Dissident republican group holds Easter parade in Derry

PSNI helicopter monitored the procession but there was no visible police presence on the ground

People take part in a dissident republican parade that on Monday travelled from the Creggan shops in Derry to the city cemetery. Photograph: Mark Marlow/PA Wire
People take part in a dissident republican parade that on Monday travelled from the Creggan shops in Derry to the city cemetery. Photograph: Mark Marlow/PA Wire

A dissident republican parade to commemorate the Easter Rising in 1916 has taken place in Derry.

The parade started in the Central Drive area of Creggan before making its way to the city cemetery.

A Police Service of Northern Ireland helicopter monitored the procession overhead but there was no visible police presence on the ground.

There was a colour party of people wearing face coverings, sunglasses and paramilitary-style dress, carrying the Irish flag and republican flags.

A crowd of a couple of hundred people followed the parade to the cemetery, including a number of young people with their faces covered, some carrying petrol bombs and planks of wood.

The event, billed as the “Unfinished Revolution National Easter Commemoration”, concluded with speeches at the cemetery.

A small fire was started in the middle of the road outside some shops in the Creggan area.

The dissident republican event has sparked scenes of violence in previous years.

People take part in a dissident republican parade that on Monday travelled from the Creggan shops in Derry to the city cemetery. Photograph: Mark Marlow/PA Wire
People take part in a dissident republican parade that on Monday travelled from the Creggan shops in Derry to the city cemetery. Photograph: Mark Marlow/PA Wire

The organisers of the parade – the National Republican Commemoration Committee – had applied to the Parades Commission for permission for the Easter Monday event.

In its determination allowing the march to proceed, the commission explicitly prohibited the wearing of paramilitary-style clothes and flags linked to proscribed organisations. – PA

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