Garvaghy Road residents go to court seeking to halt Orange Order parade

A judicial review application seeking to stop an Orange Order parade from going ahead in Portadown on Sunday is being heard at the High Court in Belfast.The Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition lodged the legal challenge after the Parades Commission on Friday granted permission for 35 Orange Order members to march along the mainly nationalist road in the Co Armagh town.It would be the first time the Protestant organisation has walked the route since 1997, in what has historically been one of the most contentious parading disputes in the North.The Drumcree parade dominated headlines in the 1990s when violent clashes and political tension necessitated a major security operation for several summers, as Garvaghy Road residents rejected the march passing through the community. A number of people were killed during tensions linked to the dispute.READ MOREThe Garvaghy Road in Portadown. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA Wire In its ruling, the commission said it understands “the genuine hurt experienced by many residents of the Garvaghy Road”. It said the determination “is not, and should not, be perceived as a victory for one side or a loss for another”.Breandán Mac Cionnaith of the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition rounded on the commission, saying on Friday that its determination had “set this community back 28 years”.“There’s shock and complete and utter disappointment with the commission,” he said. “But that shock is slowly turning to anger. A fuse has been lit here that I don’t think anybody’s going to be able to put out.”The Orange Order parade is due to depart from Drumcree Church at 8am on Sunday, under the commission’s restrictions. It will be a silent parade with no bands.Members of the Orange Order’s Portadown lodge had originally applied for a 60-member parade beginning at 1pm.No supporters are to accompany the parade or congregate along the route and it must disperse from Carleton Street Orange hall before 9.30am, the commission ruled.About 200 police officers from Scotland are to be deployed to Portadown under a “mutual aid” agreement, in what is expected to be a significant security operation. All PSNI leave has been cancelled.Sinn Féin president Mary-Lou McDonald described the commission’s ruling it as “utterly reckless”, but DUP MP Carla Lockhart insisted residents had “nothing to fear” from the parade.Carla Lockhart of the DUP (left) with Jamie Bryson (centre) and Diane Dodds (right) outside the High Court in Belfast on Saturday. Photograph: Mark Marlow/PA Wire The Orange Order argued it was an opportunity to right a historic wrong.In a statement, the Government said it is “very concerned” by the ruling, adding it is conscious of the “very difficult and traumatic history associated with parades on the Garvaghy Road”.UK prime minister Andy Burnham appealed for leaders to “work calmly” through the weekend. He said it was a matter that had been “independently determined” and it was not for him to cut across the commission.Stormont Justice Minister Naomi Long also urged those in leadership against sending a signal that there is no “justification for anything other than peaceful protest”.