Belfast court confirms approval of controversial Orange parade in Portadown

Just hours before the start of a controversial parade by the Protestant Orange Order in the Northern Irish city of Portadown, a court in Belfast confirmed the parade's approval. The court must respect the decision of the responsible Parades Commission as a public institution, said Judge Michael Humphreys early in the morning, according to the British news agency PA. The parade was scheduled to start at 8 a.m. local time (9 a.m. CEST). The decision at around 2:15 a.m. was preceded by a bitter argument.

The responsible Parades Commission had initially allowed the parade and thus allowed the so-called Orangemen to march along Garvaghy Road through a predominantly Catholic-nationalist district of Drumcree. This meant that Protestants were allowed to march along Garvaghy Road for the first time in almost three decades.

Since 1998, the responsible Parades Commission had banned marching across the street. In the 1990s, the so-called Drumcree conflict resulted in some serious violent clashes.

Residents against parade - judge sees “potential for escalation”

However, the decision was challenged in court by a residents' group on Saturday, and High Court Judge Patricia Smyth granted an interim injunction stopping the move due to "potential for escalation". A member of the Orange Order then successfully challenged the injunction in the Court of Appeal. The residents' coalition was then given permission to challenge this decision in the High Court.

According to media reports, a large crowd had gathered on Garvaghy Road that night. Masked people also blocked the northern end of the road towards Drumcree.

The Orange Order was founded in 1795 as an alliance to preserve the monarchy and Protestantism in the small town of Portadown. At the time, its members were seeking protection from attacks by Irish Catholics.