Rival rallies planned as Drumcree parade stand-off reaches seventh day

The Irish Times and RTE reported that rival rallies are planned in Portadown as a stand-off over the Drumcree parade continues for a seventh day. According to RTE, a large crowd gathered in the town to support the residents of the Garvaghy Road. Community events are scheduled for both sides of the parade dispute. [1][2]

RTE reported that the impasse began after the Parades Commission allowed the Portadown District of the unionist Orange Order to march along the Garvaghy Road for the first time in nearly 30 years. The Orange Order is backed by the Democratic Unionist Party and the Traditional Unionist Voice. A coalition of residents in the largely nationalist area opposes the parade and is supported by Sinn Féin. [2]

The Drumcree conflict is a long-running dispute regarding annual parades in Portadown, located in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town has a majority Protestant population alongside a Catholic minority. The Orange Order seeks to march to and from Drumcree Church on the Sunday before the Twelfth of July, but local residents view the march through their area as triumphalist and have sought to ban it. [8]