The Drumcree march dates from 1807 and while it has been the root of sporadic tension around Portadown since then, the origins of the current impasse can be traced back over the last five years.
July, 1996
David Trimble acts as chief negotiator for embattled Orangemen in a year when LVF leader Billy Wright figures strongly both in front of and behind the scenes. After a week-long stand-off during which Northern Ireland is brought to a standstill by Orange protesters, the parade, previously banned by the RUC, is allowed down the Garvaghy Road. Trimble and Ian Paisley join hands in a much photographed victory dance. Days of rioting in Catholic areas across the North follow.
July, 1997
The parade is allowed through again. One marcher tells reporters he has been walking the controversial route since 1958 and does not want to give offence to the mainly Catholic Garvaghy Road residents. But some residents shout abuse at the marchers as they walk to a solitary drumbeat.
October, 1997
Parades Commission set up to rule on future Orange parades.
December, 1997
Billy Wright is murdered as he waits in a prison van in the Maze.
July, 1998
The first Drumcree protest following the signing of the Belfast Agreement sees 20,000 flocking to the hill. The banning of the march by the Parades Commission sparks widespread violence across the North, culminating in Catholic homes being petrol bombed. Three young boys, Jason, Mark and Richard Quinn, are killed when their Ballymoney home is attacked. The Orange Order is outraged at being held morally responsible by some for the deaths. For the first time, the Orangemen do not walk their traditional route. David Trimble goes from hero to zero in the eyes of protesters who believe he sold them out with the signing of the Agreement.
Winter, 1998
Bad weather leads to Orangemen erecting a hut to shelter protesters who have been returning to the hill every night since the march was banned.
July, 1999
After the turmoil of the previous year, the Orange protest is more subdued. For the second time, the march down the Garvaghy Road does not take place but many protesters believe they have a promise from Tony Blair which will allow them to march in 2000.
July, 2000
The Orange Order calls for street protests across the North as the march is banned by the Parades Commission once again. The numbers at Drumcree are diminished but crowds still assemble at the barricades, some throwing fireworks at the army late into the night. UFF leader Johnny Adair leads 50 Shankill Road UFF members (and one Alsatian dog) down the hill amid alleged loyalist threats to kill a Catholic every day until the Orangemen are let through. Eventually, only the core group of protesters are left and their nightly vigil continues.
March, 2001
The foot-and-mouth crisis leads to a temporary official suspension of the presence on the hill if not the protest itself. The hut is locked but a small number of protesters still turn up every night. Portadown Orange Lodge requests a meeting with Deputy First Minister Seamus Mallon of the SDLP to argue its case in advance of this year's march.