Protesters blocking Garvaghy Road ahead of Orange Order march Image caption, Thirty Orangemen gathered outside Drumcree Church - they are due to walk down the Garvaghy Road this morning By Declan Harvey and Darran Marshall BBC News NI Updated 25 minutes ago Hundreds of protesters are blocking a road in Portadown after a contentious Orange Order parade was given late-night clearance to march down it. Following a series of legal challenges, a ruling by the Parades Commission permitting the Drumcree parade down the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road was upheld in an "unprecedented" sitting of the High Court in Belfast. Sínn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and Stormont First Minister Michelle O'Neill have joined protesters, while members of the Orange Order have gathered at Drumcree, about a mile away.
The Drumcree parade, which in the 1990s sparked some of the most serious disorder in Northern Ireland's history, had been given permission to go ahead with restrictions in place. Image source, Reuters Image caption, A number of Sinn Féin politicians joined the protesters on the Garvaghy Road On a cold and wet Sunday morning, some of the protesters are linking arms and singing songs. Police are monitoring the situation and dozens of armoured vehicles have arrived in the town.
Officers are operating checkpoints on the main roads into Portadown, and they are reporting a steady stream of vehicles arriving into the County Armagh town. Drivers are being handed an information sheet, which says: "You are entitled to disagree with the procession and to make your views known peacefully. "The procession has been permitted by a determination of the Parades Commission.
People taking part in it also have a right to do so peacefully and safety." It says police will seek to facilitate peaceful protest where possible. On Friday, the Parades Commission said the march could go ahead along Garvaghy Road. Rather than start at 13:00 on Sunday as intended, the commission said it could begin no later than 08:00 and with 35 participants rather than the 60 the Orange Order requested.
But an initial legal challenge from the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition (GRRC) at the High Court saw a judge issue an injunction banning the parade, with Judge Patricia Smyth saying the "long-running dispute has the potential to escalate within Northern Ireland". This was later successfully challenged by an Orange Order member at the Court of Appeal. Late on Saturday evening, the GRRC was given permission to challenge that decision at the High Court - an appeal which was dismissed by Justice Humphreys.
In a hearing concluding at 02:15 BST on Sunday morning, Justice Humphreys acknowledged the "unusual if not unprecedented circumstances... with a parade due to begin in just over six hours' time". Delivering his judgement, he said: "This court cannot substitute its own view or anyone else's view for that of the commission." Northern Ireland's most senior judge, Lady Chief Justice Siobhan Keegan, similarly described the situation as "unprecedented". The Drumcree parade dispute began in the mid-1990s and it almost derailed the peace process at the time.
Violence related to the dispute resulted in riots, roadblocks and murders. When the Orange Order was prevented by police from walking down the route in July 1995 there was a tense stand-off. It was the same for the next three years.
The Orange Order is the most prominent of the loyal orders associated with Protestants in Northern Ireland. The Parades Commission began operating in 1998 to regulate parades and try to defuse tension around marches. Its decision not to allow a march down the Garvaghy Road that summer has been challenged by the order - unsuccessfully - over the past three decades.
Figure caption, A large crowd gathered on the Garvaghy Road late on Saturday night A large crowd of protesters gathered on the Garvaghy Road in the early hours of Sunday after the final court decision. They remained largely peaceful. The road was blocked by two separate groups - masked men blocked the north end of the road, near where the parade is due to start, towards Drumcree; a separate group blocked the road to the south.
There was no police presence on the road throughout the night, although officers could be seen at various other locations nearby. Reacting to the Court of Appeal ruling earlier, Breandan Mac Cionnaith of the GRRC said: "There's no such thing as justice or rights for our community. I'm going back to help defend my community."
Source: BBC
