Dire warning by police chief unhelpful

DESPITE the dire prediction of the North's Assistant Chief Constable, Alan McQuillan, about an alleged attack republicans intended to mount, yesterday's Orange march through Ardoyne passed off relatively peacefully.

The auspicious date has ever been fraught with trouble, because July 12, the date of a 17th century battlefield victory over Catholics, marks the official start of the Orange marching season and too often has been the fuse which lit the tinderbox that is Northern Ireland.

The tenuous chance that the day would pass off in relative quiet, or at least without riotous behaviour, could have been doomed as soon as Mr McQuillan warned of a republican onslaught being unleashed.