Harold Henning used the 12 July parades 2026 at Rossnowlagh to attack abuse aimed at Heather Humphreys over her links to the Orange Order. He said the episode showed “the intolerance that still exists” in the Republic of Ireland, as the Rossnowlagh demonstration drew up to 6,000 people and dozens of bands.
The Grand Lodge of Ireland grand master said, “It was shameful, brethren, what you had to go through at that time.” He also told the marchers, “Brethren, well done in the Republic of Ireland. You’re a credit to the cause.”
Rossnowlagh demonstration in Co Donegal
The remarks came during the traditional Rossnowlagh demonstration in Co Donegal, where crowds began to gather from midmorning at St John’s Church of Ireland outside Rossnowlagh village. The march then moved to a field near the beach, with many members of lodges in Northern Ireland joining the procession.
Henning said members of lodges in the Republic of Ireland were “a credit to the organisation.” He added, “Some of you will do a round trip of 160 miles to attend your lodge meeting.”
David Mahon on local support
David Mahon said the event had been supported by local people for decades without difficulty. The Donegal county grand master said, “We have a good relationship with everybody: we borrow land with them for the day. They give us fields for parking and different things. They have all been really helpful to us over the years, and still are.”
Mahon also said, “We may be separated by a political border, a political boundary, but we are one people united in our love of the reformed Protestant faith and our proud history, culture and Orange traditions.”
Heather Humphreys and the Republic of Ireland
The abuse Henning referred to was directed last year at Heather Humphreys over her links to the Orange Order during the presidential election. That left the Rossnowlagh speech tied to a recent political dispute and to the question of how the Republic of Ireland responds to Orange Order links.
For readers at Rossnowlagh, the clearest immediate point is the divide between the hostile reaction Henning described and the local support Mahon described. The march showed both at once: a public show of Orange Order identity, and a dispute over how that identity is received in the Republic of Ireland.
