On Sunday August 5th, when Portadown Orangemen marched to church, it was reported that, despite having been diverted from the Garvaghy Road, the parade was peaceful and orderly. But one incident went unreported in this country. A spokesman for the Lodge even denied that it had happened, until confronted by the tapes screened on Irish television.

At the end of the procession, behind the nicely turned-out old geezers in their Men from the Ministry regalia, came an informally-dressed section. Some of them were doing a bizarre kicking dance and shouting, "Where's Robby Hamill". British observers probably imagine this to be some tribal ritual dating back to the Battle of Aughrim, but its inspiration was more recent.

On April 27th last year, Robert Hamill was returning from a night out in the Portadown city centre with three friends. It would have been apparent from the direction in which they were walking that they were heading for the Garvaghy Road estate. This would define them as Catholics. They were set upon by a fifteen-strong gang. The two girls flung themselves over Robert and his friend Gregory Girvan, but Gregory was kicked unconscious and Robert was sent into a coma. He died twelve days later.

The Royal Ulster Constabulary have won much praise these past two weeks. Unlike last year, when they beat residents off the street to force the Orangemen through, this year, the RUC stood their ground. Petrol bombs and blast bombs were hurled at them, notably a few nights ago, after a stirring oration by Dr Paisley. But the bombs embarrassed local Orangemen, who called for an end to attacks on "our police force". Orangemen generally see themselves as law-abiding citizens. Indeed, the RUC has its own Robert Peel Order. Overall, between a quarter and a half of officers are Orangemen. Only in the past three years have policemen been ordered not to take part in Orange parades.

The press here sees the RUC as the personification of British fair-play, well-trained by us during our even-handed stewardship of that troubled land. They are, as policemen always are, said to be "caught in the middle". In England, the Stephen Lawrence inquiry has blown that myth apart. In Ireland, the death of Robert Hamill ought to wake us up to some similar realities.

On that night last year, an RUC Land Rover was on the scene. Young Catholics were leaving St Patrick's Hall to head home. One was concerned about the swelling group of protestant youths, and approached the Land Rover to ask the RUC officers to keep an eye out for Robert and the three others, to make sure that they got past safely. But the four RUC officers, armed with machine guns, sat snug in their Land Rover while Robert and Gregory were being stomped on. They did not get out until the ambulance arrived. They did not arrest anybody and they did not report the incident back at the station.

RUC press releases said that there had been a clash between rival factions. The police later conceded that four people were attacked by a large crowd, but they now appear to have reverted to their original line that they were powerless to intervene in a huge gang-fight. No officers have been disciplined and the RUC is investigating itself.

When Robert died, six arrests were made. Charges against five were dropped. One is still awaiting trial. Although an eye-witness came forward to say that he could identify one of the killers, no identity parade was held. Meanwhile, the Hamill family endure taunts about Robert any time they venture into the city centre, and every memorial wreath to him is torn down.

Of course, the Garvaghy Road residents haven't been into town much lately. Theoretically, the RUC have been protecting them during the stand-off. But Loyalist gangs hanging around the barricades have at various times stopped residents from leaving the estate. Over a three-day period, people were unable to got to work or even buy food. A food convoy was sent from Belfast. The RUC held it up in a Loyalist area for an hour, long enough for thugs to arrive and attack the people as they sat in their cars. No arrests were made. No stories appeared in British papers.

True, the coverage has turned. I'm sure most of us here see the Orangemen as anachronistic and obdurate, ludicrous and un-British. But few realise the hurt and humiliation that is felt when they march through Catholic areas. Few remember that there is a particular reason why the Lower Ormeau Road people so bitterly resent their presence. It was there that five Catholics were murdered at random in Sean Graham's betting shop in 1992. Not long after, the dignified men of the Ballynafeigh Lodge carried out one of the several marches which the locals endure over each summer. On that occasion, as the march reached the betting shop, it stopped and people danced and held up five fingers. And people ask, "Why don't they just let them through?"
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