The main Twelfth of July parades are being held on Monday across 18 locations in Northern Ireland, marking the 336th anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne after the date fell on a Sunday. Orangemen and women from more than 1,000 lodges accompanied by around 600 marching bands are taking part in the commemorations, with the Belfast parade setting off at 10:40 BST.
The celebrations have been overshadowed by several bonfire-related incidents. A man died in hospital on Saturday after falling from an unlit loyalist bonfire in east Belfast, and two homes in Greenisland near Belfast were destroyed by fire from a Twelfth bonfire. Controversial displays included a replica mosque atop a bonfire in County Tyrone and effigies of rap trio Kneecap on a south Belfast pyre. Orange Order Grand Master Harold Henning commented on the significance of Orange culture, while the Northern Ireland Housing Executive has spent more than £1.4m in four years protecting property near bonfires.
The annual Rossnowlagh demonstration in County Donegal, held the Saturday before the main Twelfth, drew lodges from across the border counties earlier in the weekend.