FIRED up ... a masked Ulster Volunteer Force gunman attends a loyalist show of strength in the Shankill Road area of West Belfast as a bonfire heralds the Twelfth of July parades across Northern Ireland. Picture: Agence France-Presse.
ANGRY Catholics in north Belfast hurled bottles and stones at Protestant marchers today, wrapping up a season of traditional summer rallies across Northern Ireland.
Riot police were out in force in the Catholic stronghold of Ardoyne as the marchers were pelted with debris despite 3.5 metre high barriers to keep rival sides apart.
Despite the skirmishes, today's marches appeared to be the most peaceful in recent years.
Almost 120,000 people had gathered on Northern Ireland streets, parading or watching traditional rallies by Protestant loyalists who were flourishing the British union flag and sporting the sash of the Protestant Orange Lodge freemasons' order.
...