Several thousand people took part in a rally in Belfast today to mark the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).
The organisation was set up to oppose home rule.
Men and women dressed in period costumes paraded through East Belfast, watched by huge crowds.
Some of the participants carried replica guns, similar to the type smuggled into the North a century ago by those opposed to any change in the constitutional position.
Today's rally converged on Craigavon House,on the outskirts of the city, where James Craig and Edward Carson formed the UVF in 1913.
RTÉ and the BBC were among the broadcasting organisations prohibited from recording the speeches made there.
A significant point about today's event was the absence of leading figures from the two main unionist party, the DUP and the Ulster Unionists.
The organisers of the rally stressed today's rally was to mark the historic events of a century ago.
The rally organisers were keen to distance it from the activities of the UVF, revived as a loyalist parmilitary organisation during the Troubles.
After the events at Craigavon House, the marchers returned through the streets of East Belfast and dispersed peacefully.
There were major traffic disruptions in the city to facilitate the rally.
