A parade and wreath-laying ceremony occurred in Belfast city centre on Saturday to remember two Ulster Defence Regiment soldiers killed in an IRA bomb attack. Private James Cummings of Rathcoole in Newtownabbey and Private Frederick Starrett of east Belfast died on February 24, 1988, when the device exploded beside the under-construction CastleCourt shopping centre. A second IRA bomb nearby did not detonate.

Private Cummings joined the UDR in 1986. Private Starrett had served four months at the time of his death. Both men belonged to the Orange Order. The event follows an annual tradition at the explosion site.

Free Presbyterian clergyman Rev Ron Johnstone spoke to attendees along the route. He noted the path passed locations of IRA Bloody Friday bombings, led at the time by Joe Cahill, a former IRA Belfast commander and Sinn Fein member. Johnstone referenced a west Belfast GAA under-12 tournament named for Cahill.

Johnstone contrasted security force personnel, who protected communities, with IRA members who attacked them. He cited recent Sinn Fein comments praising IRA figure Brendan McFarlane and First Minister Michelle O'Neill's statement on lacking alternatives to violence during the Troubles. He called for attendees to demonstrate ongoing commitment to British and Protestant identity.

Orange Grand Master Harold Henning took part in the proceedings. The Ulster Defence Regiment began operations in 1970 as a locally recruited force assisting the British Army amid the Troubles.