Drumcree residents’ challenge set for Court of Appeal

A judge had allowed 35 members of the Orange Order to walk through the Catholic neighbourhood around Garvaghy Road for the first time in 28 years, ANP/AFP reported. The permission required them to march in silence, without music or supporters. [1]

About 2,000 people gathered near the road on Sunday morning to oppose the procession, which was then postponed. No new time was reported. [1]

Garvaghy Road was a flashpoint for Catholic–Protestant tensions in the 1990s. Earlier attempts to hold or prevent the march led to serious disorder. [1]

Update

Hundreds of protesters blocked Garvaghy Road in Portadown on Sunday. Police told the Orange Order that the road was not clear for the planned start of its Drumcree parade. The crowd began dispersing that evening, but lodge members were still waiting at Drumcree Parish Church on Sunday night. [2]

The Parades Commission had permitted the march along Garvaghy Road, subject to a limit of 35 participants and a start no later than 08:00 BST. An initial High Court injunction banning the parade was overturned on appeal. A further challenge by residents was dismissed at a hearing that ended at 02:15 BST on Sunday. [2]

Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill joined the protesters and urged them to stay on the road until at least midnight. DUP leader Gavin Robinson accused her of breaking the law by protesting. Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant said it was not his role to decide whether anyone had broken the law. [2]

Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said the police operation had helped prevent violence or disorder and that officers were gathering evidence. Orange Order district master Nigel Dawson said on Sunday night that members would remain at Drumcree while they continued to engage with police. [2]

Update

A line of police Land Rovers blocked a group of Orange Order members who tried to march from Drumcree Church towards Garvaghy Road in Portadown in the early hours of Monday. [3]

The move followed Sunday’s stand-off, when protesters gathered on the mainly nationalist road and a permitted morning parade did not take place. The Parades Commission had required that march to start no later than 08:00 on Sunday and limited it to 35 participants. [3]

Two schools in the area announced they would close on Monday, citing the safety and wellbeing of pupils, families and staff. [3]

Update

Protesters remained on the Garvaghy Road overnight into Tuesday, 29 September, after Monday’s talks left the Drumcree parade dispute at an impasse. A group of Orangemen tried several times to begin the march. A smaller number also stayed near Drumcree church overnight, speaking to officers at a police line as they sought to march down the road. [4]

Up to 400 people gathered near the Garvaghy Road at one point on Monday night, BBC News NI reported. Unlike over the weekend, the road was not blocked that night, and police had scaled back their presence to two cars and a Land Rover. [4]

Two senior Portadown Orange Order members described their Monday meeting with Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant as “constructive”. Breandán Mac Cionnaith, of the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition, also met Bryant and called for the Order to return from Drumcree church by its outward route rather than the Garvaghy Road. [4]

Update

Police declined a request from Portadown District Lodge to begin its Drumcree march at 22:10 BST on Tuesday. Deputy district master Alastair Power, accompanied by DUP MP Carla Lockhart, asked officers whether they could facilitate the parade and was told they could not. The Orange Order had not begun the march scheduled for Sunday. [5]

Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant plans further talks with community leaders on Wednesday, 30 September. Lawyers for the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition have also launched a fresh legal bid to prevent the march along the road in Portadown. [5]

Protesters remained at Garvaghy Road early on Wednesday. For the first time since the stand-off began, no Orange Order members were at Drumcree Church. [5]

Update

Representatives of the Portadown Orange Order and the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition arrived separately at Hillsborough Castle on Thursday for further talks about the Drumcree march. Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant has been in discussions with both sides since Monday. [6]

The residents’ coalition made a fresh legal bid on Tuesday to prevent the march. A hearing due on Friday has been postponed until Monday to allow more talks involving Bryant. [6]

Both sides received a discussion document during separate meetings on Wednesday. Orange Order district master Nigel Dawson said on Thursday that it had not moved matters forward and had been taken off the table. The residents’ coalition chairman said his group would agree to it if the Orange Order did. [6]

The march from Drumcree Church did not take place on Sunday amid a large protest on the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road. Protesters have since remained on the road in smaller numbers, while the Orange Order has maintained a presence at the church. [6]

Update

The Court of Appeal in Belfast is due to hear residents’ challenge to the Parades Commission’s decision to permit an Orange Order march at about 10:30 BST on Monday, 5 October. The commission approved the march on 25 September, subject to restrictions. [7]