Protesters who blockaded a road in Portadown to stop a contentious loyal order parade have mostly dispersed after being told by a community leader that a fresh process to address the dispute was being initiated.
Mass gathering on Garvaghy Road
At the height of the blockade, thousands of people gathered on the Garvaghy Road throughout Sunday (September 27) to prevent the Orange Order parade from nearby Drumcree Church from passing along the route.
The mass gathering, which was illegal under parading legislation in Northern Ireland, involved senior Sinn Féin politicians, including Stormont’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill.
It was organised after Orangemen managed to overturn a long ban on them parading down the predominantly nationalist road. The blockade continued through the day and late into the night, as Orangemen assembled at Drumcree Church around a mile from the road waited to commence their parade.
Community leader announces talks
Around midnight, Breandán Mac Cionnaith from the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition told protesters they had secured a “victory”. He said he would meet Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant and Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Jon Boutcher on Monday morning for talks on the Drumcree parade.
Mr Mac Cionnaith said he had received “commitments” that the parade would not be proceeding down the Garvaghy Road overnight. He asked for 20 to 30 volunteers to remain on the road to ensure those commitments were not broken.
“We’ve stopped them once. The process now is to ensure we stop them permanently,” he said. On his planned meetings on Monday, he added: “That process starts tomorrow when we go in and meet the chief constable and we’ll meet the secretary of state.
“We’re not going in to do deals with them, or to take half measures with them. We said the other day, and we said yesterday, and the day before – we’re not going back, we’re not turning the clock back. We’re putting the clock forward.”
Political reactions and legal concerns
Ms O’Neill also said the Garvaghy Road community had won a “victory”.
“This community do not want this, they do not want this march,” she told reporters before leaving the area shortly after midnight on Monday morning. “And tonight, I believe, is another victory for this community in standing steadfast for the right to live free from sectarian harassment and intimidation.”
Earlier, the Northern Ireland Secretary appealed for calm and urged political and community leaders to reach for compromise to resolve the deepening dispute over the Drumcree parade. He held talks with political leaders on Sunday night, but no resolution emerged.
The presence of Ms O’Neill and other senior Sinn Féin figures at the blockade prompted accusations of law breaking from unionists.
Under parading legislation in the region, protests against parades must be notified and approved by the Parades Commission adjudication body. The blockade on the Garvaghy Road was an unnotified gathering.
