Orangemen parade through Belfast

Saturday's parades commemorated Protestant Prince William of Orange's 1690 Battle of the Boyne victory over Catholic King James II.

More than 60,000 Orangemen took part in parades in 18 locations throughout the province.

The biggest parade took place in Belfast.

Bands and Orangemen assembled in the north of the city and marched to Edenderry, on the outskirts of south Belfast, for a religious service and speeches from prominent Orangemen.

Some of the parades have proved controversial in the past, with violence flaring at interface areas in Belfast.

An early morning parade by lodges in north Belfast, near the nationalist Ardoyne area, passed off peacefully.

Orange Order parades Ballymartin, County Down Ballymena, County Antrim Ballymoney, County Antrim Belfast, County Antrim Cookstown, County Tyrone Crossgar, County Down Fintona, County Tyrone Fivemiletown, County Tyrone Garvagh, County Londonderry Glengormley, County Antrim Hillsborough, County Down Holywood, County Down Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh Limavady, County Londonderry Markethill, County Armagh Portglenone, County Antrim Rasharkin, County Antrim Rathfriland, County Down What they said on the Twelfth

A legal challenge by nationalist residents on Friday failed to have the march re-routed.

The Parades Commission had ruled the parade could pass the area on its way to the main demonstration.

About 100 nationalist protesters gathered with placards bearing the slogan "No Talk, No Walk," while a similar number of supporters on the loyalist side cheered as the Orangemen passed.

Later on Saturday, there were minor disturbances in the area as Orangemen returned from the main demonstration.

Nationalists and loyalists threw bottles and other missiles across police and Army lines separating them at Ardoyne shops.

The trouble lasted just a few minutes and no-one was seriously hurt.

In Londonderry, an Orange Order parade passed through the centre of the city without incident.

It was the first time in three years that all the lodges in the city had marched on the predominantly nationalist West Bank of Derry.

Demonstrations

About 550 Orangemen and seven bands then headed on to the main county demonstration in Limavady. The county's Orangemen also marched in Garvagh.

In County Antrim, demonstrations took place in Ballymena, Glengormley, Portglenone and Rasharkin.

The main Fermanagh parade was held at Lisnaskea.

Lodges from the border counties in the Irish Republic led the way as usual, followed by Fermanagh's 102 lodges and about 70 bands.

A traditional religious demonstration was held at the field, with politics banned from the speeches.

In County Tyrone, the venues were at Cookstown, Fivemiletown and Fintona, while Armagh's main march took place at Markethill.

County Down lodges held demonstrations in Ballymartin, Crossgar, Hillsborough, Holywood and Rathfriland.

The Independent Orange Order celebrated their centenary at a service in Ballymoney, County Antrim.

Meanwhile in Belfast, before the parades got under way, vandals attacked a memorial to five people shot dead by the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Freedom Fighters in a betting shop.

Paint was thrown over a memorial in Hatfield Street, off the lower Ormeau Road, which is dedicated to victims of the Sean Graham bookmakers' massacre in 1992.

SDLP councillor Dr Alasdair McDonnell said those behind the attack were intent on stirring up tensions in the flashpoint area.

Sinn Fein's Alex Maskey said the attack was despicable and compounded the grief of victims' families.