Northern Ireland parade talks move closer to possible Drumcree settlement
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant says talks over the disputed Garvaghy Road parade are close to a long-term agreement. The residents’ coalition says it would accept a proposal drafted by Bryant if the Orange Order also accepts it, as legal and policing disputes continue and tensions remain high.
Talks aimed at resolving the long-running Drumcree parade dispute in Northern Ireland have moved closer to a possible agreement, according to Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant. Bryant said on Wednesday that a settlement was “tantalisingly close” and urged all sides, including the wider community, to make further compromises. He has been meeting representatives of the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition and the Orange Order at Hillsborough Castle.
Breandán Mac Cionnaith, leader of the nationalist residents’ group, said he had reviewed a document drawn up by Bryant and his team. He declined to disclose its contents but said the coalition would accept it if the Orange Order did so. The dispute centres on an Orange Order parade through Garvaghy Road, a mainly nationalist area.
The Northern Ireland Parades Commission authorised the march on Friday, ending a 28-year ban, but a court order temporarily stopped it. The Court of Appeal later overturned that order. Attempts to proceed have been blocked by protesters, while a small group of Orange Order members has remained at Drumcree church, the parade’s starting point.
Northern Ireland’s chief constable, Jon Boutcher, said the blockade was unlawful and that a major criminal investigation was under way. The dispute has revived memories of the Troubles. Critics have warned that a march could trigger serious violence, while nationalist residents say the decision has left their community feeling threatened and retraumatised.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill visited Garvaghy Road on Wednesday. She said she had chosen to stand with residents and would continue to do so. The residents’ coalition has also launched a fresh legal challenge, arguing that the Parades Commission relied on historic police assessments rather than a forward-looking assessment of the risk of violence.
The Orange Order’s County Armagh section called the continuing obstruction a disgrace and praised members remaining at Drumcree.
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