Experience the BIGGEST Apprentice Boys March on 7th December 2024! скачать в хорошем качестве

Experience the BIGGEST Apprentice Boys March on 7th December 2024!

Shutting of the Gates Following the arrival of King William III in England, there had been widespread alarm among Protestants in Ireland that they would be subjected to a widespread massacre. While the citizens of Londonderry were agitated by these reports, news came that a regiment of Roman Catholics were on their way to to the city. When the army arrived on the 7th December (old calendar), the city’s leaders were still debating what to do. Thirteen young apprentices took the initiative and shut the gates in the faces of the approaching army. Their actions were the spark which led to the 1689 Siege of Londonderry, Today we remember their actions in our annual Shutting of the Gates commemorations on the first Saturday in December each year. The Celebrations start with the symbolic firing of a cannon on the city’s historic walls at midnight. 13 members of a Parent Club will then make their way to each of the four original City gates, as the 13 apprentices did in 1688. The main celebrations begin later on Saturday with the visiting Branch Clubs and bands parading from the Waterside to the Apprentice Boys Memorial Hall. The main parade then makes its way from Society Street around the City Centre to a service of thanksgiving in St Columb’s Cathedral. Following the service, the parade makes its way back to Bishop Street for the traditional burning of Lundy the Traitor.