Orange Order members have been urged to respect the right of the Republic to celebrate 1916 next year, and to match it with centenary memories of the Battle of the Somme.

The call came at the only Orange Order parade in the Republic, in Rossnowlagh, Co Donegal, on Saturday.

Harold Henning, Orange Order deputy Grand Master in Ireland, in his rally speech, said it was "of minimal relevance" to Orange members, but they respected the right of others in Ireland to mark the centenary of the Easter Rising. "We can't rewrite history. History is there and it has to be remembered."

He added: “Likewise, we would expect others to acknowledge the importance of the centenary of the Battle of the Somme next year to the Unionist community on this island.”

Dublin commemoration

He welcomed comments by Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan while attending this year's Somme remembrance event in Belfast, intimating that Dublin could host its own official commemoration in 2016.

Three weeks ago President Michael D Higgins’s office sent a note to the Orange Order turning down their public invitation issued a year ago to attend Saturday’s parade in Rossnowlagh. President Higgins attended the opening of an extension at an arts centre instead in the Naul in north Co Dublin on Saturday. A spokesman said the President was sticking to his schedule issued every week.

More than 7,000 Orange members and associates went ahead with the Donegal parade along two kilometres to the sand dunes at Rossnowlagh beach. The parade has been held since the early 1900s on the Saturday before the Twelfth of July.