The PSNI has pledged to take action on public drinking at 12th of July parades. This will include confiscation of alcohol. This follows an appeal by the Loyal Orders and band organisations for people not to drink and respect bye-laws.Personally think the police should go further and use their discretionary powers and close the off licences along the route as they do at the ABOD parade in Londonderry and the last time the 12th parade was in Glengormley.
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I hope the people who come out on thursday will act in a manner fitting the parades themselves. Further to that the majority of the OO would not have a drink themselves until the long day was over and they were back at their respective halls.
If the anti-social drinking (which is in no way restricted to the 12th) is dealt with by the PSNI the 12th will be more inviting and inclusive than it already is.
Look forward to hearing whether this campaign has been successful.
Where is Miss Fitz by the way? She was always good for 12th July coverage.
If successful, it could change the context of the parades controversy.
Hi Slug
Still here, but not sure if I am going to be out and about this year on the 12th as yet. I’ve taken on a different kind of commitment in another public service area, and it has been a lot more involved than I expected.
However, having been to 12th parades since 2001, I might get withdrawl symptoms if I go cold turkey, so I might dander out at some point for a few photos and a little commentary
Thanks Miss Fitz. I enjoyed your commentary last year. Hope all is well. We don’t hear so much from you these days which is a pity.
This is very welcome news indeed. The state of Belfast City Centre after the 12th last year was absolutely disgraceful. I thought it was all about “loving Ulster”? It didn’t look anyone loved it too much last year. Whatever happened to civic pride? We would do well to instill it into people. Of course our problem here has always been turning a blind eye to bad behaviour and I look forward to seeing the PSNI effectively tackle this. Assuming of course that they can….
I agree. If they get good weather it would be great to see a family-oriented atmosphere in Belfast as you often get in the smaller country venues.
There are people who attend the parades and intend on turning it into a drinking session. The majority are there to enjoy the day.
People complaining about the Irish drinking? FTW
It would be nice to see all anti-social drinking stopped instead of just picking on one occassion.
Won’t happen. Really can’t imagine the police confiscating alcohol except in a few isolated cases. The drinking culture is too endemic and confiscation will result in aggro which the police will wish to avoid.
I complained last year about people urinating and drinking on Sandy Row/Lisburn Rd area and the PSNI simply smiled at me and did nothing.
Hope their attitude has changed this time…
The carnage left along the Lisburn Road has been fairly awesome in previous years. I’d like to see police try and enforce the by-laws this year, but I’d not be hopeful. In all honesty if you’re not drunk the spectacle would arrest your attention for about 5-10 minutes.
Speaking of obnoxiousness around parades, what on earth was that sinister horde of brain-washed christian youth whooping their way from the city centre out the Lisburn Road on Saturday? I’ve never seen such eerily contrived “fun” in all my life.
Kick out the pagans!
I just wonder who is actually the worst in the orange order – the nasty sectarian bigots at the high levels who are revolted by the drinking yobs and who have a history of fraternising with convicted murderers, or the ‘yobs’ who go along, get totally pissed, dump alot of rubbish and mess and so on sing the odd sectarian song that they don’t tend to sing at other times of the year?
While I don’t like any of them, big events like the twelfth or the Eropean Cup finals tend to be a time people want to not give a monkeys about much else and just enjoy drinking without worrying about hangovers etc. and having the craic.