Orange Order rejects McGuinness criticism of parades

The Orange Order has criticised comments made by the North's Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, at a Sinn Féin event over the weekend.

Speaking at the party's annual commemoration at the Wolfe Tone memorial in Bodenstown, Co Kildare, Mr McGuinness accused the Orange Order of intransigence over disputed parades in Catholic areas.

He said that, while everybody else had made significant steps forward in the past 15 years, Orangemen were refusing to budge on the issue of contentious marches.

He said it was time for them to stop trying to force parades through Catholic areas and risk bringing violence back onto the streets.

The Orange Order, however, has rejected the call, accusing Mr McGuinness of launching a "disappointing attack on the Protestant community" and failing to understand the importance of parading to the Protestant culture.