Standoff into the night as residents block first Garvaghy Road Orange march since 1997; PM urges calm

Thousands of residents blocked the first Orange Order parade down Portadown’s Garvaghy Road since 1997 on Sunday, in a tense standoff that stretched into the night and drew a plea for calm from Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

A Belfast appeal court overturned a High Court injunction in the early hours of Sunday, clearing 35 Orangemen to march silently along the road from 8am (0700 GMT) without bands or supporters, under a Parades Commission ruling. But as night fell the marchers were still trying to proceed, held back by police lines and hundreds of residents; earlier, crowds braved torrential rain to fill the streets while the Orangemen waited in a church.

Burnham appealed for “calm on all sides” in a BBC television interview, saying “big gains” had been made in Northern Ireland “and we don’t want to see things go backwards.” Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill condemned the late-night court ruling, declaring: “There is no going back. Not tomorrow. Not ever.”

Armoured police vehicles and a helicopter covered the flashpoint area, 25 miles south-west of Belfast. The Garvaghy Road became a major sectarian flashpoint in the late 1990s during three decades of conflict between largely Catholic pro-Irish republicans and Protestant pro-UK unionists. AFP described the crisis as one of the worst for Northern Ireland in recent years.

Sources

• Agence France-Presse via Hindustan Times: Tense standoff over flashpoint N.Ireland parade lasts into night
• Agence France-Presse via GMA News: UK PM urges ‘calm’ as thousands block flashpoint N.Ireland parade