McDonald says Sinn Féin will cooperate with inquiry into Drumcree protest
Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald says her party will cooperate with any Police Service of Northern Ireland investigation into the unnotified Garvaghy Road protest. The standoff followed a decision allowing a restricted Orange Order march, while opponents and unionists continued to dispute the legality and consequences.
Sinn Féin will cooperate with any Police Service of Northern Ireland investigation into a protest on the Garvaghy Road, party president Mary Lou McDonald has said. Protesters have remained on the road since September 27 amid a dispute over a proposed Portadown District Orange Lodge march. Rallies on both sides were held on Saturday, while McDonald and Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill attended the protest supporting residents who oppose the parade.
The PSNI has described the gathering as unnotified and therefore illegal. It said anyone found to have broken the law would face criminal-justice consequences. Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday Politics programme, McDonald said Sinn Féin would cooperate with any process that followed.
She defended attending the protest, saying there were occasions when politicians had to take a stand. Asked about its legality, she said others would determine whether that was the case. The Parades Commission had allowed the parade to proceed on September 27 with restrictions.
A fresh legal challenge by Garvaghy Road residents, originally due to be heard on Friday, was postponed until Monday. The Portadown District has maintained a presence at Drumcree Church after talks to resolve the dispute ended without agreement. The Democratic Unionist Party criticised McDonald and O’Neill.
Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly called their conduct disgraceful and accused them of failing in leadership. DUP MP Carla Lockhart said there could be long-term repercussions if, in her view, mob rule prevailed over the rule of law. McDonald said the dispute reflected what she described as a wrong decision by the Parades Commission and urged Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant to stop the march and create space for mediation.
Bryant said he was concerned by the prolonged standoff and had been working towards a mutually acceptable solution. Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin also said nobody benefited from reopening the dispute. The supplied material says the row has revived tensions around the route after a recent court ruling overturned an earlier commission decision.
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