Controversial Orange Order march to go ahead for first time in nearly 30 years after late night drama

LONDON, United Kingdom, Sep 27 — A controversial Orange Order parade is set to go ahead on Sunday morning in a nationalist part of Northern Ireland for the first time in nearly 30 years.

Following a series of legal challenges, the High Court ruled in the early hours of Sunday that an initial decision by the Parades Commission to allow the march in Portadownto take place had to be respected.

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 along the Garvaghy Road with restrictions in place.

However that decision was challenged in several Belfast courts on Saturday, before finally being given the go ahead just hours before it is due to take place.

In a hearing concluding at 02:15 BST on Sunday morning, Justice Michael Humphreys acknowledged the “unusual if not unprecedented circumstances… with a parade due to begin in just over six hours’ time”.

Delivering his judgement, Justice Humphreys 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”.

What is the Garvaghy Road dispute all about?

It was a day of drama at Laganside courts.

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.

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 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.

The Orange Order is the most prominent of the loyal orders associated with Protestants in Northern Ireland.

Speaking outside court, Democratic Unionist MP Carla Lockhart described the decision allowing the parade to go ahead as a “seismic night for the rule of law”.

The Upper Bann representative added: “This is not a night to be triumphant.”

Loyalist activist Jamie Bryson, who has acted as a legal adviser for Portadown District Lodge, said: “We look to the chief constable to make sure this parade is policed.”

“We will march peacefully, respectfully and lawfully.”

However Sinn Féin MP John Finucane said the decision had left residents feeling “angry and scared”.

“They have a right to feel like that,” he said. “We have and we will stand with residents of Garvaghy Road.”

A large crowd of protesters gathered on the Garvaghy Road after appeal court judges overturned an injunction temporarily banning the march. 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.

Sínn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and Stormont First Minister Michelle O’Neill visited the roadblock and spoke to the crowd, as did Breandan Mac Cionnaith of the GRRC.

Reacting to the Court of Appeal ruling earlier, Mac Cionnaith said: “There’s no such thing as justice or rights for our community. I’m going back to help defend my community.”

Sínn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and Stormont First Minister Michelle O’Neill also pledged to “[stand] fully with the Garvaghy Road community”.

‘Potential to escalate’

The basis of the residents’ group’s initial High Court review was on the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)’s risk assessment to the Parades Commission.

Lawyer Denise Kiley KC for the residents claimed that “nowhere” in the PSNI’s contribution to the commission was there “any assessment of future risk” and was “entirely directed to past risk”.

“That all leads to a requirement for more time and for the Parades Commission to explain the discrepancy that is apparent on the face of the documents,” she said.

Delivering her decision to issue an injunction, Judge Smyth said “the level of mistrust” between residents and the lodge cannot be “overstated.”

“It is also clear to me that this particular long running dispute has the potential to escalate within Northern Ireland,” she added.

“Against that backdrop I am thoroughly of the view the issues of all three parties must be properly ventilated.”

DUP leader Gavin Robinson MP said he expected “all parties to respect the legal process”, adding: “The Orangemen of Portadown have conducted themselves with dignity and respect for the rule of law for 28 years.”

SDLP leader Claire Hanna MP said Drumcree “carries a history and a meaning that cannot be ignored”.

“I welcome that the heat has been taken out of this difficult episode. Lighting the tinder is easy; putting the fire out is much harder.”

Alliance deputy leader Eóin Tennyson MLA, said that calm heads were needed.

‘Step back from the abyss’

Before issuing the injunction, Judge Smyth had given the parties involved a final opportunity to “reach an agreement” and “step back from the abyss”.

She said “it is my view the issues at stake are so sensitive and so important, I would expect all of the lawyers to be creative and to use the law for the good of all the people in Northern Ireland.”

The judge said the issue the court is dealing with is of “fundamental importance” to the entire society in Northern Ireland.

Portadown District Lodge submitted a letter in which it outlined its reasons for not agreeing to delay the parade.

“The suggestion there is no prejudice to us is, to be frank, absolutely contrary to all reality,” the letter said.

“The prejudice is very clear – those opposed to us could simply ramp up the threat of disorder or violence, to change the factual context, and therefore effectively act as a veto.”

It added: “This is not balanced or fair to us; it is depriving us, potentially on a permanent basis, of what we have been lawfully granted for Sunday, with no guarantee this outcome will be replicated even if the Applicant’s case is ultimately found to be without any merit whatsoever.”

‘March going to clash with Massgoers’

Among the restrictions put in place by the Parade Commission was that the march could depart no later than 08:00. No bands or supporters are allowed.

According to the Drumcree Catholic Church parish website, Mass takes place at 08:30 on Sundays in the church of St John the Baptist on the Garvaghy Road.

Local priest Fr Peter Clarke said he was concerned the march would “clash” with parishioners coming and going from the church.

He said he had emailed the commission to express his concerns and stated he “doesn’t know how they came to” their conclusion.

Parishioners at St Patrick’s Church on William Street are also likely to be affected ahead of the 10:00 service, according to Fr Clarke.

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