St Patrick’s Day invite to Orange Order ‘still stands’

THE controversial invitation to the Orange Order to take part in Cork’s St Patrick’s Day parade still stands, a festival spokesperson said last night - despite a storm of controversy.

Sinn Féin upped the pressure on the St Patrick’s Day Festival Committee yesterday. “The Orange Order are not welcome in Cork,” Cllr Jonathan O’Brien said. He called on festival organisers to pull the plug on the Orange Order’s involvement.

“I am also asking other public representatives, including the Lord Mayor, to make their position clear, and to publicly reject the prospect of Orange sectarianism being paraded through our city.”