There were several visitors on parade at County Fermanagh’s Twelfth of July demonstration in Irvinestown last week.

The Honorary Deputy Grand Master of Grand Lodge of Scotland, Harry Johnston, was one such figure on parade.

He is from Falkirk, and thanks to a connection via social media, he has been a regular visitor to County Fermanagh for the Twelfth.

A former County Grand Master of the East of Scotland, he has been in the Orange Order for 60 years, but said the organisation is slightly different in Scotland, especially when the Twelfth of July is concerned.

Harry said: “It would take place a few weeks before. We start at 8 o’clock in the morning; our first parade started at 7.45 am this year. There were four and a half thousand people on parade, with 60 bands."

His friend, Gary Wilson, who has visited Falkirk to participate in their Twelfth of July celebrations, added: “We could have walked six, seven, eight miles in Scotland; they are very strict on timings and policing.”

Harry added: “There is no Fermanagh time!”

Visiting from Australia was Grand Secretary of Australia, Ian Kells, who said: “It has been marvellous. A Fermanagh Twelfth has always been something I have looked forward to, and I have never been to Irvinestown [for the Twelfth]."

He expressed his gratitude for the hospitality he was offered on his visit to Irvinestown.

“This morning, the instructions were a bit vague for getting here, and we went to the wrong church.

"A lady was on her phone, she looked around and said, ‘Hop in’, and brought us here.

"If that is not Fermanagh hospitality, I don’t know what is.”

Other visitors included Gillian Rimmer, Grand Mistress of the Grand Orange Lodge of England, and her husband, Rev. Phil Rimmer, the Grand Chaplin of the Grand Orange Lodge of England, there visiting as part of the Imperial Orange Council meeting.

Reflecting on the Irvinestown parade, Gillian said it was “very interesting and very informative", adding: "It helps us to maintain our links to all the Orange family throughout the world. It is very beneficial.”

Rev. Rimmer explained there are some differences between lodges in England and Northern Ireland.

“Normally, in England, it is not a family tradition, [but] there are some areas where it is stronger.

“What draws people in England is the reformed faith and support of the Union. We are supporters of the Union with Northern Ireland, and with the Union of Scotland.”

Others who took in the parade as spectators had also journeyed from afar, with some former residents returning to Fermanagh for a long weekend, while other visitors made a point of visiting the Twelfth in Irvinestown, including a group of Americans who had travelled from Philadelphia and Boston.