ORANGE Order walks were stopped last year due to the pandemic, but now they’re back.
Last year marches were banned under Level 4 and Level 3 restrictions, but before that there were a staggering 414 loyalist marches held across Scotland in 2019.
And now, The National can reveal the number of loyalist processions to be held across the country this year as restrictions begin to ease.
Unsurprisingly, it is a lot lower than pre-pandemic. In total, there were 44 public procession requests made by Loyal Orders to Scotland’s 32 local councils. Out of those 10 councils have given the go ahead to marches, while 22 have no requests.
READ MORE: Cambo oil field: Scottish Greens call UK an 'embarrassment'
Out of the 44 total, 14 of these were cancelled, mostly due to the numbers expected to take part in the procession being above the legal amount allowed to gather under Covid-19 restrictions.
That leaves only 30 loyalist marches that have been given the go ahead between June and August this year.
Our analysis includes the Orange Order, Apprentice Boys of Derry, Black Preceptory and other affilitate loyalist groups.
In comparison to Republican marches the difference is stark. In 2019, there were 19 Republican marches held across Scotland. This year only one, the West of Scotland Band Alliance, have lodged a request in Glasgow for July 31 with 100 attendees.
In both 2019 and 2021, Glasgow had the highest number of loyalist marches than any other council area in Scotland.
This year, 20 public procession requests were lodged by Loyal Orders in Glasgow - but six cancelled the request and did not go ahead with the event.
Therefore a total of 14 loyalist marches were given the go ahead in July and August.
In 2019, there were 192 Loyal Order parades, compared to 15 Republican.
READ MORE: Scottish Independence: SNP bust BBC Unionist defence myths
Jeanette Findlay, chair of Call It Out, said: “We do not support unnecessary limits on the rights to free assembly but in the case of the excessive number of marches by the Loyal Orders there is a disproportionate impact on the community relative to the benefit to the participants and therefore numbers should be reduced.
“Ending the practice of marching to and from a fixed point would help with that. There should also be consideration given, for the same reasons, to the routes.
“Some communities in Glasgow will have anti-Catholic marches through their streets almost every weekend of the summer. We are clear that the local authorities have the power to place such restrictions on marches.”
Findlay said that Loyal Orders (Orange Order, Apprentice Boys of Derry, Black Preceptory) are “anti-Catholic organisations” and that they have “no other purpose”.
They added: “We very much hope that there will be fewer such marches in the future and that the participants will not feel the need to display their hatred of the Catholic community on a regular basis.
“Better yet, they could stop hating Catholics.”
A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said: “Recent changes to the national Covid protection levels allow marches to take place at level 2 and below; with some restrictions on duration and the number of participants.
"If the number in Glasgow is higher than elsewhere, it almost certainly just reflects the greater demand for processions that the city has always experienced.”
READ MORE: Brexit: UK-EU row over £41 billion 'divorce bill'
However, Glasgow isn’t the only place in Scotland where Loyal Order marches take place.
In North Lanarkshire, four marches were requested, but two, including one on July 10 with 500 in the procession, were cancelled. In 2019 there were 68 loyalist marches in North Lanarkshire, and one Republican.
South Lanarkshire, where there were 34 marches in 2019, had seven requests for Loyal Order marches - with two cancelling due to numbers being above 50 in the procession.
North Ayrshire has four loyalist processions requested for July, but were unable to give a figure in 2019 and the data is not available on their website currently. In East Ayrshire there were two loyalist procession requests, with one cancelled. There were 15 in the local authority area in 2019.
Falkirk has three loyalist processions for this summer, compared to 22 in 2019. Renfrewshire has one Apprentice Boys of Derry march scheduled for August, compared to 21 pre-pandemic.
Edinburgh, Stirling and West Lothian have one loyalist procession lodged each between June and August. In 2019 Edinburgh had four, Stirling eight and West Lothian 16.
There were 10 councils who had previously had Loyal Order processions in 2019, but have none scheduled this year.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon pays tribute to Srebrenica rape survivor
They are Inverclyde (1 in 2019), West Dunbartonshire (4), East Dunbartonshire (6), East Renfrewshire (5), South Ayrshire (7), Midlothian (3), East Lothian (3), Perth and Kinross (2), Angus (1) and Highland (2).
There were also 11 councils who did not have any loyalist marches in 2019 or any planned this year. They are Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Moray, Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar, Arygll & Bute, Orkney, Shetland, Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders.
There was no available data for Fife in 2019 or 2021.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel