The Orange Order has welcomed a proposal by former Táiniste Michael McDowell to declare July 12 an all-Ireland holiday – and has suggested dyeing the River Liffey orange for such a holiday.

Robert Saulters, the Order’s Grand Master – which itself is administered as an all-Ireland entity – believes the declaration of the holiday would be a “very nice gesture”.

The Order’s grand chaplain, Rev Stanley Gamble, said it would be “a monumental step in the right direction” and would provide unique tourist potential for the island.

“It would provide Ireland with a golden opportunity to repeat the success of the St Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin,” Gamble told the Sunday Times.

And replicating the tradition of putting green dye in the Liffey on March 17, he posited: “Can you imagine tourists flocking from all over the world to see the Liffey turned orange?”

McDowell’s proposals came at the MacGill Summer School in Donegal where he suggested Irish ministers should attend Twelfth of July demonstrations in the North, just as they attend St Patrick’s Day parades overseas.

The chances of their being Twelfth parades in Dublin are slim, however, with the Love Ulster parade planned for Dublin in 2006 ending in a massive riot.

There were 34,538 Orange Order members in Ireland last year, according to the paper.