A LOCAL community activist on the Garvaghy Road has said that residents will be "forever indebted" to those from Belfast and further afield who have come to the beleaguered community to show support in recent days.
Ciarán Ó Fearghail, who lives on the Drumcree Road in the "shadow of the church," was a teenager in the nineties during the last Drumcree dispute.
"I remember the violence that was inflicted on this community in the nineties, and the tensions and fear in the air," he said. "The atmosphere is the same now. The feelings are the same. Everyone is afraid. Everyone is worried," he said.
"My kids are only getting back to school today (Wednesday). They're in school in Armagh and we were afraid that something would happen when they were away, and that they'd be stuck in Armagh.
"That's the experience I had when I was growing up. We do not want the same experience for our children. That's why we're standing on the road, to put an end to that."
Thousands of people have journeyed to Portadown in recent days to join the Garvaghy Road community in their protest, in a show of support which Ciarán says has been unforgettable.
"The community in Portadown is forever indebted to the people who have come here. Without them, we'd have been beaten.
"Every night when you go to the top of the road there are different faces there. New people. People from all parts of the country.
"My wife was talking to a young man from County Laois last night. Twenty-two-years-old. He told his mum he was getting on the bus to college, and he actually got on the bus to the Garvaghy Road."
A grassroots group, Gaels for Garvaghy, was launched earlier this week following a community meeting in Glór na Móna on the Springfield Road. Ciarán said the solidarity from other areas has been hugely important for residents.
"It inspires us. When we see that others and people from Belfast are standing with us. It gives us confidence that we are not alone."
Speaking about the moment residents' learned that the Orange Order had been granted permission to parade, Ciarán said the community were shocked and found it hard to believe that the dispute would be reopened.
"We were at the community centre when the decision came in," he said. "I was angry. I was shocked at first. I couldn't believe it, I thought I was dreaming. Then I was confused, people were crying. There were all sorts of feelings on the day."
Mr Ó Fearghail said that residents' solicitors have said that the initial determination by the Parades Commission to allow the Orange Order to march has timed out, but that the police say that it is still live.
"That's just adding to the confusion," he said, "It's giving hope to the Orangemen on the hill that they still have a chance to march down the road.
"It's also creating suspicion in the area, because people are wondering if they'll put the parade down the road during the night. People aren't able to get a good sleep and they're always on edge.
"But that's the thing, it really helps when people come from Belfast and other areas. It gives locals a break, it means we don't have to sit on that hill every night. People are there from Belfast, Cork, Kildare, every county in Ireland. It shares the load."
