Parade passes off quietly

Derry's Apprentice Boys march through the city

Members of the Protestant Apprentice Boys have gathered in Londonderry for one of the biggest events in the marching calendar.

The city is hosting the annual Relief of Derry celebrations which recall the 1689 retreat of the Catholic forces of King James II who had besieged the city.

About 10,000 Apprentice Boys and 170 bands took part in this year's celebrations.

Local Apprentice Boys in Londonderry completed a circuit of the city's historic walls this morning ahead of the main parade.

Several hundred members of the local Loyal Order were accompanied by a band for the one mile walk before a wreath laying ceremony at the cenotaph in the Diamond area of the city.

They then attended a Service of Remembrance in St. Columb's Cathedral.

There was a visible RUC presence in and around the city centre and new crowd control measures were put in place in the Diamond. The police erected perspex screens to keep any rival factions apart.

Protesters are kept apart from marchers by perspex screens

However, on several occasions some marchers and a small group of nationalist onlookers traded insults. But the new perspex screens were effective in separating them.

Local RUC inspector Peter Sheridan praised the behaviour of all those involved. "A lot of praise has to go to a lot of the talking that went on behind the scenes. The dialogue went on to make this a successful day", he said.

Feeder parade restrictions

The Northern Ireland Parades Commission had placed restrictions on a number of so-called feeder parades in Belfast, County Armagh and County Londonderry.

These are preliminary local lodge parades held before the lodges travel to Londonderry for the main demonstration.

The loyal order was barred from walking part of its proposed routes on the Ormeau Road in south Belfast and in Ligoniel in north Belfast.

The Belfast Walkers Club was barred from marching along the mainly nationalist lower Ormeau Road. They opted not to cross Ormeau Bridge, despite having the Parades Commission's permission to do so. Instead members boarded a bus at Annadale Embankment to travel on to Londonderry.

The Order's annual Ormeau parade was banned from the same area last August.

In north Belfast, the Ligoniel Walkers Club was prohibited from marching between the junction of Hesketh Road and Crumlin Road and the junction of Woodvale Parade and Woodvale Road.

This resulted in a peaceful standoff for several hours before they returned to their local hall.

The commission said it felt it was necessary to bar the Apprentice Boys from part of the route because the parade would take place "against the background of continuing local community tension".

Nationalist areas

Tensions have been high in north Belfast for the past month with outbreaks of sporadic rioting between nationalists and loyalists in Ardoyne, the Halliday's Road area near Tigers Bay, at Alliance Avenue and the Limestone Road.

There have also been a number of bomb attacks on homes on both sides of the peace line.

In Lurgan, County Armagh, the Apprentice Boys parade was banned from entering the Lough Road and William Street.

And there were restrictions on the route of a parade in Bellaghy, County Londonderry.

It had been restricted from entering the Rectory on the Ballynease Road and the Orange Hall in William Street.