Court of Appeal hears challenge to Orange Order march at Drumcree

Residents of the Garvaghy Road in Portadown have returned to court to challenge a ruling that allowed an Orange Order parade along their route. The Irish Independent, The Irish Times, and RTE all report that three judges in the Court of Appeal in Belfast are hearing the residents' appeal. The legal effort follows a refusal of leave for judicial review last weekend, which sparked a week of protest. [1][2][3][7]

The Parades Commission previously approved an application allowing 35 Orangemen to walk along the Garvaghy Road on Sunday morning without a band, according to RTE. Protests prevented that march from taking place. The Irish News, ITVX, and planetradio.co.uk also report that the long-standing Drumcree dispute is back in the courts. [1][3][4][5][7]

The Orange Order is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland that holds annual parades. The Drumcree conflict involves a dispute over yearly parades in Portadown, a town with a significant Catholic minority where local residents view the march through their area as sectarian and triumphalist. [9][10]

As FTMQ News reported earlier, thousands of people gathered in Portadown for rival rallies over the stand-off after the Parades Commission permitted the Orange Order to march along the route for the first time in almost 30 years. Hip-hop group Kneecap also visited the Garvaghy Road to show support for the residents, as reported by The National Scot. [6][12][13]