The climax of the marching season - the celebration of the Battle of the Boyne - was approaching.

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Ms Boyne said the bird had stood up a couple of times and honked, but mostly lay still for the two-hour journey.

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They had previously warned that bigoted behaviour and drinking in public would "not be tolerated" during the events to mark the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.

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Jenny Boyne, who lives near Tora Beach, told how she drove the penguin to the zoo in a fish crate after staff suggested she bring it in.

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The marches, commonly referred to as the Orange Walk, are celebrations which mark Prince William of Orange's victory over King James at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.

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The marching season reaches it peak on 12 July, when thousands of loyal order members parade through towns and cities to mark the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne.

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Jenny Boyne, who lives near Tora Beach where the penguin was found, said she drove it to the zoo in a fish crate after staff suggested she bring it in.

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"Then they disappeared, " says Boyne project manager Sarah Rocheleau.

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It was his last full day in office and he spent the morning and early afternoon with Northern Ireland's then First Minister Ian Paisley on the green, grassy slopes of the Boyne at the new museum that commemorates the 1690 Battle.

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At the time, Neeson was quoted as saying in an American magazine that he felt "second class" as a Catholic growing up in the mainly Protestant town and felt he had to stay indoors during the loyalist 12 July commemoration of the Battle of the Boyne.

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