Drumcree rally ruling contested

Sinn Féin, the SDLP and Garvaghy Road residents have asked the Parades Commission to review a decision not to impose any restrictions…

Sinn Féin, the SDLP and Garvaghy Road residents have asked the Parades Commission to review a decision not to impose any restrictions on a parade and rally at Drumcree church in Portadown on Saturday evening.

The Orange Order in Portadown has organised a parade from the centre of town to Drumcree followed by a rally at the church to mark the 3,000th day of the Drumcree protest.

Portadown Orangemen were last allowed to parade from the church down the nationalist Garvaghy Road in 1997. Since July they have tried repeatedly each Sunday, and been persistently refused permission by the commission, to parade down Garvaghy Road.

On Saturday, however, the order has not sought to march down the Garvaghy Road and said its members and supporters would return home peacefully from Drumcree hill without attempting to go on to the Garvaghy Road.

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This prompted the Parades Commission not to impose any restrictions on the event. The Garvaghy Road Residents group, as well as Sinn Féin and the SDLP, demanded that the commission reconsider this decision.

The commission is meeting today to decide whether a review is necessary.

Gerry Moriarty

Gerry Moriarty

Gerry Moriarty is the former Northern editor of The Irish Times