The Parades Commission has given permission for a loyalist parade in memory of a teenager who blew himself up with a pipe bomb to pass a once notorious sectarian interface.Next weekend 17 bands and around 600 supporters are to march to the North Queen Street interface in memory of Tigers Bay 16 year old Glen Branagh who died during sectarian rioting on November 11 2001.
Next Friday night will see a decade since the teenager, who was known as Spacer, was killed as he prepared to throw a pipe bomb across to the New Lodge side of the interface.
The teenager, who was days off his 17th birthday was a member of the UDA’s youth wing.
His death occurred during fierce rioting across North Belfast at the height of the Holy Cross blockade.
Interface worker Gerry O’Reilly, who works with community workers from Tigers Bay, police and retailers in an operation to end interface violence at the flashpoint, said as a resident he met with the Parades Commission to highlight their concerns about the parade.
“We went to the Parades Commission to express concerns of the local residents,” he said.
“We have concerns about how the parade will be stewarded, the policing operations and music on the night.
“We have an ongoing working relationship between groups in Tigers Bay and the New Lodge and it has been positive on many levels. However we were not informed by organisers of this parade.”
