Apprentice Boys of Derry

The Apprentice Boys of Derry is a Protestant fraternal society founded in 1814 and based in the city of Derry, Ireland (now part of Northern Ireland). In 2021 it had over 10,000 members worldwide, with membership open to Protestant men only. There are branches elsewhere in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, England, Australia and Canada. The society aims to commemorate the 1689 Siege of Derry when Catholic James II of England and Ireland and VII of Scotland laid siege to the walled city, which was at the time a Protestant stronghold. Apprentice Boys parades once regularly led to virulent opposition from the city's Irish nationalist majority, but recently a more conciliatory approach has taken place and now the parades are virtually trouble-free. The 2014 'Shutting of the Gates' parade was described as "the biggest in years" and was violence-free.