Republic praised for Queen’s welcome at Rossnowlagh Orange march

Up to 6,000 Orange-men on their only annual march south of the border on Saturday heard their boss pay tribute to “the tremendous and dignified welcome” given by the people of the Republic to Queen Elizabeth.
Edward Stevenson, grand Master of the Orange lodge in Ireland, told the parade in Rossnowlagh,he was recently spending quite a bit of his time in the Republic – and he was “thoroughly enjoying it.”
Edward Stevenson told his members that in May he and other senior Orangemen attended the official visit of the Queen in Dublin.
He said the visit was a triumph for everyone involved and in particular the people who live here in the Irish Republic and regarded themselves as coming from the British culture.
Thanks to the tremendous and dignified welcome given to her Majesty the Queen, British people could hold their heads high in this community and be proud of their beliefs and their culture.
He noted that the Orange festival in Rossnowlagh enabled them to celebrate their “British culture and identity” in the Republic.
Gardai reported no trouble during the march. Rain had washed away most republican slogans daubed on the road three days before the march.