Northern Ireland Secretary bans Drumcree Orange Order parade after standoff

Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant has banned the Orange Order's Drumcree parade from the Garvaghy Road in Portadown, ending a 13-day standoff. The decision came after Chief Constable Jon Boutcher asked him to intervene, saying police could not facilitate the parade without a major operation that carried an unacceptable risk of serious injury and disorder. Sir Chris said the circumstances around the original decision had changed considerably.

The Drumcree parade is an annual Orange Order march from Drumcree Church in County Armagh. Its traditional route runs along the Garvaghy Road, a predominantly Irish nationalist and Catholic area of Portadown. In the 1990s the dispute sparked some of the worst rioting in Northern Ireland's history, broke out every summer for several years and almost derailed the peace process. The Parades Commission, set up to regulate contentious parades, blocked the march from 1998.

The issue returned after the High Court found the Parades Commission had made a procedural error in its decision-making. The Orange Order submitted a new application. The Commission granted permission for 35 members to march along the Garvaghy Road at 8am on Sunday 27 September, without music and under strict conditions. It was the first time in nearly 30 years the route had been approved.

Nationalist residents and Sinn Féin objected. Michelle O'Neill called the decision wrong and said the community was horrified. The residents' group brought a legal challenge. The High Court in Belfast granted a temporary injunction stopping the parade. The Orange Order appealed. After hearings that ran late into the night, three senior judges overturned the temporary ban. A further hearing lasted until 2am, but the parade was cleared to go ahead.

On the morning, hundreds and then thousands of protesters blocked the Garvaghy Road. They linked arms in the rain. Police repeatedly warned that the protest was unlawful and that anyone organising or taking part could be arrested. Michelle O'Neill and Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald joined the crowds. O'Neill said no right-minded person would make the decision and urged demonstrators to stay. The 35 Orangemen waited at Drumcree Church, but police told them the road was not clear. Extra officers were drafted from Scotland.

The standoff continued into a second day and then nearly two weeks. Attempts by small numbers of Orangemen to begin the march were stopped by police. Talks led by Sir Chris Bryant, including at Hillsborough Castle, failed to produce a breakthrough. Unionists accused O'Neill of breaking the law by attending an unlawful protest. The DUP leader Gavin Robinson said the rule of law was undermined and did not rule out pulling out of power sharing. Nationalists said the march amounted to sectarian intimidation. The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, and the Chief Constable appealed for calm.

In the latest twist, Sir Chris Bryant used his legal powers to ban the parade. He said the Chief Constable had told him it could not happen without a major intervention carrying an unacceptable risk of serious injury and disorder. Sinn Féin welcomed the decision as an enormous sense of relief. Taoiseach Micheál Martin also welcomed it. The DUP said the rule of law had been fundamentally undermined. The Orange Order accused the Chief Constable of abdicating his responsibility and said it was considering legal action. Nationalist residents on the Garvaghy Road celebrated.

Michelle O'Neill said the decision should have been taken at the very start. She confirmed she had received a letter from the PSNI and would be interviewed over her involvement in the illegal protests. The standoff may be over, but political divisions over parading, policing and power sharing remain. The episode has raised questions about the stability of Stormont and the peace process.