Orange Lodge will welcome eight Districts made up of 57 Private Lodges, accompanied by 36 bands. It will host its own five District Lodges – City of Londonderry No. 1 District, Cumber Claudy No. 2 District, Raphoe No. 3 District, City of Londonderry No. 4 District and the City of Londonderry No 5 District – in addition to three visiting Districts from County Londonderry Grand Orange Lodge, namely Coleraine No. 2 District, Limavady No. 6 District and Macosqin No. 8 District. As such with no Assembly Field there are various assembly points for the District Lodges, as follows: City of Londonderry Grand Orange Lodge Officers and visitors will move off from Glendermott Road (close to the entrance to Bonds Street). Limavady District LOL No. 6 will move off from the Glendermott Road, City Bound side. Coleraine District LOL No. 2 will move off from the Glendermott Road, Country Bound side. Macosquin District LOL No. 8 will move off from Carlin Terrace, facing Clooney Terrace. The City of Londonderry No. 5 District, followed by Cumber Claudy No. 2 District will move off from Bonds Street. Raphoe No 3 District will move off from Artillery Street. The City of Londonderry No. 4 District and the City of Londonderry No. 1 District will move off from Pump Street. The parade will be led by the City of Londonderry Grand Orange Lodge, visiting Grand and County Grand Lodge Officers, immediately behind the City of Londonderry Grand Orange Lodge will be Limavady District LOL No. 6, with the first band with Limavady District LOL No. 6 expected to be the Trench Memorial Flute Band The Route to the field will be Glendermott Road, Clooney Terrace, Spencer Road, Craigavon Bridge, Carlisle Road, Ferryquay Street, The Diamond (Anti-Clockwise), Bishop Street, London Street, Hawkin Street, Kennedy Place, Kennedy Street, Wapping Lane, Craigavon Bridge, Spencer Road, Clooney Terrace, Glendermott Road, May Street, Limavady Road to the field at Wilton Park (next to Brigade Cricket Club). The main parade will depart from Glendermott Road (end of Bonds Street) at 11.30am. It is expected the entire parade will have arrived in Wilton Park for 2pm. It is expected there will be representatives from the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland, the Ladies Association of Scotland (Most Wor. Grand Mistress), the Grand Orange Lodge of Canada and the Grand Orange Lodge of Australia parading at the head of the parade alongside the City of Londonderry Grand Orange Lodge and County Officers. Lundy to be burnt in Derry during Apprentice Boys Shutting of the Gates celebrations The Ladies Association will be well represented with Ladies Lodges based in Derry, St Johnston, Limavady and Coleraine all taking part. The Junior Associations will also be represented at the parade, with Lodges based in Claudy and Manorcunningham all taking part in the parade. The Platform Proceedings, which will be relatively short compared to previous years, will commence in the field at Wilton Park at 2.15pm. Whilst the visiting Districts of Coleraine, Limavady and Macosquin will take part in the platform proceedings, there will be no guest speakers or political speeches from the platform. The City of Londonderry Grand Orange Lodge will have a local farm ‘Kidz Farm’ in the field with a selection of animals including rabbits, guinea pigs, ducks, chickens, snake, bearded dragon, hedgehog, rats, tortoise, tarantula, lamb, goat and an alpaca. In addition, there will be a selection of inflatables, inflatable obstacle course and putt and play golf all in the field. All this entertainment will be fully supervised and be fully funded by the City of Londonderry Grand Orange Lodge and will be available free of charge to all children in the field. The return parade will depart from Wilton Park at 3.45pm. The parade route will initially be Limavady Road, May Street and Bond’s Street. Visiting Districts will then make their way to their buses on the Glendermott Road for onwards travel to their respective areas. Colum Eastwood: Apprentice Boys parades an example of how British tradition can be protected in united Ireland The City Grand Officers and two of the local Districts