Drumcree dispute moves to court as mediation stalls
The residents’ coalition says mediation with unionists is no longer viable and is challenging the decision to allow the Orange Order parade along Garvaghy Road. Talks with Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant are due to continue.
The Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition has launched a fresh legal challenge seeking to restore the long-standing ban on the Orange Order marching along the road. The challenge argues that the Parades Commission materially misdirected itself when it allowed the parade, which had been barred for almost 30 years.
Coalition leader Breandán Mac Cionnaith said after meeting Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant on Tuesday that mediation with unionists was “dead in the water”. An Orange Order district master, Nigel Dawson, described his own talks with Bryant as “constructive” and said the Order looked forward to the law being applied to the parade.
Bryant is due to hold further talks with both sides on Wednesday. The court hearing on the coalition’s challenge is scheduled for Friday; the legal arguments have not yet been decided.
At a special High Court hearing on Saturday, the coalition’s barrister argued that the commission’s paperwork assessed past risks of disorder but did not clearly assess future risks. That is an argument advanced by the coalition’s side, not a court finding.
Orange Order members attempted to walk the route again on Tuesday night and returned to Drumcree church on Wednesday, saying they would remain there until police allowed them to complete the march. A protest blockade on Garvaghy Road is continuing. Police have not tried to disperse it, citing fears that doing so could trigger violence.
