Drumcree standoff continues as Northern Ireland talks and legal challenge proceed
Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant is due to hold further talks with community leaders as a legal challenge seeks to prevent the Drumcree parade from proceeding along Portadown’s Garvaghy Road. The Orange Order’s permitted march has been delayed amid a continuing dispute with residents and police.
Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant is expected to hold further talks with community leaders as the dispute over the Drumcree parade in Portadown continues, according to the BBC. The Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition has launched a fresh legal bid to prevent the parade from going ahead. The march was due to take place on Sunday, but has not begun despite being authorised after three legal hearings lasting 13 hours.
Members of the Orange Order had remained at Drumcree Church and made repeated attempts to start the route. By early Wednesday, however, no members of the organisation remained at the church. An attempt by Portadown District Lodge at 22:10 BST on Tuesday was refused by police, despite a request for assistance from DUP MP Carla Lockhart and Deputy District Master Alastair Power.
The dispute concerns a route along the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road. The Orange Order is a Protestant and pro-British organisation, while the area is largely Catholic and associated with Irish nationalism. Residents’ representative Breandán Mac Cionnaith said the parade should be rerouted.
Portadown District Master Nigel Dawson described talks with the Secretary of State as positive and constructive. He later told supporters that unionist leaders should continue pressing Sir Chris and the chief constable, saying the law and the relevant court ruling had to be applied. The Parades Commission allowed the march to proceed with restrictions: it could begin no later than 08:00 and include 35 participants rather than the 60 requested by the Orange Order.
The decision followed years of unsuccessful applications and was challenged in Belfast courts before being approved shortly before the planned march. The Drumcree dispute has a long history of confrontation. Since 1998, the Orange Order has been prevented from completing the route, while earlier stand-offs were associated with riots, roadblocks and killings.
The current dispute has again brought residents, unionists, police and political leaders into talks.
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