Proximity talks involving Orange Order members and Garvaghy Road representatives aimed at resolving the Drumcree protest and heading off potential violence in Portadown this Christmas broke up last night without agreement.
The talks, arranged at the behest of the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, took place as Portadown as Northern Ireland braced itself for another period of potential unrest over the Drumcree deadlock.
Mr Blair, conscious of the dangers, organised the talks in an attempt to resolve the continuing Drumcree standoff, and in the short term defuse heightening tensions in Portadown. The word last night was that, while some progress had been made, the logjam was not broken.
The talks are to be adjourned until the new year, it is understood. The British government view was that the talks were positive and constructive, but there was no sign of any imminent breakthrough.
Both sides engaged in 12 hours of talks yesterday, which did not involve face-to-face contact, as anxieties grew over several Orange and loyalist demonstrations planned for Portadown over the Christmas period, including a massive demonstration this Saturday.
The Orangemen were led by their County Armagh Grand Master, Mr Denis Watson, while Mr Breandan Mac Cionnaith was the chief spokesman for the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition.
The proximity talks were convened by Mr Blair's chief-of-staff, Mr Jonathan Powell, at a conference centre at Nutts Corner, Co Antrim, about nine miles outside Belfast. Each side met in separate rooms with intermediaries, reportedly including the Presbyterian minister, the Rev Roy Magee, and a former GAA president, Mr Peter Quinn. Up to 10,000 Orangemen from all over the North have been asked by their leadership to converge on Portadown on Saturday in support of the Drumcree protest. While leaders have appealed for a peaceful demonstration there are fears of a further outbreak of violence.
A senior Church of Ireland bishop last night accused both sides in the dispute of trying to "hijack Christmas" for their own political ends. The Bishop of Down and Dromore, the Right Rev Harold Millar, said the Drumcree divisions were "even more ironic and pronounced" in this first Christmas since the Belfast Agreement.
