Portadown Protests: Crowd Barries Contested March After Court Ruling Reversed

Around 2,000 people gathered despite heavy rain, while police monitored the scene with vehicles and a helicopter. The 35 Orange Order members authorised to take part remained inside a nearby church as the route was blocked. The limited parade was due to pass along the road without bands or supporters, in what would have been the first such procession there since 1998.

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This impasse stemmed from a prolonged legal showdown. Following an injunction from a High Court judge on Saturday warning that unresolved tensions threatened public order, the appellate court reversed that decision just before midnight overnight. Chief Justice Siobhan Keegan had criticised the lower judge’s legal reasoning as mistaken. A subsequent appeal was quietly dismissed early Sunday morning.

Although the schedule called for departure at eight with completion expected by nine‑thirty, police reported that Route 7 remained obstructed, delaying the march.

National leaders condemned the decision. First Minister Michelle O’Neill questioned why the corridor was reopened after nearly thirty‑eight years, while Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald called for the British government and law enforcement to cease backing the parade.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham appealed for calm, pointing out that the progress achieved since the Good Friday Agreement must not be undone.

The confrontation revives memories of the Drumcree dispute, when Garvie Road became a key flashpoint during the Troubles.

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