By Chris Ashmore

Membership of the Orange Order is on the increase again in Donegal, and lodges in the Finn Valley are playing their part, the Finn Valley Post can reveal.
Hundreds of members from the region took part in the annual parade at Rossnowlagh last weekend, and many will travel to parades in the north on the Twelveth.
“With the peace process and better relationships all round, people do not feel as inhibited as before and are proud of their traditions,” a member of one local band told the Finn Valley Post.
Donegal has 17 Orange Lodges, of which six are in East Donegal – St. Johnston, The Thiepval Memorial, Newtowncunningham True Blues, Manorcunningham, Carrigans and Raphoe Crimson defenders. The Ballintra District has seven lodges while the Donegal No. 2 district has four lodges.
During the Troubles some lodges stopped meeting, but numbers are now growing again. Addressing those attending the Rossnowlagh parade, keynote speaker, Bro. Perry Reid, Grand Secretary of the Co. Tyrone Orange Lodge, welcomed the Irish Government’s decision to grant aid the employment of a development worker to work along side lodges and also for Orange Hall repair.
He spoke of increased “cross-county visits” and called on members to “take full advantage for the betterment of your local lodges and protestant communities.”
However, he expressed regret at “still seeing negative things within our communities.” And he added: “The continuing damage being reaped upon our orange halls on both sides of the border is so disappointing to all of us, the intolerance of some communities towards our parades, the verbal bitterness of some of the critics who themselves have nothing positive to o ffer for a shared future together has beleagured this Insitution for far too long now. There must come a time for it to stop and the sooner the better for us all.”
“The members of this Insitution in the border counties have in the recent past gained confidence to stand firmly to uphold the values so bravely fought for and maintained over many previous generations,” he stated.