Appeal court overturns ban on Orange Order parade passing through Garvaghy Road
A court in Belfast has allowed an appeal of the decision to bar the Orange Order from parading down the predominantly nationalist Garvaghy Road in Portadown on Sunday. At 11.30pm on Saturday, at a sitting of the Court of Appeal, Chief Justice Siobhan Keegan said the Belfast High Court judge who granted an injunction against the march had “unfortunately erred in law”. Members of the Orange Order had been banned from marching down the Garvaghy Road in Portadown after a judge granted a temporary injunction. Residents of the largely nationalist area launched a legal challenge against the Parades Commission ruling permitting the Orange Order to walk down the Co Armagh street on Sunday for the first time in 30 years. On Saturday, Judge Patricia Smyth blocked the commission decision, saying the “long-running dispute has the potential to escalate” across Northern Ireland. The stand-off at Drumcree made headlines in the 1990s, with nationalist residents of the Garvaghy Road opposed to the parade passing through the area, leading to violent clashes for several summers and political tension necessitating a major security operation. The Orange Order has unsuccessfully applied for more than a quarter of a century to complete its 1998 walk along its traditional route. On Friday, the commission reversed its long-running determination, to the welcome of unionist parties and outrage of nationalist and republican parties. Delivering her ruling on Saturday, Smyth said: “The level of mistrust between the residents and the Portadown Orange lodge cannot be overstated. “It’s also clear to me that this particular long-running dispute has the potential to escalate within Northern Ireland.” In the early hours of Sunday morning, Keegan was deciding whether the case can be remitted back to Belfast High Court for a further hearing. Large groups of people began to block the Garvaghy Road in Portadown shortly before midnight on Saturday, within minutes of the Court of Appeal ruling. “We’ve been rejected,” shouted one of the protesters angrily as he learned that the Orange Order had been given permission to march after a long day of hearings in Belfast. Shortly after 12.20am, stewards told the protesters to “go back into the footpaths” as confusion emerged locally about the details of the late-night court ruling. Earlier on Saturday, a large crowd gathered outside the High Court in Belfast in advance of the legal challenge. Breandán Mac Cionnaith, from the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition, addressed the crowd, saying they were at court to “seek justice for our community in Portadown”. “All of this depends on the support that we have, not just here, the support that we have in Portadown as you are probably aware, over the last number of days, coming from all of the six counties, and coming from the 26 counties – Ireland’s behind us,” he said. Alongside Mac Cionnaith were Sinn Féin representatives John O’Dowd and Catherine Nelson, as well as SDLP leader Claire Hanna and MLA Justin McNulty. DUP representatives Carla Lockhart, Jonathan Buckley and Diane Dodds were also present, as were representatives of the Portadown Orange Lodge and loyalist activist Jamie Bryson. Smyth had earlier urged the parties in the dispute to “step back from the abyss” and “reach agreement for the sake of everyone in Northern Ireland ”. However, the Portadown District Orange Lodge declined a request to postpone the parade. The judge noted the important date for the Orange Order is July 5th and therefore there was “no prejudice in adjourning for a short period to allow this case to be prepared by all parties”. Smyth highlighted that there was “nothing special” about the date of September 27th and said she “hoped parties might agree some midway to hold the status quo” while legal issues were resolved. She also said that notification of counter protest needed “to be taken into account”. Drumcree dispute overshadows last UUP conference before Stormont election In its ruling, the Parades Commission said it understood “the genuine hurt experienced by many residents of the Garvaghy Road”. It said the determination was “not, and should not, be perceived as a victory for one side or a loss for another”. It placed a number of restrictions on the procession, including limiting it to 35 participants. If the parade goes ahead, it will depart from Drumcree Church at 8am on Sunday, under the commission’s restrictions, and will be a silent parade with no bands. Members of the Portadown lodge had originally applied for a 60-member parade beginning at 1pm. The PSNI has put in place a significant security operation for the parade, with officers from outside the region set to assist under mutual aid arrangements. – Additional reporting: PA