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1. Famous Orangemen have included Dr Thomas Barnardo, who
joined the Order in Dublin, William Massey, who was Prime
Minister of New Zealand, Harry Ferguson, inventor of the Ferguson
Tractor, and Earl Alexander, the Second World War general.
2. Commemorations of the Battle of the Boyne predate the
Orange Order. The Order was formed in 1795 and its first parade
was held in 1796, but there is a record of a Twelfth parade
in County Armagh in 1791, suggesting that the tradition of
parades goes back well beyond the Order's formation.
3. The Orange Order is an all-Ireland body, with lodges in
Cavan, Monaghan, Leitrim, Dublin and Donegal. The only Twelfth
procession in the Republic nowadays is at Rossnowlagh in County
Donegal. There are almost 1200 lodges in Ireland, most of
them in Northern Ireland
4. Orangeism spread in two main ways across the world; emigration
of Protestants from Ireland, and through military warrants
held by regiments. Fencible regiments employed in Ireland
in 1798 went home to England and Scotland with Orange lodges
already formed within them and these then transformed in time
into civilian lodges. Hundreds of thousands of Irish Protestants
over the years who were members of Orange Lodges have emigrated
to countries such as the United States, Canada, New Zealand,
Australia, South Africa and elsewhere.
5. In Canada in 1900 one in three adult male Protestants
belonged to an Orange lodge.
6. The colourful banners which Orange lodges carry can cost
between £1,500 and £2,000 to produce.
7. Orangemen regularly give to charity. In 2004 £124,000
was raised for Cancer Research in Northern Ireland through
the Grand Master's Appeal, while individual lodges donate
thousands to various charities. The Order's own charity, the
Lord Enniskillen Memorial Orange Orphan Society is named after
a former Grand Master and assists several hundred dependents
of lodge members who are in primary, secondary or third level
education each year.
8. One of the most unusual Orange lodges in the world - Mohawk
LOL in Ontario - will host world Orange leaders later this
month when they gather in Toronto for the triennial Council
of the various Grand Lodges. They will take part in a church
parade and service on the Mohawk Reservation in Ontario at
the start of the event, which will attract members from New
Zealand, Australia, United States, Ireland, England, Scotland,
Ghana and Togo
9. The Orange Order holds some very important museum archives
and artefacts. Included in this list are King William's saddlecloth,
his gauntlets, letters and documents from the Williamite period
and numerous old minute books, banners, documents, medals
and coins. Some of these are on display at the Orange Order's
headquarters in East Belfast.
10. In recent years the Orange Order has become involved
in community activities to a greater extent than ever before.
In County Down, for example, groups based in Orange Halls
have drawn down £1 million in funding for their communities.
Credit Unions, which now operate in many Orange Halls, provide
a valuable financial service for many.
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