The claims were made by Drew Nelson, Grand Secretary of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland.

Reacting to Martin McGuinness’ comments on the Orange Order, Mr. Nelson said: “The Deputy First Minister used the Annual Wolfe Tone Commemoration at Bodenstown in County Kildare to communicate his intolerance to the Orange Order.

“He accused us of sectarian provocation because we want to maintain our traditional parades. When our members take part in parades I believe that they are doing so as a re-affirmation of their Protestantism and their Britishness, nothing more or less than that. This is what Martin McGuinness hates about our parades. He is intolerant of any Irish people publicly declaring their Protestantism and Britishness”.

Mr. Nelson continued: “In his Bodenstown speech Martin McGuinness said that the IRA had made significant contributions to the Peace Process. I now challenge him to take one further step. Deputy First Minister, if you are really genuine about building on the Peace Process in Northern Ireland, then condemn the murder of those 273 members who were murdered by the IRA. You must say clearly, without ambiguity, prevarication, conditionality or obfuscation, that these murders of your fellow Irishmen were wrong.”