Northern Ireland Secretary Bans the Drumcree Parade

The decision reverses a reversal. Two weeks ago the Parades Commission ruled that a circumscribed march could pass along the Garvaghy Road for the first time in twenty-eight years; police stopped it when thousands of residents, including Sinn Féin leaders, blocked the route. Sir Chris held several rounds of negotiations at Hillsborough Castle last week and said he did not want the stand-off running into another weekend “with the consequent risk of protests spreading to other parts of Northern Ireland”. He thanked Portadown’s Orange Lodge for its “peaceful and law-abiding approach”. The Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said the parade would have carried “an unacceptable risk of serious injury, disorder and a wider contagion effect” and that “time and space is now created for conversations about finding long-term solutions”. Reaction split precisely as expected. Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O’Neill spoke of “an enormous sense of relief within the community”; the residents’ coalition called it the only “sensible, reasonable and logical outcome”. Gavin Robinson of the DUP called it “a mistake” that sends “profound signals that the country should be run on force of numbers and who shouts the loudest”, leaving the framework for parading and protest “in tatters”. Micheal Martin warned against triumphalism. Separately, the police have written to Ms O’Neill about alleged offences during the protest; unionists are demanding she stand down.