
Irish Prime Minister Michaul Martin called for calm amid tensions in the Northern Irish town of Drumcree, where protesters blocked an Orange Order march along Garvaghy Road despite court permission.
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The Orange Order is an organization of Northern Irish loyalists advocating for Northern Ireland to remain part of Great Britain. The order's marches through Catholic areas have historically caused intercommunal tensions.
Irish Prime Minister Michaul Martin called for calm amid tensions over a march by the Orange Order, a Northern Irish loyalist organization, through a Catholic area.
Orange Protestants, who advocate for Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom, gathered to parade along Garvaghy Road in the Catholic quarter of Drumcree on Sunday for the first time in almost 30 years. The court had previously temporarily banned the march due to fears of unrest, but the Orangemen successfully appealed.
"We haven't had any parades there for twenty-eight years in a row and most people expected it to continue that way... I urge both sides to remain calm," broadcaster RTE quoted the prime minister as saying.
He said he was very concerned about what was happening and called the Northern Ireland Parades Commission's decision to allow the march "incomprehensible and misguided."
As of 14:00 (16:00 GMT), the march along Garvaghy Road had not started. Hundreds of people blocked the street to prevent the Orangemen from passing through. The police separated the two groups of people and did not allow the march to continue.

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