In July 1980, I attended the Olympic Games in Moscow. I was of course a single man…..and spent a lot of spare time following Sport (especially Athletics and Boxing) in Ireland. Indeed I did a lot of running myself around that time.

Of course around the time I paid my final installment (Christmas 1979) .the Russians invaded Afghanistan. It was an agonising six months. Many western nations under pressure from Governments boycotted the Games. Garret Fitzgerald, then in Opposition in the Republic of Ireland was urging a boycott. I actually wrote to him asking if he would refund the money I had paid to go. Garret the Good? Dont make me laugh.

Anyway about two weeks before the Olympics, I went down to Dublin….picked up my visa, passport, tickets etc from the Irish Travel Agency in D’Olier Street. And I also picked up an Irish Olympic airline bag, supplied by the Irish Travel Agency….in green, white and orange.

So I spent a few days in Dublin…glad enough to avoid the misery of the Twelfth in Dungannon.

And I came back north on 13th July…the day of the sham fight at Scarva.

I got off the train at Portadown and walked down the steps at the station to see a lot of people staring at me. Lined accross Woodhouse Street at the entrance to the Obins Street Tunnel (the Catholic district of Portadown) they were waiting for the Orange/Black parade to go thru. Indeed the first band was already coming down Woodhouse Street.

Among the crowd was a RUC man who approached me and asked if I was a stranger. And to my immense relief he escorted me accross the “Magowan Buildings car park” to Fair Green….a waste ground where I could get the bus to Dungannon. And I was hiding my green, white and orange bag underneath a black overnight bag…sadly too small to actually hold the “Olympic” bag.

It was around 4pm. The bus to Dungannon was around 6pm…..no earlier bus because…….well it was the 13th July. It was to say the least an uncomfortable two hours. Sitting on my black bag which was covering the green, white and orange bag……and avoiding eye contact with the roving gang of Orange “hangers on” loudly looking for a “Fenian”.

Make no mistake……the July Orange marches are not some benign festival of “Culture”.

Of course people did confront the Orange/Black parade thru the Tunnel. But probably not in 1980. No residents group was that empowered in 1980. But of course the Tunnel Parade on Scarva Day is a thing of the past. As is the Drumcree Parade.

And…..only a matter of time before the Ardoyne Parade is consigned to the dustbin of History.