"July Fourth Parade Intrigues Irish Teens, Despite Hot Weather," Arlington Morning News, July 4, 1999, A1.

By WILL POTTER

July parades are very different in Ireland.

Every July, members of the Orange Order, Northern Ireland's major Protestant fraternal group, attempt to parade through a Catholic district in Portadown. That parade commemorates the victory of William of Orange and his Protestant army over the Catholic forces of King James II of England at the Battle of the Boyne in 1691.

Sometimes the city government grants permission for the parade, and sometimes it does not. If the parade is blocked, Protestants riot. If the Protestants go through, Catholics riot. A decision on this year's July parade has not yet been made.

Accustomed to this standards of violence, Irish teens were a little surprised when they marched in Arlington's 34th annual Fourth of July parade Saturday.

The teens are participating in the Ulster Project, a 25-year-old program that brings teens from war-torn Northern Ireland to live with a host family in the United States.

The teens arrived at the University of Texas at Arlington south parking lot at 7:30 a.m. Saturday to prepare for the event, but the heat had already begun to affect some of them.

"I'm too hot to be excited," said Tim Harrison, a 15-year-old from Belfast. "But I haven't been in anything like this before. There's a lot of people, I'll say."

Police said an estimated 45,000 people waved, cheered and applauded along the two-mile route through Central Arlington. Nearly 2,000 people entered the parade, which featured 35 floats. The parade included everything from antique cars to Boy Scout troops.

The mass of people was a little intimidating, said Rory Fee, a 15-year-old from Belfast.

"I'm a little nervous," he said before the parade began. "I really don't know what to expect since we don't have parades over there."

The teens spent Friday afternoon covering the Ulster Project float with red, white and blue tissue paper.

Portraits of George Taylor and Matthew Thornton — two former Belfast residents who signed America's Declaration of Independence — adorned the side. This tied into the parade's theme of "America's Founders."

Outlines of hands shaking also lined the sides of the float. A shamrock or Texas flag marked each hand, along with a teen's name.

The decorations symbolize the goals of the Ulster Project, said Arlene smith, activities chairman.

The 32 teens were a little tired from the past week of activities, but they energetically marched the two-mile parade route.

Between cartwheels and cheers, the teens applied sunscreen and sprayed each other with mist fans.

"It's very big and very hot here," Rory said. A tan Tim Harrison learned his lesson early in the trip. The 15-year-old from Belfast came prepared with SPF 35 sunscreen.

Along the parade route, teens shouted impromptu cheers, jumped and waved at the crowd.

"The American teens seem like they're getting into it a little bit more than the Irish kids," said Finvola Kelly, a 15-year-old from Belfast. "I think it's because we don't get this at home."

The crowd waved and cheered for the group, but some teens knew if observers knew about the Ulster Project.

"We were all yelling and cheering, but sometimes the crowd wouldn't cooperate," said Ben Niccum, a 16-year-old from Arlington. "One lady even asked who we were and what we were doing."

The Irish teens arrived in Arlington June 28 and haven't slowed down since. The teens have spent the first week swimming, going to movies, and getting to know each other. They also attended an ecumenical service at First Presbyterian Church in Arlington on Tuesday and painted the Arlington Night Shelter on Thursday.

"I've had a ball getting to know everyone so far," said Kristen Parsley, a 14-year-old from Arlington. "I'm already dreading the end."