THE sun shone brightly in Fermanagh on Monday as a total of seven Twelfth of July parades took place in towns and villages across the county this centennial year.

The parades included Enniskillen, Ballinamallard, Brookeborough, Monea, Maguiresbridge, Magheraveely and Kesh, with good attendance at each from Orange Lodges and bands.

As with the traditional Twelfth demonstration, a short religious service was held during the event that included the reading of the resolutions, a prayer and a Bible reading.

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter at the Enniskillen parade about the format of this year's Twelfth of July events in Fermanagh, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, County Grand Secretary Alan Elliott explained: "We have seven parades in County Fermanagh, all timed for the same time to stop people moving between parades so that we're not spreading coronavirus."

County Grand Master Paul Stevenson, who partook in the parade in Kesh on Monday, said: "We had a good day in Kesh; we had six bands and approximately 200 to 250 people on parade.

"It's good to be back. Everybody was happy to get back out. One man said to me it was two years from when he was last on parade, and he said it was good to get exercising and dusting off the collarette.

"Everybody seemed to be in good spirits for the whole day," he added.

Past County Grand Master Stuart Brooker was in attendance at the parade in Monea, which is understood to have been the smallest Twelfth of July parade in Northern Ireland, with only one band.

Describing the parade as a "unique occasion", Stuart added: "It was probably a first for us, certainly in my lifetime I don't ever recall a Twelfth of July being held in Monea.

"It went very well – everyone was saying how it was lovely to be out again and to celebrate in that way, and to do what we always do; to have our parade and our service," he said.

Across the county in Ballinamallard, Tom Elliott, Secretary of Ballinamallard District, spoke positively about the parade that took place in the village, calling it "more relaxed" than other years.

"We had a nice crowd. When we heard that there was only going to be four districts [due to current Covid-19 precautions], we thought it was going to be small, but it was a nice size, and even the crowds up in the village were pretty good.

"It was not hugely packed in the way it would be for a big Twelfth parade, but people were able to take it at a more leisurely pace.

"For us organising it, it was certainly a more relaxed parade and event than it would have been than if you would have had a full county event," he told this newspaper.

The parade in Brookeborough was also a great success. Brookeborough District Master Timothy Clendenning said: “It went very well. We had Brookeborough District and Tempo District together. We had six bands and the Lodges accompanying them, and we had a great crowd of people.

“It was great to be back out again and to have the bands back out, because it was hard on the bands being off for so long.

“Everyone was happy to be out and to be fit to see the bands and Lodges pass through the town. It was a nice atmosphere,” he added.

Just down the road in Maguiresbridge, 14 Lodges and 10 bands paraded from the assembly point at the 3G pitch on the Tempo Road through the village on Monday.

“There was a good crowd of people all the way up to the other field on the Lisnaskea Road. There were nearly people lining the whole way along it,” said Maguiresbridge District Master Mervyn Nelson.

“Everyone was relaxed and enjoyed themselves,” he added.

There was a similar relaxed atmosphere at the parade in Magheraveely. "We were surprised by how relaxed it was," said Warren Forster, District Master for Newtownbutler, talking about the success of the Magheraveely parade, which had eight bands and 12 Lodges in attendance.

"We thought it would be overcrowded in parts, and maybe have a bit of a bottleneck, but no, everybody did their part, and the spectators were very good.

“It was very relaxed and everyone spread out along the route perfectly, so it left our job very easy."