Orange marches belfast

[Pippin24]

I’m visiting Belfast today to see extended family. My dad’s family are from Ireland/n Ireland I try to get over a few times per year. I’m in my aunts house and we had planned a picnic in the garden which has steadily been interrupted by orange bands marching up a down a road not far from her. It’s a terrible noise and apart from the assault to the ears seems entirely pointless- I cannot believe in this day and age this is still happening.

it’s a mixed area faith wise and my aunt is so embarrassed about it. My husband has just arrived back from a walk where he managed to see some of the march and has informed me that there are a shit ton of the marchers drinking - singing anti catholic/Irish songs and generally behaving badly. Surely there are rules around this? Grown men with younger kids marching drunk and causing a disturbance. Culture is one thing - this isn’t it. Rant over!

It sounds as though it’s just become a social event now, something these men are just enjoying doing, socialising and drinking and annoying others.

The Protestant taxi thing is true though.

For many many years, possibly even now, only certain taxis would take certain people to certain areas, and it could be unsafe.

My view is that anyone who wants to march or celebrate their culture in public in NI should hire a stadium to do it, and not antagonise their neighbours.

Got stuck behind one today in North Lanarkshire with a hungry baby - that was fun trying to get home! Bastards 😂

I'm not a fan of these marches AT ALL, but I think this thread is a perfect example of the staggering lack of understanding in the rest of the UK of social ecosystem in the North of Ireland.

Yes, there are definitely rough areas with rough bands (and OP if you aunt is being asked to contribute to painting flagstones she almost certainly lives in one of these locations).

In reality the vast majority of these marches take place in rural locations with small bands that play hymns and non sectarian music. They'll often go and entertain residents in nursing homes as well for example. Although more common in Protestant areas, it's also true with Catholic bands. I've on occasion (although not often) heard of bands lending instruments to a band from the "other side" to help them out. The sectarianism does exist, but the relationships in those communities can also can be multi-layered and close even between people from different parts of the religious divide.

There seems to be a need to be really reductive about conflict impacted communities, but I think if you've grown up in society like that, you understand instinctively that it's a learning curve out of divide and everyone comes at it differently. Just labelling someone as a bigot without actually understanding anything about their circumstances or context is terribly naive.

I mean this kindly (and I also hate marching season) but you obviously understand very little about policing in Northern Ireland..

Just put a stop to it 😂😂😂😂

Trust me, as horrible as the marches are, stopping them will result in absolute carnage. We will go back to bombings and murders. Think I'm being dramatic? Then thank your lucky stars none of your family had to live through the terrifying events of the Troubles.

Parliamentary groups are terrorists, the police have no control over them.

based on supremacy that the ‘natives’ should know their place

It's not that simple, but as I said above, it's the legacy of English colonialism in Ireland.

Yup the ‘big walk’ is in my town this year so we shall be descended on by bloody thousands and our town is not that big. Husband has marked the date in the calendar and current plan is to head out early and avoid the lot of it. We will need to leave mega early as the first parades tend to Marshall around 8am 🙄

paramilitary, obviously 🙄

This. The sheer ignorance and naivety on this thread is quite shocking!

No need for the sarcasm - belfast is no stranger to riots- no one wants that again but bigotry can’t be allowed to fester forever through fear of the bigots using violence.

I was very surprised to learn that most of the bands playing in the Downpatrick St Patrick's Day parade this year were loyalist ones 😧

Try telling that to a group of terrorists.

I'm very surprised that considering your family are from NI and live there in areas where the pavements are painted you don't know more about it and why it can't just be stopped if enough people complain

Wt-flip? And that's where St Patrick and St Brigid are buried. How anti Catholic can you get.

My family did live through it - I didn’t. My parents are different religions and moved away to avoid the troubles. There are decent people and bad people everywhere but something has to change if there is hope for future generations. I don’t want my children around bands of any sort of sectarian bent. Its wrong.

Yep they are being integrated into Patrick's Day celebrations, it's just a pity it doesn't work the other way.
Dublin also.

www.irishnews.com/news/northern-ireland/more-often-seen-marching-behind-an-orange-order-lodge-the-story-behind-the-flute-band-members-clapped-and-cheered-on-the-streets-of-dublin-on-st-patricks-day-PWY3TCGUPZHI7HC7BPUYKPIBTI/

but I think this thread is a perfect example of the staggering lack of understanding in the rest of the UK of social ecosystem in the North of Ireland.

Agreed.

There is also, in my experience, a lack of knowledge of the history of Ireland and NI. I got the impression it's not touched on at school (?)

Not touched on whatsoever it would seem - even here in NI it’s not taught as part of history GCSE as it was deemed too divisive of a subject.. beggars belief

Many, many people don't have anything to do with bands or sectarianism, they don't live in streets full of flags and painted pavements and they just get on with their lives quietly.
Your family seem to live in these areas with those sorts of people so maybe you think all of NI is like that but it's not.

Larkhall is a big protestant town with flags and bunting put out from about now till August for 12th July.

Easy to say something has to change, do something about it when you won't be the one getting bricks thrown through your windows, bombs launched at you and your children in the town centre when you're out doing your shopping, getting your fucking legs broken by paramilitaries.

You seriously have no idea and are so ignorant to the realities that Northern Irish people face.

We get them in Liverpool too.

They were out the other day and it was a total mixture of ages and genders. Quite a few kids.

I've never understood how they are still a thing either when they are based on hate. Surely we are past all this now. They wouldn't get away with it if it was based under other circumstances.

Exactly this.