'Kirlish Chosen Few' crowned County Tyrone Lodge of the Year

IT was a very special night for ‘Kirlish Chosen Few’ LOL No. 380 who lifted the final award for the evening, Lodge of the Year at the Co Tyrone Grand Orange Awards Night.

The Lodge is a member of Killen District LOL No. 12 in County Tyrone. A district with bands and Lodges that did very well, reaching the final in several different categories.

This was the more remarkable as the Band of the Year went to Aghyaran Accordion Band. Aghyaran Accordion Band is the most westerly band in County Tyrone and demonstrates, through fundraising and the quality of their music, why they are so justifiably Band of the Year. This year is the band’s 70th anniversary as it was formed in 1956 and paraded for the first time at Castlederg on the Twelfth of July, 1956.

It is such an honour for the Worshipful Master, fellow officers and brethren of the Lodge to be awarded County Tyrone Lodge of the Year.

"You can see that pride and joy in all our faces. We might be a small Lodge but the Lodge has a big heart with so much community involvement, Christian outreach and witness at the heart of everything the Lodge does. Members of the Lodge are always there to help in any way they can and that hard work shows what can be achieved," said a spokesperson.

Kirlish Orange Lodge has a very proud and long history as it has been operating on Kirlish hill, close to the Plantation Castle of Castle Kirlish outside Drumquin for 230 years.

‘Kirlish Chosen Few’ is one of the oldest continually operating Orange Lodges in County Tyrone. After the Orange Institution was formed following the Battle of the Diamond near Loughgall, County Armagh on September 21, 1795 to promote Protestantism, remembrance of King William III and for mutual defence. Lodges quickly spread across Ireland and then throughout the world. Interestingly County Tyrone is home to the first Orange Lodge in the world, Dyan LOL No. 1 and not County Armagh.

The first record of the Lodge operating can be found in the first Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland minute book dated March, 1798 when the Lodge had 30 Brethren and the Worshipful Master being Worshipful Brother John Irvine from Kirlish, but it is clear the Lodge was operating at Kirlish from autumn 1795.

The Lodge would have its first purpose built home ninety years ago when Kirlish Orange Hall would be opened in 1931, previously meeting in the homes of the Worshipful Masters. Since then Kirlish Orange hall has been at the centre of community life running dances, hosting meetings, fundraising and other cultural and religious events.

Like so many Orange Lodges it would lose brethren in the First and Second World Wars. The first soldier from County Tyrone to be killed in the Korean War often referred to as the forgotten war was a member of the Lodge. The Lodge lost a brother who was murdered by republican terrorists during the troubles in an attempt to ethnically cleanse the Protestant and Unionist community.

In more recent happier times the Lodge built a new Orange Hall and a new Lodge Banner was unfurled to mark the centenary of Northern Ireland that features paintings of the map of Northern Ireland, a Bible and Crown, Gideon's ‘Chosen Few’ and King William III. A new upstairs extension to the hall was opened to mark the Coronation of King Charles III. The latest addition to Kirlish Orange Hall being a Memorial Garden opened on May 8, 2025 to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day.

Membership is on the increase in Orange Lodges in general thanks to a recent Grand Orange Lodge recruitment campaign, with increases of brethren, sisters and juniors right across Northern Ireland. This is also the case at Kirlish as membership of the Lodge increased by 25% during 2025.

Last year with the normal events like the annual Orange Service, Big Breakfasts and other fundraisers. The Lodge opened a new memorial garden to honour those who served in the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War and Operation Banner. The Lodge held its first Orange Victims Day, its first Armistice Day Service and its first carol service.

The brethren of ‘Kirlish Chosen Few’ LOL No. 380 are so proud of all they have achieved as part of the Orange family. Currently the Lodge has 25 members and the principal officers for 2026 are as follows: WM Stevan Patterson, DM Andrew Scott, Treasurer David Buchanan, secretary Thomas Buchanan, chaplain Rev. Jonny Jordan, lay chaplain William Mitchell, tyler Joe McSorley and committee foreman Noel McKane.

As County Tyrone Lodge of the year the brethren of ‘Kirlish Chosen Few’ LOL No. 380 look forward to their 230th Twelfth of July celebrations and parade that will be held in the local town of Castlederg on Monday, July 13, 2026 hosed by Killen District LOL No. 12.