However, if the official view favoured its restoration, he suggested seeking Irish Army agreement to erect a Bailey bridge over the border at Aghalane.
The British security forces had no desire to see the reopening of the Aghalane Bridge, a major link between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, according to newly-released documents from the Public Record Office in Belfast.
In true Irish style, the idea for the parade was born over a few drinks at a Bridge Street pub in 2003, with the first marchers taking to the pint-sized street in 2004.