Every year in Derry, thousands of Apprentice Boys’ and their bands mark the end of the Siege of Derry in 1689. In the process the people of the City are forced to endure a siege once again so that Loyalists can gloat over their past conquests.
Commenting on the issue, Lasair Dhearg Derry spokesperson Lorcán Ó Duine said “We are besieged in our homes so that these narco-terrorists can make a mockery of our City. A day of delinquency brings the whole city to a stop. Local businesses and bars are forced to close their doors, and people are left with no option but to stay home on what should be the busiest day of the week. The proud working class people of Derry, whether Protestant, Catholic or any other background, are forced to endure this festival of hatred; all so that the Apprentice Boys’ of Derry can send their annual reminder that in their minds they are still the lords and masters of this city.”
He continued, “It’s laughable to think that a parade celebrating Catholic superiority would be allowed in Ballymena or Lisburn. Would the local Loyalist MLA’s or Councillor’s bury their heads in the sand and pretend it isn’t happening? Of course not. They and their lackeys in the PSNI would harass, arrest and prosecute those taking part and stand side by side with those resisting it.”
Lorcan finished by saying, “The people of Derry shouldn’t have to endure this year in and year out. It’s akin to the Ku Klux Klan parading themselves through African American neighbourhoods in the US. Just like the Ku Klux Klan, the Apprentice Boys’ of Derry and their counterparts in the Orange Order should have had no place in 1825, much less 2025. They are a relic of a bygone era that they can’t realise has been left behind.”
“We can’t forget that it was this same parade in 1969 that ignited the Battle of the Bogside that left over a thousand people injured. Politicians crowing about respect for a ‘Shared Future’ can’t expect us to stand by and applaud a parade that glorifies the murder of our friends and family and the subjugation of our City as they walk through the very centre of it.”
“Derry is a proud, working class, republican city that for the longest time was under the jackboot of Unionist fascism. It is still underfunded, forgotten about and fighting for the very basics to be delivered. Long gone are the days when we remained passive while Loyalists lorded it over us.”
“Shared Future? They can share it between themselves.”
