Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant bans Orange Order Drumcree parade down Garvaghy Road

The decision

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant confirmed on Friday night, 9 October, that he had overturned the Parades Commission determination and banned the Orange Order procession down the Garvaghy Road in Portadown. Earlier that day, PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher had asked Bryant to review the original determination to see whether it should still stand. Bryant said he had looked at the changing situation in Portadown and concluded that the procession could not proceed as it was determined. He also said it had not been possible to find accommodation between the Orange Order and nationalist residents of the Garvaghy Road.

I've decided that it's not in the public interest for it to proceed, and I've therefore banned the procession.

Bryant stressed that the Portadown District had held a lawful determination from the Parades Commission, which he said the courts had affirmed. He said he had not taken the decision lightly.

The standoff in Portadown

The Parades Commission had granted 35 members of the Orange Order permission to walk the Garvaghy Road on Sunday, September 27. The parade was to move from Drumcree Church into Portadown, but it did not take place because residents protested on the road. Residents stood guard at the top of the road to stop the procession, and the stand-off between the two sides lasted almost two weeks. Bryant had been under growing pressure to act as the dispute continued. According to the reporting, the annual Drumcree parade has been barred from the Garvaghy Road since a Parades Commission ruling in 1998.

Reactions

The announcement was met with cheers at the Drumcree Community Centre on Friday night. Sinn Féin and the SDLP welcomed the decision, and Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald and vice president Michelle O'Neill said in a joint statement that the day belonged to the residents of the Garvaghy Road. Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the ban would come as a significant relief to the community on the Garvaghy Road and to people across Northern Ireland and the island of Ireland.

These past weeks have been very difficult for the people living along the Garvaghy Road and I am glad that there is some closure for them today.

Martin also acknowledged that the decision would be a disappointment to some, including members of the Portadown Lodge. DUP leader Gavin Robinson said the rule of law in Northern Ireland had been fatally undermined. He said the decision was a direct result of republican agitation, mobilisation and the looming threats of potential violence.

The Secretary of State is going to have to explain what his Government intends to do to restore confidence in the rule of law.

What comes next

Boutcher welcomed the decision and said the dispute had a marked impact on relationships within and between communities and the police. He called for time and space to be created for conversations about long-term solutions to what he described as a complex and sensitive issue.

It is in everyone's interest that time and space is now created for conversations about finding long-term solutions to this complex and sensitive issue.

Martin said his focus in the time ahead would be to redouble efforts to build understanding and consensus across communities and political traditions. He encouraged the participation of all political and community leaders in that work, while Robinson's demand that Bryant explain the government's plans to restore confidence in the rule of law remains open.