Drumcree Rally Splits the DUP as Lockhart Demands O’Neill Go
Thousands gathered in Portadown in support of Orangemen banned from parading along the Garvaghy Road, in the first major rally since protesters blocked the route last month. The only politician to take the stage demanded the first minister’s removal — which would also remove her own party’s deputy first minister.
Carla Lockhart stood down as a Democratic Unionist Party officer on Thursday and told the crowd that the party has it within its gift to remove Michelle O’Neill: “Profound consequences must mean profound consequences. Michelle O’Neill must go. That’s where I stand, and this lady is not for turning.” The constitutional catch is that the first and deputy first ministers cannot function independently of one another, so collapsing one post collapses both — including the office held by her own party colleague. The first minister took part in the Garvaghy Road protests and attended police interviews this week over her involvement. The parade was banned by the Northern Ireland secretary on security advice after a stand-off lasting nearly a fortnight. Speakers criticised the chief constable, the secretary of state and the first minister by name, and the unionist leaderships by implication; the loudest cheers went to the Order’s legal adviser and to Ms Lockhart. No attendance figure has been published by police or organisers, and the broadcaster covering it noted the crowd appeared to surprise even the organisers.