Orange Order to march down Garvaghy Road for first time in almost 30 years

Main PointsThe Orange Order is to march down the Garvaghy Road at 8am, for the first time in 28 yearsA Belfast appeals court overturned a temporary injunction barring the Orange Order from parading down the predominantly nationalist road in Portadown late on SaturdayResidents of the area had launched a legal challenge against a Parades Commission ruling permitting the order to walk down the Co Armagh streetThe stand-off at Drumcree over the march made headlines in the 1990s, leading to violent clashes for several summersKey ReadsDrumcree dispute led to one of worst Troubles atrocitiesDrumcree dispute overshadows last UUP conference before Stormont electionStephen Conneely - 1 minute agoCarla Lockhart, a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) member of parliament who has attended court proceedings this weekend in support of the Orange Order, has said “there is nothing to fear” about the march.“There is no threat, no triumphalism, not even music,” she posted on X alongside this photo of Orange men gathering.This dignified grouping of men, walking silently down Garvaghy Road is what Republicans are whipping others, many bussed into the area, to be afraid of. There is no threat, no triumphalism, not even music. There is nothing to fear. The rule of law must prevail. pic.twitter.com/Y9rPRtdchY— Carla Lockhart MP (@carlalockhart) September 27, 2026 Stephen Conneely - 12 minutes agoBreandán Mac Cionnaith stands in the front line of the protest on September 27, 2026 in Portadown, Northern Ireland. Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images Breandán Mac Cionnaith, of the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition, stands before a line of demonstrators, linked arm in arm, who intend to block the Orange Order from marching through the area. People have gathered in the area since the early hours of Sunday morning, not long after the Court of Appeals ruled that the march will go ahead. Stephen Conneely - 20 minutes agoNationalists protest against an expected parade on September 27, 2026 in Portadown, Northern Ireland. Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images In the minutes leading up to the Orange Order march’s scheduled start time, Marie-Therese Murray, whose 12-year-old son Darren was knocked down and killed after being chased by Loyalist demonstrators, was seen on the Garvaghy Road.Northern Correspondent Seanín Graham has some of what she said.Marie-Therese Murray protests on Garvaghy Rd. She holds a photo of her 12 yr-old son Darren, who was knocked down and killed 30 years ago after being chased by loyalists. She rarely speaks about her loss but felt she had to protest today for “next generation” @IrishTimes pic.twitter.com/ExbydcCmNj— Seanín Graham (@SeaninGraham22) September 27, 2026 Stephen Conneely - 37 minutes agoDemonstrators have gathered on the Garvaghy Road from the early hours of Sunday morning. They are planning to block the Orange Order from marching through the area. Ireland and Britain Editor Mark Hennessy is there now, where demonstrators are being told “organising or taking part in the protest is committing an offence and is liable to arrest and prosecution.”The warning from the Police Service Northern Ireland to Garvaghy Road protestors angry at the midnight decision of the Court of Appeal in Belfast to allow the Orange Order parade along the road for the first time in 30 years pic.twitter.com/tTf8xQAEv6— Mark Hennessy (@MarkHennessy) September 27, 2026 Stephen Conneely - 38 minutes agoThe Orange Order is to march down the Garvaghy Road this morning. What decisions have brought us here?35 members of the Orange Order is to march down the Garvaghy Road, a largely nationalist area in Portadown, Co Armagh, this morning for the first time in 28 years.Northern Ireland’s Parades Commission has since 1998 not allowed the Order to do so following massive security operations and violent clashes between nationalist and unionist demonstrations in the 80’s and 90’s. Five people were killed in incidents linked to these tensions. But the Commission on Friday afternoon granted an application by the Order to march down the Garvaghy Road – a move that was quickly challenged in the courts. Belfast’s High Court on Saturday evening struck down the Commission’s decision, with Judge Patricia Smyth ruling the “long-running dispute has the potential to escalate” across Northern Ireland. But The Court of Appeals in the early hours of Sunday morning reversed this decision, allowing the Commission’s initial decision to stand. Judge Siobhan Keegan said her judicial colleague had “unfortunately erred in law”.