1998 advert re-released by Orange Order to highlight the denial of the religious liberties at Drumcree

In the centre of the full page advertisement, which can be seen on page nine of tomorrow’s News Letter, is a photo of an Orange sash.

The 1998 notice explained that every July on the Sunday closest to the Twelfth, a special service is held at Drumcree Parish Church to “remember those who gave their lives in defence of civil liberties”.

It said that a great number of the 5,000 Ulstermen who died on the first day of the Battle of the Somme were Orangemen.

The advert says: “The Orange Order is a Christ-centered global organisation, with a membership spanning continents, all united in their belief in basic human rights and civil liberties.”

It explains that Orange Institution comes together on July 12 to celebrate the Glorious Revolution

of 1688-1691 which “laid the foundation of democratic government, and within a century was to

provide inspiration for Ulster emigrants who had travelled to the New World to again stand for basic civil liberties in the American Revolution of 1776”.

In its original advertisement, the Orange Order asked for the nation’s prayers ahead of the march.

In an update the Orange Order added: “Twenty-five years later, the members of Portadown District Orange Lodge are still denied the liberty of walking home from their annual service – held every year since 1807 at Drumcree Church.

“The Parades Commission, an unelected and unaccountable body, continues to make no effort to seek a resolution to this ongoing issue.

"In contrast, Portadown Orange District has engaged widely in order to seek a solution which respects their core beliefs of civil and religious liberty for all."