BBC News
· collected 2026-09-28 · by Mark Simpson, Darran Marshall, Michael Fitzpatrick
Story summary
On September 27, the Parades Commission allowed the Orange Order's Drumcree parade to proceed along Garvaghy Road for the first time in almost 30 years. The commission restricted the number of participants to 35 people, starting at 8 am, and required them to disperse by 9:30 am from Carleton Street Orange Hall, with only the Portadown District banner allowed during this stretch. No supporters or bands were permitted along the parade route near residents' homes on Dungannon Road and Drumcree Road.
The decision drew mixed reactions; DUP hailed it as a breakthrough while Sinn Féin condemned it strongly, viewing it as forcing an Orange march through the community. Garvaghy Road residents had been vehemently opposed to such parades during the 1990s Troubles era, leading to violent clashes and political tension necessitating significant security measures.
Following an unprecedented late-night court hearing concluding at 2:15 am, Justice Michael Humphreys upheld the commission's ruling. Crowds gathered in Portadown early Sunday morning, with many wearing balaclavas, awaiting the parade amidst heavy rain and tense conditions. The hearing acknowledged the unusual circumstances but maintained respect for public bodies' decisions.
Concerns were raised that this go-ahead could disrupt agreements at other flashpoint areas across Northern Ireland, signaling potential challenges to maintaining peace in former conflict zones.
Written for “Drumcree Parade Decision” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 59 other(s) covering the same event.
- Published
Hundreds of protesters blocked a road in Portadown on Sunday after a contentious Orange Order parade was given late-night clearance to march down it for the first time in almost 30 years.
asserted
parade → publish → years
Following a series of legal challenges, a ruling by the Parades Commission permitting the Drumcree parade down the mainly-nationalist Garvaghy Road was upheld in an "unprecedented" sitting of the High Court in Belfast.
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ruling → follow → Belfast
Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill joined the protesters, while members of the Orange Order and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politicians gathered about a mile away, waiting for the road to clear.
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road → join → Order
DUP leader Gavin Robinson said O'Neill was breaking the law by protesting.
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O'Neill → say → law
He said the first minister had "broken her pledge of office".
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minister → say → office
"It is shameful that we see on the streets of Portadown, a first minister, a collection of ministers and series of elected representatives who are participating in an unlawful protest, who are blocking the road and who are giving two fingers to the police, the courts and the rule of law," Robinson added.
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Robinson → see → law
Sinn Féin has been contacted for comment.
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Féin → contact → comment
Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant, who returned from the Labour Party conference for talks, urged both sides to "double down on compromise" and said "nobody should be attending an unlawful protest", but he added it was not his job "to decide whether somebody has or hasn't broken the law".
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somebody → return → law
In the 1990s, the Drumcree parade sparked some of the most serious disorder in Northern Ireland's history.
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parade → spark → history
'We aren't going back', says residents' coalition
Addressing protesters as they cleared the area on Sunday night, Breandán Mac Cionnaith from the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition said he would be meeting the chief constable and Northern Ireland Secretary on Monday.
"The last 48 have been a long 48 hours for everybody," he said.
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he → go → everybody
"We said they weren't getting down and we stopped them getting down."
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them → say → ?
Having "stopped them once", Mac Cionnaith said the process now "is to make sure we stop them permanently".
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stop → stop → them
Residents are "not going in to deals", and they "aren't going back", he said but warned the dispute is going to "drag on for a while".
'We haven't got a solution yet'
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We → go → solution
Sir Chris met politicians from the DUP, the Alliance Party, the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) in relation to the Drumcree dispute on Sunday evening, but Sinn Féin said, while they had agreed to meet, the form did not suit the secretary of state.
Sir Chris said he had been in discussions with Michelle O'Neill on Sunday evening in relation to the dispute.
On Sunday night, Sir Chris responded to the SDLP's call for an international mediator in relation to the dispute, and said he is "giving consideration to anything that anybody comes up with".
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anybody → meet → that
He confirmed he has had discussions with all the main political parties in a bid to get a resolution to the Drumcree dispute, but added that "we haven't got a solution yet".
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we → confirm → solution
He said he is determined to keep on working and talking with people.
"There's a few ideas around about things we might be able to do and I'm happy to explore those and I'll continue those conversations tomorrow," he added.
uncertain
he → say → conversations
Earlier, on the Garvaghy Road, First Minister Michelle O'Neill urged protesters to stay on the road until at least midnight.
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O'Neill → urge → midnight
"The reason the parade has not come down this road thus far is because you are here, and we need you to stay the course, we need you to stay here to 12 o'clock tonight at least," she said.
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she → come → o'clock
The Orange Order, the most prominent of the loyal orders associated with Protestants in Northern Ireland, holds thousands of parades every year and the vast majority pass off without incident.
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majority → associate → incident
However, many Catholics see the marches as sectarian and object to them passing through, or close to, Catholic or nationalist areas.
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them → see → areas
The Garvaghy Road had been part of the Drumcree route, but by the mid 1990s nationalist residents protested against the parade.
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residents → protest → parade
When the Orange Order was prevented by police from walking down the route in July 1995, there was a tense stand-off.
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Order → prevent → July
Violence related to the dispute resulted in riots, roadblocks and murders across Northern Ireland.
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Violence → relate → Ireland
In 1998, the newly-established Parades Commission ruled that the Orange Order should not march down the road - a decision upheld until Friday.
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Order → establish → Friday
Protesters started gathering on the Garvaghy Road in the early hours of Sunday, after the final court decision.
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Protesters → gather → decision
Police are monitoring the situation and dozens of armoured vehicles arrived in the town.
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dozens → monitor → town
They have called on protesters to clear the route.
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They → call → route
The march was meant to begin no later than 08:00 BST, but police told the Orange Order that the road was not clear.
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road → mean → Order
Members of the Portadown District Lodge are waiting in a hall at Drumcree Parish Church.
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Members → wait → Church
They intend to walk from there down the Garvaghy Road to Carleton Street Orange Hall in the town, where supporters are waiting for them to arrive.
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them → intend → town
Nigel Dawson, Portadown District Master of the Orange Order, said on Sunday night that they are waiting patiently "for the police to fulfil their legal obligations" in relation to the parade.
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police → say → parade
He added that they continued to engage with the police and they would remain at Drumcree.
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they → add → Drumcree
Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Andy Burnham had appealed for "calm on all sides", saying there have been "big gains made in Northern Ireland, and we don't want to see things go backwards".
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things → appeal → Ireland
Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Micheál Martin also appealed for calm, but he said he found the original decision by the Parades Commission "incomprehensible and wrong".
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decision → appeal → Commission
Speaking to reporters on Sunday morning, First Minister Michelle O'Neill had questioned the decision making of the Parades Commission and called on the Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant to intervene in the parade dispute.
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O'Neill → speak → dispute
Asked if she thought Stormont could collapse over Drumcree, she said: "The progress of the last 28 years have been brought into question by the actions of the Orange Order and those within political unionism that want to drag us backwards.
uncertain
that → ask → us
"What's the point? What's the point whenever people are going to railroad over their rights?"
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people → go → rights
DUP MP Carla Lockhart said the first minister was "whipping up hysteria" at an unlawful protest.
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minister → say → protest
She called O'Neill's comments "outrageous" and the protesters a "rabble".
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protesters → call → comments
"The law is on our side," she said.
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she → say → side
…and 28 more, not listed.
The Aporia
