REV DR Little LOL 744

08/06/2026

13th July - Ballywalter

As we approach The Twelfth (being held on Monday 13th July), we have received the following information from the host lodge Ballywalter Heroes LOL 1884.

- All lodges from the four districts are to be at the field on Greyabbey Road on or before 11am. Police will begin shutting roads in and around Ballywalter at 10.30am.

- The service will commence at 11.30am. The speakers will be Wor Bro Worthington McGrath, Assistant Grand Master and Bro Jim Shannon MP. Accompaniment for the service will be provided by Ballywalter Flute Band.

- Main parade will commence at 12.15pm along the following route: Greyabbey Road, Main Street, Stump Road, Westland Avenue, Dunover Road, Broadway, Main Street, Well Road, Park Avenue, Greyabbey Road and back to the field.

- Return parade will start at 4.15pm along the following route: Greyabbey Road, Main Street, Broadway.

- Buses for Newtownards, Holywood and Bangor Districts will be positioned on Dunover Road.

06/06/2026

The Moygashel Bonfire Association banner is gone.

The PSNI removed it. Sinn Féin welcomed it. Politicians and commentators lined up to tell us it was offensive, racist, hateful and had no place in our society.

Fine.

People are entitled to that opinion.

But if we’re suddenly applying standards, let’s apply them properly.

Sinn Féin MLA Colm Gildernew said the banner existed solely to “sow hate and division” and claimed those responsible had “nothing to offer society”.

Strong words.

Words that raise some uncomfortable questions.

Was Raymond McCreesh Park not divisive?

This was a children’s play park named after an IRA member convicted of attempted murder and found in possession of a rifle linked to the Kingsmill massacre, where ten Protestant workmen were lined up and shot.

Did that bring communities together?

Did that heal division?

Did that help reconciliation?

Or did context matter then?

What about the Joe Cahill youth competition?

Joe Cahill was a founder and former Chief of Staff of the Provisional IRA.

Did naming children’s sporting events after him unite society?

Or did context matter then too?

What about the McNulty-Magorrian Advice Centre in Castlewellan, named after two IRA members?

When people objected, they were told republicans had a right to remember their dead.

History mattered.

Context mattered.

Community identity mattered.

Funny how those arguments seem to disappear when the controversy comes from a unionist community.

And what about the PSNI?

What law was broken?

Will that same law now be applied to every politically controversial banner, mural and display across Northern Ireland?

Will every complaint be treated equally?

Will every offensive display be removed?

Or is this standard reserved for certain opinions and certain communities?

And for those calling the banner racist, here’s a simple question.

Is every concern about immigration racist?

Is every concern about illegal immigration racist?

Is every criticism of immigration policy racist?

Most people would say no.

So where exactly is the line?

Who decides?

And is that standard applied equally to everyone?

You don’t have to support the banner.

You don’t have to agree with it.

You don’t even have to like it.

But people are entitled to ask why some controversial displays are defended, explained and placed in context while others are immediately condemned.

People are entitled to ask why some communities are told their history must be understood while others are told their concerns must not even be discussed.

The banner may be gone.

The questions aren’t.

And judging by the reaction, a lot of people are starting to ask them.

01/06/2026

RESPECT LEST WE FORGET.

IF YOU WISH TO PAY RESPECTS TO ANYONE THAT SERVED IN THE RUC, PLEASE POST BELOW WE WILL NEVER FORGET THEM!

Today marks the anniversary of the formation of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), which came into existence on 1 June 1922 following the partition of Ireland and the creation of Northern Ireland. The force replaced the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) in the six counties that became Northern Ireland and would serve for almost 80 years until it was renamed the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) on 4 November 2001.

The RUC was headquartered at Brooklyn in Belfast and was responsible for policing Northern Ireland through some of the most difficult periods in its history. During its early decades, officers dealt with civil unrest, border campaigns and sectarian tensions. However, it was during The Troubles (1969–1998) that the force became one of the most targeted police services in the world. Officers were routinely subjected to shootings, bomb attacks, mortar attacks and assassination attempts, both on and off duty. Many were targeted simply because they wore the uniform.

In recognition of extraordinary courage and sacrifice, the RUC was awarded the George Cross by Queen Elizabeth II in 2000 — the highest civilian award for gallantry in the United Kingdom. It remains the only police force ever to receive the honour collectively.

Officers Killed During The Troubles

The exact total varies slightly depending on whether retired officers and later conflict-related deaths are included.

The most widely accepted figures are:

302 serving RUC officers killed as a direct result of the security situation during The Troubles.

Other records, including the CAIN archive, place the figure at 301 serving officers plus 18 former or retired officers, giving a total of 319 fatalities connected to the force.
More than 9,000 officers were injured during the conflict.

Male and Female Officers

The overwhelming majority of those killed were men. Historical records show:

Approximately 314 male officers were killed.
Six female officers were murdered during The Troubles:

Reserve Constable Elizabeth “Lily” Shields (1988)
Woman Constable Colleen McMurray (1992)

Many officers were killed while travelling to or from work, at home in front of their families, or while protecting their communities. Both Protestant and Catholic officers served in the force and lost their lives.

Lest we forget those who never came home.

31/05/2026

Correction / Article by T.U.V. Upper Bann which includes a statement by the W.D.M. Portadown District No. L.O.L. No.1

𝑫𝒓𝒖𝒎𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝑩𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆

Twenty six years after the Drumcree annual Church parade was prevented from retuning via the Garvaghy Road, Nigel Dawson, the Portadown district master said in a statement, 🇬🇧"Northern Ireland can't talk about moving on, the new Assembly can't talk about delivering rights, and shared space, and equality, if this huge black cloud is hanging over a section of the population not being afforded their civil and religious liberties.”🇬🇧

Since the signing of the Belfast Agreement, with its promise of equality, rights, and mutual respect, the reality is that the Protestant and Unionist heritage and culture has been eroded by an aggressive sectarian, and coordinated campaign, spear-headed by the pan-nationalist front of Sinn Fein, SDLP and Alliance, against every vesture and semblance of anything British and Protestant. This process of vilification and destruction of our heritage has advanced apace, in part due to weak Unionism and their lack of opposition to, and indeed acceptance of the removal of our British rights.
The removal of the Union Jack from Belfast City Hall, the imposition of the Irish language upon the Unionist communities without consultation into predominately Unionist areas and communities, the frenzy of this pan nationalist front against bonfires, and the intolerance and hatred of Orange and other loyal Order parades which refuses to allow the Orangemen of Portadown and other places to exercise their civil and religious liberty to parade on main arterial routes. We further see the recent clamour to introduce new legislation against the flying of any loyalist or British flag virtually anywhere.
The silence of the so called main Unionist parties on all these issues is deafening, and not least when it comes to the annual Orange parade to Drumcree Church.
In addition to the intolerant attitude of the pan nationalist front, coupled with weak Unionism, we have the quasi Parade’s Commission which is merely an instrument of nationalism to ensure that parade routes for orange parades remain closed at the behest of their political masters in Sinn Fein, and yet a Republican & Palestinian ‘walk’ under the auspicious of the so called Ireland Against Gaza, Lurgan are allowed to walk through predominately Unionist and Protestant rural countryside, and the Protestant village of Scarva, (a route deliberately chosen to cause maximum offence and provocation to the residents) for the second year running, with virtually no significant restrictions nor rerouting. The Parades Commission demonstrates at every turn that it is an instrument of the pan nationalist agenda to supress every vesture of the Protestant and Unionist culture.
The Belfast agreement has been a one way street to advance the Republican agenda of a united Ireland free from any semblance of British heritage or Protestant culture. They wave the equality, shared space and rights card as and when it suits the advance of their cause, but ignore it when it comes to our British culture and way of life.
It is time to collapse these undemocratic, anti British institutions which are not working for the people, and failing entirely to deliver for the Protestant and Unionist people. Alongside this we need to be rid of the unelected quagmire of the parades Commission, and to see that civil liberties and the rights of Unionists to quietly, respectfully, and with dignity celebrate their cultural heritage, which is not offensive nor a threat to anyone, restored and respected.
I can remember in the late 60’s and through the 70’s when the communities of Obins Street and Garvaghy Road stood to watch the Orange and Black parades. The refusal to allow the Portadown District to walk home from their annual Church Parade at Drumcree via the Garvaghy Road is sheer bigotry and raw sectarianism at its worst. This is the same sectarian attitude from Nationalists that on the back of their so called ‘civil rights’ lead to over 30 years of bloodshed at the hands of Republicans. The same people with the same attitude would suppress and deny Unionists their civil and religious liberties today. If we are supposedly moving into an era of shared space and mutual respect then let us see that spirit displayed in tolerating a quiet church parade down the Garvaghy Road. Let the community there show that Protestant and Catholic can live together in Portadown and beyond without denying us our civil and religious liberties.

23/05/2026

29/04/2026

Warm welcome to everyone.

08/04/2026

🟠 Orange Invitation Day – Let’s Grow Together

Our Orange family is growing — and we want to keep that momentum going.

Every day is an opportunity to bring new members into the Institution, but on Sunday 19th April, we’re asking everyone to make a special effort.

👉 Invite a friend
👉 Bring along a family member
👉 Encourage a colleague

One conversation can make all the difference.
Together, we can continue to strengthen our lodges, build for the future, and keep the Orange story moving forward.

Let’s make Orange Invitation Day 2026 count.

24/02/2026

WE ARE CURRENTLY RUNNING A RECRUITMENT CAMPAIGN SEEKING NEW MEMBERS OR PREVIOUS MEMBERS TO JOIN OUR LODGE.WE HAVE ARRANGED A TOUR OF SCHOMBERG HOUSE FOR SATURDAY 21st MARCH.CHILDREN VERY WELCOME.

18/02/2026

PLEASE SHARE.

14/02/2026

If legacy is about truth, then it must apply to everyone. Not selectively. Not politically. Universally.

Let’s deal with facts.

Pat Finucane’s murder has been examined for more than three decades. The Stevens investigations. The Cory review. The de Silva report. Ongoing court proceedings. Parliamentary debates. Continuous political pressure for a full statutory inquiry.

Compare that with the record of the Provisional IRA in particular.

Approximately 1,700 people were killed by the IRA. Hundreds were civilians. Most cases remain unresolved. Many families have never seen anything remotely comparable in terms of sustained national investigation or political urgency.

Take Enniskillen.

On the 8th November 1987, twelve innocent people were murdered at a Remembrance Day service. Over sixty were injured. Elderly civilians paying tribute to the fallen. It was one of the most shocking atrocities of the IRA’s terrorist campaign.

In recent years, further questions and material have continued to circulate regarding IRA operations in Fermanagh at the time. Families still seek clarity around authorisation, command responsibility and the full structure behind the bombing. We all know what and who we are talking about here...

Where is the rolling public inquiry into that?

Where is the sustained political campaign demanding full transparency about IRA command structures?

Where is the relentless legal pressure equivalent to what we see elsewhere?

Today on BBC Ulster, John Finucane was asked directly whether Sinn Féin should apologise for its actions and words during the IRA’s terrorist campaign.

He avoided the question entirely.

That matters and we are not surprised.

You cannot demand perpetual scrutiny in one direction while refusing to confront the movement responsible for hundreds of civilian deaths. You cannot speak about reconciliation while avoiding an unequivocal apology. You cannot present yourself as a voice for justice while sidestepping accountability within your own political tradition.

The public see the imbalance.

We see it.

People are asking why one case receives decades of investigation while entire categories of IRA victims are left without comparable examination. They are asking why Enniskillen does not generate the same political energy. They are asking why apologies are demanded from some but avoided by others.

If legacy is to have credibility, it must be even-handed.

If justice is to mean anything, it must be consistent.

If reconciliation is to work, it must start with honesty on all sides.

Things need to change. And they need to change now.

Sinn Féin and their loyal chorus will demand scrutiny from everyone else, yet retreat the moment accountability turns toward them. That is calculated evasion.

They're all cowards.