Northern Ireland

Video: Orange parade passes St Patrick's Church in Belfast to single drum beat

Twelfth of July parade on the way past St Patrick’s Church in North Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell 
Twelfth of July parade on the way past St Patrick’s Church in North Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell  Twelfth of July parade on the way past St Patrick’s Church in North Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell 
By Digital staff

AN Orange Order parade has passed St Patrick's Church on Donegall Street, Belfast with just a single drum beat and a low key police presence.

One women's band from the Shankill in west Belfast appeared to breach the determination by playing music just past the door of the Catholic Church.

The church had become a flashpoint in recent years after a loyalist band from Belfast's Shankill area was filmed playing a sectarian tune while wheeling around the front of the chapel in 2013.

Earlier this morning, an Orange Order feeder parade in north Belfast also passed off peacefully.

A few hundred Orangemen and several bands marched past Ardoyne shops at around 9am.

The parade in Ardoyne was the scene of serious violence in recent years.

The area was at the centre of a bitter parades dispute for many years which often resulted in clashes between nationalists and security forces.

Last year, the march passed off unopposed by nationalists for the first time in almost two decades. 

Orangemen marching past Ardoyne shops in north Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell
Orangemen marching past Ardoyne shops in north Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell Orangemen marching past Ardoyne shops in north Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell
Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly and SDLP MLA Nichola Mallon speaking to Fr Gary Donegan at Ardoyne, north Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell
Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly and SDLP MLA Nichola Mallon speaking to Fr Gary Donegan at Ardoyne, north Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly and SDLP MLA Nichola Mallon speaking to Fr Gary Donegan at Ardoyne, north Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell
Orange Order members preparing to march on Donegall Street in Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell
Orange Order members preparing to march on Donegall Street in Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell Orange Order members preparing to march on Donegall Street in Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell