Parades Commission allows Drumcree march along Garvaghy Road for first time since 1998
Northern Ireland's Parades Commission has permitted the Orange Order's Drumcree return parade along the Garvaghy Road on Sunday — the first time since the route was banned in 1998 — with strict conditions on size, timing and music.
Northern Ireland’s Parades Commission has allowed the Orange Order’s Drumcree return parade to march along the Garvaghy Road on Sunday — the first time the contentious route has been permitted since it was banned in 1998, Reuters reports.
The determination, issued on Friday afternoon, permits the Portadown District parade through the mainly nationalist enclave with strict conditions: an 8am start, a maximum of 35 participants — down from the 60 proposed in the application — dispersal from Carleton Street Orange Hall by 9.30am, only the Portadown District banner carried, and no supporters, bands or congregating along the route, according to PA reporting.
The decision follows a High Court ruling last month that quashed the commission’s most recent determination over the march after finding it had not followed its own rules and procedures. Garvaghy Road residents and Irish nationalist politicians opposed the parade, arguing the dispute was settled almost three decades ago; the Orange Order and the DUP argued it was an opportunity to right a historic wrong.
The commission has blocked the Order from marching along the Garvaghy Road every July since 1998, and the Drumcree dispute dominated Northern Ireland headlines in the 1990s amid violent clashes and major security operations.
Sources
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