Northern Ireland’s Parades Commission has granted permission for the Orange Order to march down the Garvaghy Road in Portadown for the first time in almost 30 years this weekend.
The commission has blocked the order from marching along the mainly nationalist road on their way to Drumcree Church in July every year since 1998.
On Friday, it ruled on an application for 60 Orange Order members to take part in a proposed procession on Sunday.
It imposed a number of conditions, including limiting the number of participants to 35, but did not impose any restrictions on the route of the parade.
RM Block
It also imposed conditions on the timing and music to be played.
A crowd of around 200 people on Friday gathered outside the High Court in Belfast. The Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition is seeking a judicial review, which will be heard on Saturday, to stop the march planned for Sunday.
The commission was heavily criticised by unionist politicians last month when a High Court ruling quashed its most recent determination over the march.
The Drumcree parade dominated headlines in the 1990s when violent clashes and political tension necessitated a major security operation for several summers, as Garvaghy Road residents rejected the march passing through the community.
[ British state papers: Orange march to Drumcree ‘a disaster’Opens in new window ]
Sinn Féin First Minister Michelle O’Neill condemned the decision.
“There is no reasonable or logical basis for the Parades Commission’s announcement,” she said.
“For 28 years, the Garvaghy Road community has lived in peace, and the people of that community have been able to get on with their lives.”
She said the 28 years of peace was not a problem that required a solution. “It was a peace that needed to be protected,” she said.
“This march is steeped in a history of hate, sectarian violence and murder,” she added. “People right across the North are absolutely dismayed.”
DUP leader Gavin Robinson welcomed that the Garvaghy Road is “no longer closed to Portadown District”.
“This is a significant and long-overdue breakthrough for Portadown District and the wider unionist community,” he said.
“We are in 2026 and Orangemen walking silently and peacefully down a road should not be a major issue in a shared society.”
He said that Orangemen have been prevented from completing their traditional church parade for 28 years.
“The commission has now explicitly recognised that the police have no information indicating that this peaceful parade will result in disorder or violence.
“That is an important finding, particularly after days of irresponsible language about ‘mobilisation’ and potential disorder.”
The Government has said it is “very concerned” by the Parades Commission’s decision.
In a statement, Dublin said: “The Government is conscious of the very difficult and traumatic history associated with parades on the Garvaghy Road.
“The Government does not want to see a return to the divisions of the past. That would be a retrograde step.
“Government officials have been liaising closely with residents in the area.”
It added: “The Government is aware that an appeal of the determination is now likely. It is important that all parties continue to respect the legal process as they have done to date.”
UK prime minister Andy Burnham urged “people to work calmly through the events of the weekend”.
Asked about the decision by UTV’s Tracey Magee, Burnham said: “It’s a significant decision and all I can say is that the decision has been made – I’m not in a position to cut across the the decision because that would be wrong were I to to do that.”
Burnham said first minister O’Neill “will be in touch with” the Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant.
“Where support is needed, we will provide it,” he said. “But we do have to obviously work with the decision.”
Garvaghy Road residents earlier said they will “mobilise” and “come together” if the Orange Order parade is allowed to march through their community.
People living on the road met politicians in Leinster House in Dublin on Thursday ahead of the ruling.
[ Orange Order march could ‘reawaken old animosities’, Drumcree residents warnOpens in new window ]
Asked what they will do if the parade goes ahead, Linda O’Neill of the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition said: “Our plan B is that the parade will not go down the road.”
O’Neill, a youth worker, said the community is also concerned over a large gathering of bands in the town on Saturday night.
“So, Monday morning when we wake up, regardless of whether that parade gets down the road, there will be consequences for our community.
“If the decision doesn’t go our way, this community will then mobilise, come together, and come up with a plan B.
“We are trying to believe in the process – but be under no illusions: we have been let down before.” - Additional reporting PA
[ ‘It’s mad they want to go down the road and start all this again’Opens in new window ]
