THE Parades Commission has given permission for an Orange Order parade on the Garvaghy Road in Portadown on Sunday.
The Parades Commission ruled that no more than 35 people, including five named marshals, can take part in the parade, which will depart Drumcree Church at 8am on Sunday September 27. No supporters can accompany the parade during any part of the route, the Parades Commission said with only the banner of Portadown District LOL No 1 being permitted to be carried.
Yesterday, Garvaghy Road residents said they would “mobilise” and “come together” if the Parades Commission ruled in favour of the Orange Order.
This afternoon, First Minister Michelle O'Neill condemned the decision to allow the parade to go ahead, with restrictions.
The Sinn Féin Vice-President said: “There is no reasonable or logical basis for the Parades Commission’s announcement that permission has been granted to force an unwanted Orange march through the Garvaghy Road community this Sunday.
“For 28 years, the Garvaghy Road community has lived in peace, and the people of that community have been able to get on with their lives.
“28 years of peace was not a problem that required a solution. It was a peace that needed to be protected.
“This march is steeped in a history of hate, sectarian violence, and murder.
“People right across the North are absolutely dismayed.
“Sinn Féin stands fully with the Garvaghy Road community, and they will have the full support of Nationalists from right across Ireland in the period ahead.”
The last parade forced through the Catholic Garvaghy Road took place in 1997. In the late 1990s several high profile loyalist murders were linked to Orange Order attempts to march along the Garvaghy Road.
Earlier this month the Orange Order made an application to the Parades Commission to march from Drumcree Church along Garvaghy Road after a ruling by the Parades Commission to impose restrictions on July's march was quashed in the High Court following a legal challenge brought by a member of the Orange Order.
Reacting to the Parades Commission decision, West Belfast People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll called it "shameful".
“28 years of peace on the Garvaghy Road was not a problem in need of fixing. Residents made their opposition to this march known in overwhelming numbers, and they have been ignored," he said.
“Since the High Court ruling, the Orange Order and unionist politicians have waged a campaign of pressure against the Parades Commission. Days later, the Commission has delivered them what they always wanted. This sequence of events will not be lost on anyone.
“The Commission says its determination should not be seen as a victory for one side or a loss for another. They should tell that to the residents who spent this week living in fear of what’s coming next. Cutting the numbers and moving the start time doesn’t change the malicious character of this march or the message it sends to the people who live there.”
Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín said he has spoken to families on the Garvaghy Road since the Parades Commission ruling was published this afternoon.
"Mothers are in tears, in real fear for safety of their children," he said. "The community is devastated and terrified. At the height of the Drumcree Parade in the 1990s, 21 innocent people lost their lives. It is beyond believe that this nightmare is about to revisit the residents.
"We understand that the residents are looking to go to court to get an injunction against this march. Aontú has contacted the office of the Taoiseach urging the Taoiseach to use his influence to stop this march. It is really important that the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minster understand just how destabilising this is for community relations. Anyone who understands the history of the Troubles will know the role played by Orange marches in stetting the fuse that led to so much bloodshed."
