Independent Loyal Orange Institution

The Big Breakfast
2026-04-06 08:00 - 12:00 (Europe/London) | ILOI Head-Quarters, Edward Street, Ballymoney
The tables are set for the Rasharkin District Big Breakfast On Easter Monday before the Apprentice Boys Parade and Crimson Festival.
Get the day off to a goody start and plan to join us in Head-Quarters from 8am where the welcome will be as warm as the food.

The fried breakfast is by no means unique to Ulster, across the border they have the full Irish, there’s the full English and Welsh, with most regions of Britain and Ireland having their own variation on the fry-up. It might just be the time of year, but we think the Ulster Fry has the others beat.

Nothing new

The fry is very much a Victorian invention. One of the most famous Victorian cookbooks, Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management, listed a selection of the best cooked breakfast foods. Cooked breakfast was less common before the Victorian era than it is today, but we have Mrs Beeton to thank for adding bacon and eggs to the world’s breakfast repertoire. What we think of as the traditional fried breakfast came into its own after World War II. As well as being known as the ‘Full English’, the phrase ‘Full Monty’ is sometimes used instead, owing to the fact general Bernard ‘Monty’ Montgomery supposedly started every day with a hearty English breakfast.

What’s the difference?

Bacon, eggs and sausages (all fried) are common ingredients across all fry-ups, but everything else is a matter of contention. The purist’s Ulster Fry consists of bacon, eggs, sausages, black pudding and, most importantly, both potato bread and soda bread. Baked beans, fried tomato, mushrooms, and white pudding are commonly added, but hardcore traditionalists might reject these. The biggest sticklers might outright reject anything that can’t be fried in lard, but that position is growing unpopular as time goes by. Indeed, as people become more health conscious, cooked breakfasts are moving towards grilling instead of frying.

Baking and eggs

The two breads in the Ulster Fry are usually served in farls (short for fardell, meaning a quarter, and made by cutting dough into four pieces). Potato bread substitutes potato for some of the wheat flour and is usually mass produced as farls, while soda bread is made with soda bicarbonate instead of yeast and can also be baked as a normal loaf. Although wheaten bread (soda bread made with wholemeal flour) is often served sliced in restaurants, sliced soda would be quite unusual on a breakfast plate.

Monthly Prayer Meeting
2026-04-20 19:30 - 21:00 | Granagh Independent Orange Hall, 138 Mullan Road, Rasharkin, Antrim, BT44 8SH, United Kingdom
The Monthly prayer meetings hosted by our various lodges have been a real time of fellowship and blessing, and will continue throughout 2026. As an Institution we have much to give thanks to God for and much to bring to him in prayer. The meetings are open to all and we would encourage you to join us for a time of prayer.
The meetings are organised by our Religious Affairs Committee.

Eleventh Night
2026-07-11 19:00 - 23:00 | McNeillstown Independent Orange Hall, 15 Blackstone Road, Portglenone, BT448HB, United Kingdom
Lighting the Way – Eleventh Night Bonfire & Family Celebration in Portglenone
The Banntastic Festival will mark one of the most iconic traditions in the Protestant calendar with a spectacular Eleventh Night Bonfire and Family Fun Evening in Portglenone. The event blends commemoration and community, heritage and hospitality, and offers a family-friendly alternative for all ages.
Rooted in the events of 1690, Eleventh Night bonfires symbolise the eve of King William III’s victory at the Battle of the Boyne. Across Ulster, these fires are a celebration of deliverance, liberty and Protestant identity. In Portglenone, that tradition is embraced with pride—but also enhanced with modern values of safety, inclusion, and cultural education.
This year’s event includes:

Children’s games and inflatables
Live local music
Free Street Food
Ceremonial lighting of a Beacon
Traditional music as the flames rise

Everyone is encouraged to bring a chair, a torch, and their community spirit. The evening is an opportunity to enjoy cultural expression in a safe, respectful and celebratory way—a truly “Banntastic” experience for the whole family.

Boyne Thanksgiving Service
2026-07-12 14:30 | Garryduff Presbyterian Church, Garryduff Road Ballymoney, 126 Garryduff Rd,, Ballymoney, Northern Ireland, BT53 7DH, United Kingdom
Garryduff ILOL No 15 will hold their annual Church Parade and Service to Garryduff Presbyterian Church Sunday 12th July 2026
Brethren and Bands are requested to Assemble at Garryduff Independent Orange Hall 2.45pm.
The Annual Boyne Thanksgiving Church Service and Parade gives us all an opportunity to reflect on the victory we celebrate and give thanks to God for it.
