Thousands of people attended rallies related to the Drumcree dispute in Portadown, Co Armagh on Saturday as a stand-off between the Orange Order and Garvaghy Road residents entered its seventh day.
A large crowd gathered at a demonstration in support of residents.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and former party leader Gerry Adams were among those in attendance.
“I thank you on behalf of people everywhere for having the courage to make this stand,” McDonald told the crowd.
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“You make a difference for us all, and we shall overcome. And there will be no Orange march down this road, not now and not ever.”
Breandán Mac Cionnaith, chairperson of the Garvaghy Road residents’ coalition, also addressed the crowd.
“There’s only one decision that will be acceptable to the men, women and children in this community, and that is that there should be no Orange march, none at all,” he said.
The impasse has been ongoing since the Parades Commission gave the green light for the first time in almost 30 years for the Portadown District of the unionist Orange Order to complete its traditional route along the Garvaghy Road.
Marches in Drumcree in the 1990s were often linked to violence, with 21 deaths related to the standoff.
A coalition of residents in the largely nationalist Garvaghy Road area is opposed to the march going ahead this year and took legal action, which failed, before starting a protest to prevent the parade from taking place.
A fresh legal appeal by the residents is set to be heard in the Court of Appeal on Monday.
[ From local row to peace-process shambles: How the Drumcree standoff developedOpens in new window ]
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said a major public safety operation will continue in Portadown over the weekend.
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Bryant said he would “especially urge calm this weekend”.
Bryant said a prolonged standoff in Portadown is “ultimately in nobody’s interests”.
“I have been working with all those involved to find a mutually acceptable solution,” he said in a post on social media.
“I’m grateful to all those who have been and are engaging in dialogue. This is a crucial time for Northern Ireland and I hope people can still find further compromise.
“Leadership is never easy at moments like this but I commend all those who are trying to get to a solution.”
Bryant, who chaired talks with both sides during the week that were unsuccessful in reaching an agreement, said his door remains open for further engagement.
Sinn Féin politicians had been encouraging people from across the island to attend the demonstration on Garvaghy Road, which has been dubbed the “No Going Back” rally.
A crowd also gathered in the Edgarstown area in support of the Orange Order.
Portadown District master Nigel Dawson told the Press Association: “We’re still waiting for the Chief Constable to do his job and put the parade down the road as per our legal determination and backed up by a high court judge.”
Jamie Bryson, a loyalist activist and legal adviser to Portadown District Orangemen, was among speakers who criticised Chief Constable Jon Boutcher’s handling of the dispute.
“If you can’t police Northern Ireland, wave the white flag and say it – stop dancing around it,” he said. “If you wave the white flag, that’s not our problem. We won, we have the legal entitlement [to march down Garvaghy Road].”
Bryson and TUV leader Jim Allister argued that either the parade should be allowed to go ahead or the Northern Ireland Executive should be collapsed.
Allister said there was a “fundamental challenge to political unionism” and particularly the DUP, stating: “It is either the Portadown Orangemen come home or the Executive is gone.”
Dawson also criticised the police road management around the Garvaghy Road demonstration. Ulster Unionist Party leader Jon Burrows described that gathering as a “carnival of law-breaking and triumphalism” as well as a “serious failure of political leadership” by Sinn Féin.
He added: “The law applies to everyone, from the First Minister down.”
The Portadown district of the Orange Order released a statement on Saturday clarifying reports that John Larkin, Northern Ireland’s former attorney general, had withdrawn from its legal team.
“Mr Larkin KC was not available for the listed hearing date which necessitated a replacement to step in for that upcoming hearing ... There is no grand conspiracy.”
The statement said the legal firm changed after informing the court that “they and their staff have felt threatened and they couldn’t safely continue”.
“Our junior barrister in the case has also been threatened and has required police protection. She has refused to be bullied and remains in place.”
Jamie Bryson, who is a legal adviser to the district, has also been threatened but remains on the case, the statement added.
“We look forward to Monday’s Court of Appeal case, and once again urge everyone to abide by the law.”
Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee said she was “keenly aware of the strain that the events of the past week place on the communities most directly impacted and indeed on the PSNI”.
“I want to acknowledge and commend all those who are working hard to ensure the situation remains peaceful and that everyone remains safe,” she said in a statement.
McEntee added that she was “in close contact” with Bryant on the matter.
– Additional reporting from PA
