DUP hails ‘breakthrough’ on Drumcree parade as Sinn Féin condemns decision

The DUP has hailed the decision to allow the first Orange Order return parade along the Garvaghy Road in almost 30 years as a “significant breakthrough”.

However Sinn Féin vice president Michelle O’Neill strongly condemned the Parades Commission ruling to “force an Orange march through the Garvaghy Road community”.

The commission has placed a number of restrictions on the procession, including an 8am start time and limiting the number of participants to 35 people.

That is a reduction from the application from the Portadown District of the Orange Order, which proposed 60 Orange Order members take part in the procession on Sunday September 27.

The conditions also include that the parade must disperse from Carleton Street Orange Hall no later than 9.30am, and that only the Portadown District banner may be carried or displayed during the Garvaghy Road section.

No supporters are to accompany the parade or congregate along the parade route or in the vicinity of homes on the Dungannon Road and Drumcree Road, and no bands may participate.

The determination was issued on Friday afternoon following extensive submissions around the route.

The residents of the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road strongly opposed the return parade going along the route.

The Orange Order and the DUP argued it was an opportunity to right a historic wrong.

Sinn Féin TDs Pearse Doherty (far right) and Matt Carthy (fifth left) with members of the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition at Leinster House, Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA)

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It comes after a High Court ruling quashed the commission’s most recent determination over the march.

The body has blocked the order from marching along the Garvaghy Road in July every year since 1998.

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.

A number of people were killed during tensions in the 1990s linked to the dispute.

Ms O’Neill questioned the ruling.

“There is no reasonable or logical basis for the Parades Commission’s announcement that permission has been granted to force an unwanted Orange march through the Garvaghy Road community this Sunday,” 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.

Michelle O’Neill said Sinn Féin ‘stands fully with the Garvaghy Road community’ (Liam McBurney/PA)

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“Twenty-eight years of peace was not a problem that required a solution.

“It was a peace that needed to be protected.”

Ms O’Neill insisted it is a “march steeped in a history of hate, sectarian violence and murder”.

“People right across the North are absolutely dismayed,” she said.

“Sinn Féin stands fully with the Garvaghy Road community and they will have the full support of nationalists from right across Ireland in the period ahead.”

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.

Democratic Unionist Party leader Gavin Robinson welcomed the decision (Liam McBurney/PA)

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“We are in 2026 and Orangemen walking silently and peacefully down a road should not be a major issue in a shared society.

“For 28 years, Orangemen have been prevented from completing their traditional church parade.

“Throughout that period, Portadown District complied with every determination, rejected violence and consistently offered dialogue and mediation.

“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.”

Mr Robinson added: “Those participating will walk peacefully and with dignity.

“Others must respond in the same spirit.”

The Irish 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.”