Northern Ireland live: ‘Orange Order can wait for weeks,’ claims DUP leader as controversial march delayed amid huge protest

Ireland’s taoiseach, Mícheál Martin, has said he is very concerned about the situation on the Garvaghy Road and appealed for “calm on all sides”.

Speaking in County Clare, he described the decision by the Parades Commission to allow the Orange Order to march on the road as “incomprehensible and wrong”.

He called for resolve not to go back to the divisions of the past.

“For 28 years we didn’t have a parade here and most people anticipated that to remain the same,” he added.

Ireland’s social protection minister Dara Calleary said on RTE television that the taoiseach has spoken to Andy Burnham about the controversy and Ireland’s foreign minister, Helen McEntee, had spoken to the Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Bryant.

The Parades Commission is facing intense scrutiny and pressure now over its decision – upheld in courts after a flurry of last-minute challenges too – to greenlight the Orangemen march.

Of course, that parade is still yet to commence, after thousands of nationist and republicans gathered overnight on Garvaghy Road to block it.

But on Friday, the Commission, while noting the violent history of the march in the 1990s, ultimately decided to let the Orange Order march through Garvaghy Road – by imposing restrictions which it thought would address those concerns.

The Commission said it had consulted police who reported that they had “no information indicating that the parade will result in public disorder or damage to property”.

It noted that the Orangemen had followed it’s more than 1,300 rulings barring the protest going down the road for more than 20 years “and no disorder or violence has occured.”

The marchers had asked for 60 people to attend; the Commission restricted numbers to 35, and said it had to be done in silence, with no bands or sidewalk supporters.

Originally, the marchers had also asked to parade during the middle of the day; the Commission moved the march’s timing to the morning to “reduce the level of disruption”.

When Northern Ireland’s Parades Commission – the independent authority- ruled on Friday that the Drumcree Church march could go through the Catholic part of town for the first time since 1998, it was a landmark overturn of a ban that has been in place for almost three decades.

It’s worth reading the Commission’s full decision which outlines both sides’ arguments and notes just how contentious this parade is.

“The annual Drumcree Church parade is one of, if not the most contentious parade in Northern Ireland. In the past the parade has resulted in some of the most serious and sustained disorder in the history of Northern Ireland including loss of life and serious injury.”

The Commission notes that while it was clear from their research that “community relations in Portadown are greatly improved”, the Drumcree Church parade proceeding down Garvaghy Road remained “polarising”.

“It is the most well known parading dispute with a legacy of violence and disorder, with effects that last until today.”

“As is the case with other parading disputes in Northern Ireland, what is to one side a dignified manifestation of their cherished cultural heritage is to the other a crude display of triumphalism.”

I’ll note the reasons for the Commission decision to give the go-ahead for the march in the next post.

There are still many protesters coalescing on Garvaghy Road in a demonstration that’s stopped the Orange Order march from going ahead for now.

Northern Ireland media have shared video on social media of attempts by police to negotiate with some of the protesters, exhorting them to leave. They’ve warned them that obstructing the march could be a criminal offence. But the protesters don’t appear to be budging.

Meanwhile just around the corner, up the road, only about 20 minutes walk away according to Google Maps, is the Drumcree Church where members of the Portadown District Loyal Orange Lodge Order No 1 had gathered this morning as their starting point.

They don’t appear to have set off yet, heeding police warnings and there are marked cars and vans on the grounds.

Unionist politicians have also been speaking to the media in Portadown.

Democratic Unionist lawmaker Jonathan Buckley described the current blockade of protesters as being “led by mob rule”, and condemned the Republican politicians encouraging the demonstration.

“There has been an attempt on Garvaghy Road today, by those who are led by mob rule, to try to upend what was a lawful decision by the courts.”

He went on to say that for the past 28 years, the Orange Order had respected the decision by the Parades Commission to ban the annual march from taking place and they had abided by the law and had not marched.

So, he said, posing the challenge to republican politicians: “I ask the question today of Breandán Mac Cionnaith, Mary Lou McDonald, Michelle O’Neill, what has changed?”

Earlier these leaders had spoken at the protest, criticising the decision to allow the protest and expressing support for residents’ stand.

DUP leader Gavin Robinson has also accused the Sinn Féin leaders of inflaming the situation.

“The rule of law cannot apply only when Sinn Féin likes the outcome,” he said. “Our institutions are founded on respect for the police, the courts and the rule of law.”

There’s been a significant police presence over the town this morning, with officers and marked cars accompanying the growing crowd of protesters blocking the road.

Police have been telling protesters to leave, noting that if they stay they will be blocking a legally-protected march and could face criminal charges.

But the message has been largely ignored by protesters, who linked arms, and are still blocking the road. Senior Republican lawmakers had joined them this morning including First Secretary Michelle O’Neill and Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald.

Earlier, Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Jon Boutcher appealed to “those with influence to encourage people to comply with the law and work with the police.”

“It is incumbent on us all to come together at times like this to do all we can to preserve a peaceful Northern Ireland.”

Amid the ongoing stand-off, let’s quickly recap where things stand.

• The Orange Order march is still yet to go ahead as crowds of protesters, some wearing balaclavas, remain on Garvaghy Road in Portadown, blocking the route.

• Overnight, the Orangemen won a battle in court to stage their march through this Catholic enclave in largely Protestant town– the first time they have been allowed to do so in nearly 30 years

• The Drumcree march, as it’s known, has been banned every year by the Parades Commission since 1998 when it was a flashpoint for violence and sectarian conflict during the Troubles

• But the indepedent adjudicator ruled on Friday that a smaller version of the parade could take place, giving permission for 35 Orangemen to carry out the parade in silence

• The decision has sparked outrage from nationalists and republicans, with Sinn Féin’s leaders leading the counter-rally this morning. The republican party says thousands have joined the protest blocking the march.

• While most parades taking place across Northern Ireland each year are mostly uncontroversial, nationalists say parades passing through Catholic areas, and the violent history of the Drumcree parade, are an affront and a display of triumphialism aimed at offending and intimidating them

Political response

• In Northern Ireland, unionist politicians say the march has been ruled lawful and so should be allowed to go ahead, without disruption

• Democratic Unionist party leader Gavin Robinson criticised First Secretary Michelle O’Neill for joining the protesters blocking the route, saying she should be upholding the law instead of “inflaming oppositon”

• But O’Neill and Sinn Féin leaders have called the march’s greenlight a “disgrace” given its history. She’s called on the British government and police to intervene, saying the march’s approval had brought the entire Good Friday Agreement peace process “into question”

• Political leaders in Britain and Ireland have called for calm amid the tensions and fears of potential clashes on the road

• PM Andy Burnham appealed for “calm on all sides” saying there had been “big gains made in Northern Ireland, and we don’t want to see things go backwards.”

The Irish government has said it in a statement it is “very concerned about the situation”.

“Our primary concern remains to avoid a return to the divisions of the past, recalling the significant progress made over many years in furthering reconciliation under the Good Friday Agreement.”

As we reported earlier, the Northern Ireland secretary Chris Bryant is flying back to Belfast this afternoon amid growing tensions over this loyalist march down a Catholic road in Portadown, the first time it will be held in nearly 30 years after a long-running ban.

My colleague Lisa O’Carroll has more on what the minister told BBC Northern Ireland in the last half hour:

“I wish we weren’t in this position. I wish we we weren’t looking at relitigating things,” he said.

“There are lots of people who are watching this very, very closely including people who have long memories of things that happened 30 years ago and will be very nervous.

“The number one thing is that people should cooperate with the police. I want everything to pass off as calmly as is possible,” he added.

He said he was in constant touch with the police, but admitted he did not have the powers to call the march off unless the chief of the PSNI formally requested him to do so.

He said the courts had upheld the the determination by the Parades Commission, “so it is important that everybody abides by the law.”

Protestors are currently blocking the entrance to the Garvaghy Road raising the prospect of the police having to physically intervene to allow the Orange Order proceed down the road.

The Orangemen are currently at Drumcree Church, the starting point of the march, in talks with the PSNI.

Asked if he was not “washing his hands” of his responsibilities, he told BBC: “I’m not washing my hands, I’m just taking this very very seriously
I can only act if the chief constable asks me to act”

With counter-protesters still blocking Garvaghy Road, there’s uncertainty over whether the Orangemen will carry out their march.

The court had ruled for the procession to kick off at 8am and to finish by 9.30am but it does not appear that the group of 35 Orangemen marchers have even set off from their starting point at Drumcree Church.

My colleague Lisa O’Caroll reports that Northern Ireland Cool FM is saying the Orange Order is in talks with police after they were told that the route down Garvaghy Road, which is blockaded by protestors, may not be possible after all.

Orangemen had formed up at Drumcree Church but have now gone back inside as talks continue.

The Garvaghy Road remains blocked, and it’s understood there will be no movement any time soon, with the Orange Order still planning to march.

The BBC is reporting that a member of the group said they would wait on the advice of police to tell them when they could start the march.

The leader of the governing DUP, Gavin Robinson, has condemned first minister Michelle O’Neill over remarks which he believes are obstructing a legal parade down the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road.

“A first minister’s duty is to uphold lawful decisions, not inflame opposition to them,” Robinson.

“The legal position is now unequivocal. 35 Orangemen can walk in silence along Garvaghy Road. The Court of Appeal found that the injunction had been granted in error, and the High Court subsequently confirmed that the Parades Commission determination must be respected.

Yet Michelle O’Neill described that outcome as “disgraceful”, claimed an Orange procession was being ‘forced’ through the area and declared: “There is no going back. Not tomorrow. Not ever.”

Those words were followed by organised obstruction of the road, while Breandán Mac Cionnaith instructed people to sit down, link arms and return if removed by police.

Michelle O’Neill then addressed the gathering, urged it to “stay strong” and repeated the “no going back” chant.

Northern Ireland secretary Chris Bryant is on his way to Belfast, leaving the Labour party conference in Liverpool to address the tensions.

Speaking to the BBC in Liverpool, he said he is taking the situation “very, very seriously”.

Calling for calm he said it was “important that everybody abides by the law”.

“I would urge people to cooperate with the police. I would say that on both sides incidentally.”

The prime minister has just been speaking on the BBC about the parade, calling for calm to prevail.

“I know it’s a tense situation. We do appeal for calm on all sides,” he told Laura Kuenssberg on her politics show.

“There have been big gains made in Northern Ireland, and we don’t want to see things go backwards.

“So, obviously, a challenging situation today, but it’s very important that we work to bring calm.”

He also noted the authority of the decision made by the Parades Commission, which he said had been upheld by the courts.

I’ll have a post laying out the legal reasoning of the judges next.