ABSTRACT

England established a presence in Ireland in the twelfth century when Norman adventurers arrived seeking new lands; but these were few in number. Militarily the battle was inconclusive, and the campaign continued; it was not until 12 July the following year that the decisive victory was won at the Battle of Aughrim, that consolidated Glorious Revolution and cemented the position of the Protestant faith in the two kingdoms. Masonic parades were recorded in Coleraine and Cork in following years, while various journeymen associations paraded on patron's day. The parades drew attention to, or, more explicitly, publicised, the emerging presence of an organised middle and artisanal rank of society, who, while not breaking with the traditional norms and proprieties, were beginning to establish their own agenda. However in the changing social, economic and political climate of the eighteenth century, parades were soon to become the medium that gave visible form to the demands of the emerging Protestant middle classes in Ireland.