The failure of the siege of Derry was a major strategic disaster for the Catholic forces of King James, providing William with a powerful, motivated base in Ulster. Protestant forces had suffered terribly during the siege with as many as three thousand dying of starvation and disease. The siege still has huge significance within the Ulster Protestant community. For many loyalists, it evokes as much emotion as the 1916 Rising does amongst militant Republicans. The historically anti-Catholic Apprentice Boys Association was founded after the siege and still marches every year to commemorate the victory.