Orange Order announces plan for ‘limited’ Drumcree ParadeThe proposed march would involve 60 people walking on the Garvaghy Road.(left to right ) Members of the Orange Order, loyalist activist Jamie Bryson, Portadown District Master Nigel Dawson and Portadown deputy District Master Alastair Power (Liam McBurney/PA)PA WireJonathan McCambridge4 minutes ago
The Orange Order has announced that it has made an application for a “limited” parade along the Garvaghy Road in Portadown.
During a press conference in the Co Armagh town, they said 60 members would take part in the proposed Drumcree parade on Sunday, September 27.
However, District Master Nigel Dawson also said that current members of the Parades Commission have “no credibility” to adjudicate on their application and should resign.
The commission, which adjudicates on contentious parades in Northern Ireland, was heavily criticised by unionist politicians and the Orange Order after the ruling last month which quashed its most recent determination over the Drumcree parade in Portadown.
Portadown District Master Nigel Dawson (Liam McBurney/PA)PA Wire
High Court Judge Mr Justice McAlinden referred to “errors”, “short cuts”, and “sloppy procedures” in the approach of the commission to making its determination.
The Parades Commission has blocked the order from marching along the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road in Portadown 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.
Secretary of State Sir Chris Bryant has ordered a judge-led review into how the Parades Commission makes its decisions.
At the press conference on Thursday, unionist politicians Carla Lockhart, Jonathan Buckley and Jim Allister, and loyalist activist Jamie Bryson, joined senior figures from the Orange Order.
Drumcree Church in Portadown (Niall Carson/PA)PA Wire
Mr Dawson said: “Portadown District has today lodged a notification to complete our return church parade, which we have been unlawfully and unjustly denied since 1998, and to bring our bannerette home to Carleton Street Orange Hall, for the first time in just under 30 years.
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“This notification has been accompanied by a detailed legal submission, which begins by setting out our clear and unequivocal position that all commissioners who took part in the unlawful and both procedurally and substantively termination for the 5th of July 2026 are infected by public law bias and predetermination, and accordingly, they cannot play any role in considering this notification.
“That this commission remains in office, particularly the chair, is an affront to good public administration and undermines the authority of the Secretary of State, who has shown himself impotent in the face of belligerent and arrogant commission.
“Let us be very clear: they have no credibility, they have no legitimacy, and they have no lawful right to play any role in this determination.”
He said there was no threat of violence or disruption from “any section of our community” regardless of the outcome of the application.
Deputy District Master Alistair Power said the proposed march would take place on September 27 and would include 60 people marching along the Garvaghy Road wearing collarettes with no music.
He said: “This limited parade is proportionate, inoffensive and wholly reasonable.”
The stand-off 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.
The Orange Order has unsuccessfully applied for more than a quarter of a century to complete its 1998 walk along its traditional route.
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Chris BryantNorthern IrelandJonathan BuckleyPress Association