Blue Banner Junior LOL 781
Blue Banner Junior LOL 781 were established in 2012 to give local boys the opportunity to participate in the Annual Boyne Anniversary Celebrations which were being hosted in Donaghadee that year. The late Bro. Noel Weir of LOL 781 felt it was important the younger generation were involved and so he put a lot of work in to ensuring that the Lodge gained the sufficient numbers to allow the new Lodge to be formed and by July that year had achieved a membership of 17. Bro. Weir also worked hard to ensure the boys had all the necessary regalia required to take part in the celebrations and raised the necessary funds to buy collarettes, a bannerette and all the other equipment needed by the young Brethren. The Lodge has since went from strength to strength and has had a number of members who have went on to join some of the senior Lodges in Donaghadee.
As well as taking part in various parades, the young Brethren also enjoy many trips throughout the year. Some are to places of cultural or historical significance but a lot are just trips where the boys can just have some fun such as go-karting, race driving simulators and paint-balling. The boys also enjoy an annual trip to Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow to watch Glasgow Rangers, this trip is always very popular and the boys parents are encouraged to go too.
Cultural trips have included trips:
- Museum of Orange Heritage, Belfast
- Battle of the Boyne site at Oldbridge, Co. Meath
- Somme Heritage Centre, Conlig, Co. Down
- Londonderry's Historic Walls, Co. Londonderry
- Enniskillen Castle, Co. Fermanagh
- Dan Winter's Cottage and Sloan's Inn, Loughall, Co. Armagh
Members of JLOL 781 have also visited a number of other places of interest over the years and some of the young Brethren have even enjoyed a trip to the 1st World War battle sites in Belgium and France and visited the Ulster Tower at the Somme.
The Superintendent and his assistants are keen to encourage the boys to learn about their history and culture but are also just as keen to ensure the boys should have fun, be encouraged to be active and make lifelong friends.
If you or anyone you know may be interested in joining Junior LOL 781, please contact us. Membership is open to boys age between 6 and 17 years old.