Marie-Therese Murray approached police lines on Portadown’s Garvaghy Road at 7.40am on Sunday morning holding a placard of her child who died nearby 30 years ago.
Behind her, thousands of protesters linked arms in torrential rain to block a planned Orange Order march from Drumcree church.
It was due to begin 20 minutes later.
“Please, please stop this for the children of both communities ... we don’t want no more violence,” Murray pleaded, sobbing.
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Darren Murray was 12 years old when he was knocked down and killed after being chased by a group of Protestant youths at the height of sectarian tensions following the Drumcree standoff in 1996.
He was her only son.
“I don’t want our grandkids to grow up the way Darren’s age did,” she said. “Drumcree is going to traumatise this generation.”
Crowds were 10 deep along the predominantly nationalist road before sunrise. Blocked off at either end by protesters, PSNI riot squad teams faced them.
Chants of “SS RUC” greeted police warnings that it was an “unlawful protest” and those taking part faced arrest.
A young man wearing a Tricolour balaclava stood apart from the crowd, defiant.
“It’s like going back in time,” another said.
Busloads of supporters from Derry and Belfast began travelling from midnight; sleeping mats were lined up inside the Drumcree Community Centre off the Garvaghy Road.
A marathon series of overnight legal challenges had led to this point – for the first time in 28 years the Orange Order was to walk the mainly nationalist stretch of road.
The Drumcree dispute – which almost derailed the peace process during the 1990s and was linked to 21 murders – now threatened to collapse the North’s fragile powersharing institutions in 2026.
Stormont First Minister Michelle O’Neill joined protesters on the Garvaghy Road on Sunday morning. She refused to be drawn on the future of the Executive.
[ Decades after flashpoints of the 1990s, Drumcree is just as dangerousOpens in new window ]
As she arrived, some protesters shouted “bring Stormont down”.
“I think that this brings into question how this whole peace process works,” O’Neill told reporters.
“You’ve heard it here today,” pointing at the crowd, “you’ve heard people’s view of Stormont ... in terms of politics working for them.”
Unionist politicians gathered a mile away outside Drumcree church, where Orange Order members retreated back inside after police told them they could not guarantee their safety.
Under the Northern Ireland Parades Commission ruling, 35 Orange Order members of the Portadown district lodge were to walk the road in a silent parade with no bands.
By teatime, they proceeded to march but were stopped within 100 yards by police on public safety grounds.
Portadown district master Nigel Dawson told reporters they would “probably try and march again this evening”.
Loyalist demonstrators, who gathered in the town centre, made their way to Drumcree hill. On Garvaghy Road, the crowd swelled.
The whirr of an overhead police helicopter was a constant throughout.
Three weeks ago, there wasn’t a Tricolour on the road; on Sunday, a flag flew from every lamp-post.
DUP leader Gavin Robinson rounded on O’Neill, accusing of her of “breaking the law” by participating in the Garvaghy Road protest.
“The rule of law cannot apply only when Sinn Féin likes the outcome. Our institutions are founded on respect for the police, the courts and the rule of law,” he said.
In Dublin, Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee called for political leaders to “de-escalate the situation”.
She had “followed events closely” throughout the day and was “very concerned about the situation on the ground”.
“There has been significant progress in the past 30 years in relation to marches, and my primary concern is to avoid a return to the divisions of the past,” she said.
Northern Secretary Chris Bryant, who cut short the Labour Party conference to travel to Hillsborough Castle for meetings with politicians, called for both sides to “double down on compromise”.
As dusk fell, a constant stream of people arrived at Drumcree community centre, with many travelling from the Republic. Kerry, Dublin and Cavan accents were heard in the queue for food, all pledging support.
Linda O’Neill, the community centre manager, said it was difficult to express the level of devastation and “betrayal” felt by residents. Almost 4,000 members signed a petition calling for the parade to be banned.
“Life will never be the same again for any of us in this community,” she said. “That’s how important it was that the State stood by us.”
O’Neill said she and the protesters were “not moving”. “We are doing everything peacefully,” she said.
Tomorrow, a school will close due to the dispute. St John the Baptist PS Bunscoil Eoin Baiste said it made the difficult decision in “the interest of everyone’s safety”.
Linda O’Neill said “no one is going to work” tomorrow. “We have doctors, nurses, accountants, youth workers and business people on all this road. They are all making arrangements,” she said.
“This is bigger than us now. I can’t look my children in the eye tomorrow and pretend that life’s normal.”
Addressing the crowd before 8pm, Michelle O’Neill urged them to “stay the course” until midnight.
The reason the Orange Order parade hadn’t got down the road was because of “your dedication”, she told them.
Much like Drumcree 30 years ago, the repercussions are likely to continue for some time.
