Ian Kells was flicking through the phone book, homesick in Australia 56 years ago having just arrived as 'a Ten Pound Pom', having lost his father weeks before heading to Australia.

Then he spotted the familiar words, ‘Orange Lodge’, and rang the number - and the rest was history for the Springfield man, who is now Grand Secretary of the Grand Orange Lodge of Australia.

Mr. Kells and more than 100 others from across the world will meet over the coming days in Enniskillen as part of The Imperial Orange Council.

He was welcomed to Enniskillen by Stuart Brooker, Deputy Grand Secretary of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, and a former County Grand Master for Fermanagh.

The Imperial Orange Council is a triennial gathering of delegates representing World Orangeism.

Other jurisdictions that host are the Grand Lodges of Ireland, Scotland, England, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States of America.

A non-hosting jurisdiction is the Grand Lodge of Ghana, where there are members of the institution.

Mr. Brooker explained the ethos behind the meeting, saying: “The objects and aims of the Imperial Orange Council are to take into consideration the state of Orangeism and Protestantism generally.

“The conference in Enniskillen was due to have been held in 2021, but was postponed due to Covid-19 and marks the first time the conference has travelled to Enniskillen.

“It is particularly special for us to host this in beautiful Fermanagh in the West, and to get out of the city environment."

Looking forward to events, he said: “I think we have something very different in Orangism down here. I think we, as a county, stand apart and we've done a lot of good work over the years.

“There is always a parade and church service in the jurisdiction that we are in.

"We are delighted to be parading to St. Macartin’s Cathedral on Sunday.”

The parade will move off at 2.15pm for a 3pm service in the cathedral.

Events across the council's visit to Fermanagh include the delegation to Rossnowlogh as part of the County Donegal Twelfth, the parade and service on Sunday, activities on the water and land exploring Fermanagh and a gala dinner.

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter in the picturesque setting of the Killyhevlin Hotel, where the conference will be held, Mr. Kells looked out onto the lough.

His vowels are firmly Australian, but there is still a touch of Fermanagh to his accent as he speaks.

Mr. Kells said he will look forward to attending parades and services associated with the Loyal Orders over the summer, and especially will be looking forward to attending a church parade in his home church of Devenish Parish Church.

He explained how the organisation is slightly different in Australia, where lodges are mixed gender, and there are no parades. The neighbouring jurisdiction of New Zealand has a female Grand Master.

“When I went to Australia first, we used to have parades through Sydney, really, but as time went on, it got harder and harder.

"It's very hard to close down the centre of a city for a parade for half an hour.

“In the end, we decided that it was better to have formal dinners and things like that," he explained.

Mr. Kells said the immigration of young people from Scotland and Northern Ireland has helped the lodge grow in Australia.

“I was a member of a little Lodge. We were down to three people! One day, a guy called me and he said, he was from Scotland and I met him. I invited him to the next meeting.

"He looked around him and said: ‘Is that it?’ We now have 22 members, because he went out and saw his friends and said, 'Come on, let's go'.

"I'm now the oldest member instead of the youngest; our youngest member is in his early 20s.”

Meetings for the Imperial Orange Council will take place from July 5 - 10.