Britain09 October, 20262 min read
Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant Bans Drumcree Parade After Garvaghy Road Stand-Off
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Sir Chris Bryant bans Drumcree parade, citing public interest after stand-off. Ban followed failure to find accommodation between Orange Order and Garvaghy Road residents.
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Bryant bans Drumcree
Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant banned the Drumcree parade after a stand-off between Orangemen and nationalist residents of the Garvaghy Road in Portadown lasted almost two weeks. Sir Chris said he had been “trying to find a solution to that stand-off” after hearing “both sides of the argument”, but “we’ve not been able to do that”. Sir Chris said the chief constable of the PSNI asked him to review the Parades Commission determination, and he decided “it’s not in the public interest for it to proceed, and I’ve therefore banned the procession.”
The Parades Commission had ruled that the march on Sunday 27 September could go ahead with restrictions in place, but the parade from Drumcree Church into Portadown did not happen due to a large protest on the Garvaghy Road. Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said his “current assessment was that all available, lawful and proportionate options to facilitate completion of the procession had been exhausted.”
Relief and backlash
Breandán Mac Cionnaith of the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition said the decision was “a win for us tonight, it is one that is still tinged with sadness and with loss”. Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald said the overwhelming sense on the road was “one of relief and one of joy”, adding that “this awful threat and this sense of menace has been lifted from the community”. DUP leader Gavin Robinson said Sir Chris needs to “explain what his Government intends to do to restore confidence in the rule of law”.
The Portadown District said the “chief constable has abdicated his responsibility for policing Northern Ireland”, and it said the secretary of state had “bowed to the republican mob, and rewarded criminality.” Loyalist activist Jamie Bryson said emergency judicial proceedings were being prepared against the secretary of state’s decision.
Rule of law stakes
Sir Chris said he had been intensively considering all options for bringing the dispute to an end, and he concluded that “the circumstances under which that decision was made have now changed considerably.” Sir Chris said he called for “all protests, rallies and demonstrations to be stood down” and added, “There is no excuse for a continued ratcheting up of tensions.” The Guardian said the dispute had fuelled angry exchanges at the Stormont assembly and destabilised the executive, with unionists demanding O’Neill step down as first minister for allegedly breaking the law at a Garvaghy Road protest.
The PSNI sent the Sinn Féin deputy leader a letter probing alleged criminal offences relating to her involvement in the protest, and Michelle O’Neill said she will cooperate with the investigation. Boutcher said “time and space is now created for conversations about finding long-term solutions to this complex and sensitive issue.”