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INFLAMMATORY marches passed off in Northern Ireland at the weekend without the normal sectarian violence.
Thousands of Protestants joined Orange Order parades to commemorate the 1690 Battle of the Boyne, in which the Protestant William III defeated Catholic forces in an Irish war over the English, Scottish and Irish thrones.
Stormont Justice Minister David Ford praised police and unionist community leaders yesterday for helping maintain calm.
Even a protest near the flashpoint Ardoyne district of Belfast passed without incident.
The staunchly republican area saw rioting last year after the Parades Commission stopped a march short of the district. Residents have in the past resorted to violence when Orangemen have been allowed through.
But after restrictions were again placed on marchers, unionists held a peaceful demonstration where their march was halted. All 17 marches in the six counties stopped for the time it would take to complete the Ardoyne section of the north Belfast march and statements were read out demanding the scrapping of the Parades Commission.
