Orange Order appeals High Court ruling banning Portadown march on Garvaghy Road

The Orange Order has lodged an appeal against the High Court ruling banning the Portadown District from marching on the Garvaghy Road on Sunday.

On Friday the Parades Commission announced that the Orange Order parade could proceed for the first time in almost 30 years with restrictions in place.

The Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition (GRRC) had mounted a legal challenge to the decision.

The injunction came after Portadown District Orange Lodge declined a request from Judge Patricia Smyth to postpone the parade along the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road.

Delivering her decision, Judge Smyth said "the level of mistrust" between residents and the lodge cannot be "overstated."

"It is also clear to me that this particular long running dispute has the potential to escalate within Northern Ireland," she added.

"Against that backdrop I am thoroughly of the view the issues of all three parties must be properly ventilated."

Judge Smyth said if the parade were to proceed on Sunday under the determination approved by the Parades Commission there would simply be "no opportunity" for the applicant to have his case fairly considered.

Afterwards GRRC spokesperson Breandan Mac Cionnaith said that "this isn't over yet".

He told supporters in a crowd of several hundred outside the High Court not to be "triumphalist".

But he added "we're halfway there".

Eóin Tennyson MLA, Alliance deputy leader, said that calm heads were needed.

"Following the High Court's intervention, it is important that everyone now takes a step back and responds responsibly," he said.

"The trauma and pain associated with Drumcree are very real. People want to move on with their lives, not refight the battles of the past or reopen old wounds."

DUP leader Gavin Robinson MP said unionists would await the court's decision and expect "all parties to respect the legal process".

"The Orangemen of Portadown have conducted themselves with dignity and respect for the rule of law for 28 years. If they must wait for further deliberation, be it 28 days, they will do so with their heads held high and dignity intact.

"The mob rule scenes we have witnessed from Sinn Féin, and the inflammatory language directed at a peaceful procession, will be remembered for a very long time by all in Northern Ireland with a British identity."

SDLP leader Claire Hanna MP said Drumcree "carries a history and a meaning that cannot be ignored".

"Insisting on passing through a community that has consistently and rightly opposed this parade returns us to the old territorial politics of provocation and domination that caused so much damage here.

"I welcome that the heat has been taken out of this difficult episode. Lighting the tinder is easy; putting the fire out is much harder."

TUV leader Jim Allister said he was dismayed at the handling of the judicial review hearing.

"I trust the Court of Appeal will rectify the situation," he said.

People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll said he would continue to offer support to Garvaghy Road residents.

"We will not let them drag us back to the dark days of sectarian violence and division."

Earlier on Saturday Judge Smyth had given the parties involved a final opportunity to "reach an agreement" and "step back from the abyss".

Following an adjournment she requested that the lodge was contacted to find out whether it would be prepared to temporarily halt the parade to allow a full hearing to take place.

Judge Smyth said "it is my view the issues at stake are so sensitive and so important, I would expect all of the lawyers to be creative and to use the law for the good of all the people in Northern Ireland."

Judge Smyth said the issue the court is dealing with is of "fundamental importance" to the entire society in Northern Ireland.

Portadown District lodge submitted a letter in which they outlined their reasons for not agreeing to delay the parade, highlighting that they have fulfilled "lawful notification and discharged our legal obligations".

"The suggestion there is no prejudice to us is, to be frank, absolutely contrary to all reality," the letter said.

"The prejudice is very clear – those opposed to us could simply ramp up the threat of disorder or violence, to change the factual context, and therefore effectively act as a veto."

It added: "This is not balanced or fair to us; it is depriving us, potentially on a permanent basis, of what we have been lawfully granted for Sunday, with no guarantee this outcome will be replicated even if the Applicant's case is ultimately found to be without any merit whatsoever."

The letter concluded: "We would ask the court not to take this unprecedented and extraordinary step, which we are advised is unheard of and has hitherto not ever occurred."

Earlier the judge highlighted that the information provided to the court from the PSNI has "promoted further enquiries" and "further time would be of benefit to the court."

"In my view it would be contrary to justice and unwise to proceed to make a decision in the absence of information in relation to the issues I have identified."

She said the important date for the Orange Order was July 5 and therefore there "is no prejudice in adjourning for a short period to allow this case to be prepared by all parties ."

The judge said she believed it would be to the disadvantage of the Orange Order and the Parades Commission for the case to proceed today in the absence of all the relevant information.

Rather than start at 13:00 BST on Sunday as intended, the Parades Commission had said the march could depart no later than 08:00 and with 35 participants , externalrather than the 60 the Orange Order requested. No bands or supporters are allowed.

A lawyer for the residents told the High Court it was unclear whether the Police Service of Northern Ireland's (PSNI) assessment referred to in the determination, was the "entirety" of what the police told the Parades Commission.

Their legal team has asked for the full PSNI assessment as well as past assessments in order to see whether there had been any changes.

Counsel for the residents said there had been a "significant change" in the Parades Commission's approach.

The Parades Commission has been in the political spotlight since its previous Drumcree determination was quashed in the High Court in August.

A review of the commission has since been ordered by the Northern Ireland Office.

The Drumcree parade dispute began in the mid-1990s and it almost derailed the peace process at the time.

Violence related to the dispute resulted in riots, roadblocks and murders.

When the Orange Order was prevented by police from walking down the route in July 1995 there was a tense stand-off. It was the same for the next three years.

The Parades Commission began operating in 1998 to regulate parades and try to defuse tension around marches.

Its decision not to allow a march down the Garvaghy Road that summer has been challenged by the order over the past three decades.