It was quite a spectacle with 158 lodges, 60 bands and in excess of 100 Lambegs on show. The fact that the big drums were out in such numbers confirms that after what, to date, has been a pretty wretched summer, even the weather decided to co-operate.
The couple of mid-morning showers were so light that many didn't even bother to open their umbrellas and by lunch-time the cloud had parted sufficiently to allow shafts of warm sunshine through.
Tandragee District LOL No. 4 did itself proud, both in the countdown to July 12 and on the day itself. Well organised, planned and and executed, the success of the venture saw District Master Kyle Ellison and his fellow-officers earn the plaudits of the local and visiting lodges alike in view of the quality of the occasion.
With arsonists having attacked their District hall at the start of the year, thereby putting it out of commission, they were forced to adapt. They did. So well, in fact, that anyone who was not familiar with these unfortunate circumstances would never have known that there had been a problem to overcome.
Back in 2003, Markethill District LOL No. 10 raised the bar and set a new standard in hosting the County Armagh Twelfth. Others have since followed that lead, Tandragee being the latest to have done so.
From well before eight o'clock on the Twelfth morning feeder parades were on the move in each of the 10 Tandragee-bound Districts. And having gathered at their assembly points - in Portadown's case, at Carleton Street - they paraded through their respective towns before boarding the fleet of buses which conveyed them to Tandragee's Armagh Road from where they walked to the field on the Old Scarva Road, just beyond the River Cusher.
From start to finish the route was lined with spectators, with the crowds in Market Street particularly densely packed close to the arch. On the outward leg the incline was in the walkers' favour. But on the homeward, the gradient of hill taxed many of them, most notably the exponents of Lambeg drumming whose ages varied greatly.
One family - the Doweys from Tandragee - boasted three generations of drummers; a father, his two sons, a granddaughter (9) and a grandson (5). And dad's drum featured a portrait of his late father.
Tandragee District, of course, had pride of place and the scene as the hosts' 21 numbers headed the seemingly endless Orange flood of visitors through the town centre was hugely impressive. The incoming 137 lodges were fronted by their own banners and Tandragee's topography meant that, when viewed from the bottom of the hill, each of these was slightly higher than the one it followed, thereby creating a gently rising terrace of fluttering orange and blue silk. Quite a sight, particularly when shafts of sunlight began to break through to illuminate those banners' gold and silver lettering.
The view from The Square at the top of the hill was no less spectacular, with the cloud-covered peaks of The Mournes rising on the horizon beyond the man-made sea of red, white, blue and orange.
The music to which the Orchard County's participants paraded varied greatly. The skirl of the pipes with the distinctive staccato of the side-drums and the low rumble of the tenors which accompany them; the shrill, piercing flutes and their pounding percussion sections; the melodious accordions; the dignified solemnity of brass and silver.
And with this being the Orchard County, which is synonymous with the Lambeg, everywhere the thunder of the big drums, none louder or more prestigious than the brass-encased model carried proudly by Loughgall District's Clantilew Bible and Crown Defenders, LOL 101, whose Worshipful Master is former Portadown and Coleraine central defender, David Jackson. They were fronted by five big drums and the aggregate effect was defeaning.
But even they were eclipsed by Markethill District's Lurgaross Orange Heroes, LOL 620. They fielded nine Lambegs - a quintet of full-size drums plus a quartet of the increasingly popular youngster-friendly 'mini' variety. Remarkable sight and sound.
The blood and thunder ensembles vied for supremacy, among them Portadown True Blues, Portadown Defenders, Banbridge Fusiliers - all of which accompanied Portadown District lodges - Derrylee, Armagh True Blues and Craigavon Protestant Boys. To this add a number of very good bands from South Armagh, most notably those which accompanied the highly impressive Markethill, Killylea and Newtownhamilton Districts, all of which earned the admiration of the watching masses.
In the words of one philosophical spectator, "Easy enough acting the Orange hero in Portadown or Tandragee, but a different ball game when you live close to the border and are hoping there'll still be a hall when you get back home tonight."
The age-old etiquette of the occasion was observed once again - head-dress was removed and colours dipped when passing the War Memorial, swords and deacon poles were raised at the arch, enabling lodge members to pass between. The Districts had observed their distinctive protocols at the start of the day, too, primarily the laying of wreaths at their towns' Cenotaphs. And Tandragee, of course, had its unique Ceremony of the Ring.
The Orchard County's 2008 Twelfth was a real success. The field, too, ticked all of the important boxes in terms of accessibility, provision of facilities, entertainment for the children and a centrally-placed platform for those who wished to listen to the proposing and seconding of the resolutions. In truth, they appear to form a rapidly-dwindling minority.
It will be 2019 before it falls to Tandragee District to host another County Armagh Twelfth. Between now and then they can reflect on the fact that when last required to do so, they did it very, very well.