Drumcree march issue ‘closed’ and should not be revisited, says Michelle O’NeillSinn Fein MLA John O’Dowd said: ‘The hurt and the trauma that was afflicted in that community runs very, very deep, and it is generational.’The issue of Orange Order marches on the Garvaghy road is ‘closed’, the First Minister Michelle O’Neill has said (PA)PA WireClaudia Savage2 minutes ago
The issue of Orange Order marches on the Garvaghy Road is “closed”, First Minister Michelle O’Neill has said.
Ms O’Neill said residents living along the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road in Portadown had been subjected to a “direct provocation” after the Orange Order announced it had made an application for a “limited” parade on the route.
The issue was the first topic discussed by MLAs when the Stormont assembly reconvened after recess.
The Parades Commission will have to rule on the latest application for 60 order members to take part in the proposed Drumcree parade on Sunday September 27.
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The commission, which adjudicates on contentious parades in Northern Ireland, was heavily criticised by unionist politicians and the Orange Order after a High Court ruling last month that quashed its most recent determination over the Drumcree parade.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill, with John O’Dowd MLA (right) (Niall Carson/PA)PA Wire
The Parades Commission has blocked the order from marching along the Garvaghy Road in July every year since 1998.
Unionist politicians have called for the resignation of the commissioners, including chairwoman Professor Evelyn Collins, after the ruling.
One commissioner, Billy Gamble, who had attracted criticism, has resigned but the chairwoman has remained in post.
Ms O’Neill told reporters that the residents of the Garvaghy Road have “made their position very clear”.
“This issue is closed,” she said.
“I refer to this as provocation, this is provocation on behalf of the Orange Order and political unionism.
“Why do they want to ramrod a march down a nationalist area? Why do they want a reopen a sore that was closed 28 years ago? There’s no reasonable thinking person out there who thinks that this is a good idea.
“The people of the Garvaghy Road deserve to live without fear or intimidation. What’s been put upon them over recent weeks is a direct provocation, is a way in which to try to extend fear and hate back into a situation that was settled 28 years ago.”
She added: “We continue to be engaged with the people in the Garvaghy Road, and they are anxious about what is being proposed, and rightly so, but I think we stand full square with them. This issue has been settled.
“Why does anyone want to revisit 28 years ago, where 21 people lost their lives during this period, where it was a time filled with fear and hate?”
Secretary of State Sir Chris Bryant has ordered a judge-led review into how the Parades Commission makes its decisions.
Members of the Orange Order during a press conference at Carleton Street Orange Hall in Portadown, announcing their next steps in relation to the Drumcree parade (Liam McBurney/PA)PA Wire
The standoff at Drumcree made headlines in the 1990s, with nationalist residents of the Garvaghy Road resolutely opposed to the parade passing through the area, leading to violent clashes for several summers and political tension necessitating a major security operation.
TUV MLA Timothy Gaston opened the debate in the assembly on Monday by saying the high court judgment exposed “serious failings” in the commission and the unionist community has “no respect or any confidence left” in the body.
“The Portadown District once again call on the Garvaghy Road residents to enter mediation without preconditions,” he said,
“That Sinn Féin are the ones that have ruled that out, Sinn Féin are gaslighting the people of the Garvaghy Road for their own political agenda.
“Drumcree is not about the rights of orange men prevailing over those of residents. It’s time the Portadown district banner was allowed to return home.”
DUP MLA Jonathan Buckley said the position of Ms Collins is “untenable” and the body is “a complete farce”.
“There is an attempt to cover up gross misconduct in office by those commissioners, and I would argue if it was any other commission, if it was any other public body, Sinn Féin, and indeed other members of this assembly, would be outraged,” he said.
Sinn Féin MLA John O’Dowd said “unspoken” agreement between Garvaghy road residents and the Orange Order for the last 28 years has facilitated a situation where “community relations are improving on an almost daily basis within the Portadown area”.
“But getting all the people coming along and they’re picking, they’re picking on it, and why are they picking on it? Because they can’t cope with progress.
“They can’t cope with stability. They fear peace. They fear peace. They fear that ability of the communities to get on together.
“So why are you at this? Why are you opening old wounds? Some of you don’t even remember it, some of you are too young to remember it, I remember it.
Sinn Féin MLA John O’Dowd said the ‘hurt and the trauma that was afflicted in that community runs very, very deep’ (Rebecca Black/PA)PA Wire
“I remember the hurt and the pain that was inflicted on the Garvaghy Road community. That scar runs deep in that community.
“The hurt and the trauma that was afflicted in that community runs very, very deep, and it is generational, so stay away from it.”
Mr O’Dowd then read the names of people who were killed during tensions in the 90s linked to the Drumcree dispute.
“Elizabeth O’Neill killed in her home,” he said.
“Robert Hamill kicked to death in the street.
“The Quinn children, Jason, Mark, and Richard, between nine and 11 years of age, burned to death in their homes.
“What more do you want?”
Alliance MLA Eóin Tennyson said the resurgence of the issues was akin to “picking a scab with a chainsaw”.
“I am as frustrated as anybody else that such a sensitive issue has so clearly been mishandled, and it is right that the Secretary of State launches an independent review,” he said.
“But that is not an excuse to seek to relive the past simply for the hell of it.”
UUP deputy leader Diana Armstrong said a future decision on Drumcree being taken by the current membership of the commission “risks public confidence and it invites another court case within months”.
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Chris BryantSinn FeinJonathan BuckleyHigh CourtNorthern Ireland