A Northern Ireland court has authorized the Orange Order to march through Garvaghy Road in Portadown for the first time since 1997, following a series of last-minute legal challenges that reached the High Court in Belfast overnight.
The ruling permits 35 members of the Protestant order to walk silently through the largely Catholic and nationalist area on Sunday without musical bands or other supporters accompanying them. The Parades Commission had repeatedly rejected the group’s applications, but a previous High Court decision quashed the latest rejection due to a procedural error, leading to the approval of a fresh application.
Approximately 2,000 people gathered on the street to counterprotest the event. Some demonstrators wore Irish flag-themed masks as they blocked the road in the Catholic enclave.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham urged calm during a BBC interview, stating that significant progress had been made in Northern Ireland and emphasizing that there should be no regression. Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill, a member of the Irish republican Sinn Fein party, spoke out against the decision. She described the march as
I’m surprised the court allowed this at all given the history of violence here. Silent march or not, tensions are already high.
This feels like a dangerous step backward for peace. Burning 35 marchers in a Catholic enclave will only deepen division.