GROUNDWORK
The Twelfth is an annual Protestant celebration on 12 July, originating in Ireland. It is alternatively known also as Orangemen's Day, and as the Boyne celebrations commemorating the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 and the Glorious Revolution. Recently, attempts have been made to play down explicitly political aspects of the parades and its violent history, and present the Twelfth as a cultural event at which tourists are welcome. Prior to the Troubles, members of both communities participated in the event. Enormous bonfires mark the night before the marches of the twefth.
