Today was Drumcree Sunday, though you can be forgiven for not realising that. From being an event which precipitated mass violence across the north, leading directly to numerous killings (as Susan McKay charted recently), the Drumcree parade has been relegated to a footnote on the local news bulletin- and thank heavens for that.
Yet, in spite of periodical reports from some quarters (most recently here and here) about reviving the controversial march, it appears that the best hopes for the continuation of upheaval-free summers in the north are to be found in the consignment of this march’s ‘traditional route’ to the same bin of history as the ‘traditional’ Tour of the North parade down the Cliftonville Road and the once traditional Orange parade to and from the Broadway Presbyterian Church- now Culturlann McAdam O’Fiach, on the Falls Road.
Moreover, in light of the Orange Order’s efforts to repair its image and rebrand itself- note the Tourist Board’s creative use of vocabulary to depict this year’s Orangefest- is it in the Order’s interest to do anything other than allow this issue to wither away at this stage? Your thoughts, please…
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