Orange Parade

From the BBC:

“Belfast retailers to close early ahead of centennial parade”

A number of Belfast city centre businesses are set to close early on Saturday ahead of the Orange Order's centennial parade. The event, which marks 100 years since the creation of Northern Ireland, is expected to bring up to 60,000 spectators to the city. Retailers say travel disruption is one of the reasons behind the decision to close early. Translink has announced additional rail capacity to meet increased demand. The parade, which will feature 130 bands with more than 20,000 participants, will start at Stormont before heading down the Newtownards Road, over Queen's Bridge and on to City Hall. It was meant to take place last year but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Road closures are expected in the city centre from 13:00 BST, with rolling road closures along the parade route as marchers make their way into the centre. The management of CastleCourt shopping centre say they have been co-ordinating with the council, Visit Belfast and Belfast City Centre Management and will be closing two hours early at 16:00 BST. A spokesperson said they have "laid out plans to ensure our staff and our retailers' staff face the least disruption possible for their homeward journeys". "Shoppers are advised to check opening hours with individual businesses," they added. Victoria Square's opening hours on Saturday will be 09:00 to 14:00, although individual retailers may have different opening hours. It says changes to public transport and planned road closures are likely to affect the staff's ability to get home. "Q Park at Victoria Square is expected to close at 1.30pm and reopen at approximately 8pm," a spokesperson added.

Low demand Kieran Sloan, the owner of Sawers deli on College Street, told BBC News NI that staff getting home was his key consideration for remaining closed all day on Saturday. "Everyone will be out for the parade but not necessarily to do any shopping," he added. Marks & Spencer on Donegall Place is another business to announce its early closure ahead the parade's arrival to the city centre. Translink has advised travellers to allow extra time for their journeys with road closures and diversions in place. "For anyone attending the event there will be continuous shuttle bus services arranged by the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, operating between Stormont and Chichester Street approximately every 20 minutes," the company said.

^ Sadly, the Orange Order (think KKK or Neo-Nazis but with Protestants going after Catholics) is starting their Parade Season early this year in Northern Ireland.

The Orange Order was founded in 1795 and continues to promote the Protestant Ascendancy – which is the belief that Protestants are superior over Catholics so they (Catholics) should be kept as Second-Class Citizens. It is why Northern Irish Catholics did not receive equal Civil Rights in Northern Ireland or in the United Kingdom until the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 even when Northern Ireland Protestants received equal Civil Rights with the English, Welsh and Scots in the United Kingdom in 1921.

The Orange Order will make sure to walk through Catholic Neighborhoods (which have separated Protestants and Catholics by Peace Walls since the 1960s) the same way the KKK and Neo Nazi Groups walk through Jewish, Black, Asian or Hispanic Neighborhoods in the United States and around the world. There is usually violence between the two groups because of this.

The Orange Order’s biggest anti-Catholic and officially sanctioned display is held on July 11^th  every year (called The Eleventh Night) where Protestants across Northern Ireland spend weeks building huge bonfires in their neighborhoods where on July 11^th they set them on fire along with burning anything Catholic (pictures of the Pope, Catholic Entertainers, Politicians, Celebrities, etc.)

To give you an example of how many Anti-Catholic bonfires there usually are: in 2021 there were 250 through small Northern Ireland (the US State of Massachusetts is twice the size of Northern Ireland.)

The day after “Bonfire Night” – July 12^th (called The Twelfth) the Orangemen then hold large Parades across Northern Ireland, again as a sign of Protestant Superiority over the Catholics.) Again violence is still a large problem with these.

Northern Irish Catholics do not hold bonfires where they burn Protestant symbols and they don’t hold Parades through Protestant neighborhoods. In fact, Catholic Schools (99% of Schools in Northern Ireland are separated by Catholic Church-run Schools for Catholics and State-run Schools for Protestants) plan their holidays during these Parades and other traditional anti-Catholic acts so that Catholic families can go to the Republic or Ireland or anywhere else for their safety.

These are all legal and approved by the Town/City Councils as well the Northern Ireland Assembly (Stormont) which from 1921-2022 had a Protestant Majority, 

Note: I was in Northern Ireland (from Belfast up the whole coast to Londonderry/Derry at the end of June 2010 and they were getting the bonfires ready then even though it was 3 weeks early. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-61577451