Culture Minister Nelson McCausland taking part in the Orange Parade.

Dressed up as a Battle of the Boyne soldier.

Photos taken on July 13 (the march took place on July 13 instead of July 12 this year as organisers, the Loyal Orders refuse to hold it on a Sunday). Posted on Flickr by Belfast Gonzo.

The scene after the parade had passed through Ardoyne.

Photo taken on 13 July by Belfast Gonzo.

A rioter defies water cannons. © George Grimley

Police shelter behind a van. © George Grimley on Flickr.

A youth throws a petrol bomb from a roof. © George Grimley on Flickr.

Police surrounded by shrapnel. George Grimley on Flickr.

Photos taken on July 13.

Blogger Conall McDevitt is a managing director for the Belfast branch of a PR firm. He's from the Republic of Ireland (Dublin) and considers himself a Catholic culturally. He moved to Belfast in 1995 and lived in a mixed area (Catholic, Protestant and other). Conall's blog.

Everyone's in agreement that the real IRA is behind this. There are only a few hundred rioters and they're probably organised by a much smaller number. It's a desperate attempt to stoke up trouble. The problem is that the parade gives them a perfect excuse to do it.

A lot of people find it very intimidating, and any Catholic resident who can afford to leave Belfast does. No matter what way you dress it up, if you are not an Orange supporter and 10,000 men with bands come marching up your street flying union flags, as happens on mine, it feels like an invasion. When they leave their litter behind and use your walls and latrines, it feels like a violation. 

This does not happen when parades pass through city centres however, which by definition are neutral places. If The Orange Order changed its attitude and cut out the residential routes, then I think real progress could be made.

While this violence does seem like a small setback, you have to remember that, traditionally in this region, violence usually sparks violence in other areas. Not this time. The majority of people are ashamed and disappointed by the rioters. And, while ten years back no nationalist supported the police force because it was 94% Protestant, since the positive discrimination policy was introduced several years ago (Catholic officers now making up 25% of the force), everybody - except for this tiny minority - supports them."