The contentious parading dispute in Portadown centers on an Orange Order march from Drumcree Church intended to pass along the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road (The News Letter). The Parades Commission granted permission for a limited parade subject to strict restrictions, including an 8 am start time and a limit of 35 participants (Leinster Leader). This ruling marked a reversal of the commission’s long-running determinations, as the parade had been banned from the route since 1998 (Leinster Leader). The decision was upheld following an unprecedented late-night sitting of the High Court in Belfast that involved three separate legal hearings over the course of 13 hours late on Saturday and into Sunday morning (Yahoo News, The News Letter). Lawyers for the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition subsequently issued a fresh legal bid to try to prevent the march from proceeding (Yahoo News).
Protests, Blockades, and Police Response
At the height of the blockade on Sunday, more than a thousand people congregated on the Garvaghy Road to prevent the parade from passing (The News Letter). Protesters spent more than a day blocking the road at various points (Yahoo News). First Minister Michelle O’Neill and other senior Sinn Féin colleagues were among the large crowd that blockaded the road on Sunday (The News Letter). Stormont speaker accused Ms. O’Neill of showing “gross contempt” to the Northern Ireland Assembly after she refused to answer an urgent question regarding her participation in the protest, stating she attended in a capacity other than as First Minister (The News Letter, Leinster Leader). Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson defended the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) approach, stating that using force to move protesters off the road risked people getting seriously hurt (The News Letter). Although Orange Order members had remained at Drumcree Church since Sunday attempting to start their march—including an attempt at 22:10 BST on Tuesday by the Portadown District Lodge accompanied by DUP MP Carla Lockhart and Deputy District Master Alastair Power—police answered no to facilitating the parade, and by Wednesday morning, no members remained at the church for the first time since the standoff began (Yahoo News).
