The prospects of a relatively trouble-free summer marching season in Northern Ireland were enhanced yesterday after the 10th successive contentious Drumcree parade concluded peacefully.
Drumcree this year was marked by the lowest ever turnout of Orangemen and supporters for the parade from Portadown town centre to Drumcree church, where police again blocked marchers from returning to Portadown by the nationalist Garvaghy Road.
This was the second year that Drumcree ended without major incident. The turnout last year was also dramatically down on previous years but yesterday the crowd was even lower than in 2003. There were also indications of disharmony within the County Armagh Orange Order as no representative of the Armagh grand lodge attended yesterday's parade.
Only about 500 Orangemen participated in the parade with another 100 or so supporters joining them at the police barrier at Drumcree Bridge where once again the Portadown District protested at its being banned from Garvaghy Road.
This year's security operation was of a lower-key nature than last year. The PSNI erected a steel barrier at Drumcree Bridge but it was lower than in previous years and during the protest police left the barrier gate open.
Barbed wire fencing was placed in the fields beside the bridge while screens and other barriers were erected at Drumcree and near St John's Catholic church at the head of Garvaghy Road.
Such was police confidence that Drumcree would not generate trouble either last night or during the week that yesterday afternoon they started removing the security barriers. The fact that the march ended peacefully has strengthened hopes that the rest of the season will take place without serious trouble.
The Orangemen paraded to Drumcree Church for a Battle of the Somme commemoration service at 10.30 a.m. yesterday. Afterwards they lined up and, led by the Star of David accordion band, marched down to the barricade.
There the Portadown District secretary, Mr Nigel Dawson, demanded that the Orangemen be allowed march down the Garvaghy Road "in a peaceful and dignified manner" as they had done "for almost 200 years".
When permission was refused, in accordance with the Parades Commission ruling banning the Portadown District from Garvaghy Road, the Orangemen read a passage from scripture and observed a minute's silence in memory of former Portadown district master Harold Gracey who died this year.
The Orangemen remained at the barrier for about 15 minutes and then the band, playing Onward Christian Soldiers, about-turned and led them back up the hill. A few supporters kicked the gates of the barrier, which police by then had closed, but there was no trouble. The Orangemen and supporters dispersed peacefully around 2 p.m.
Mr David Burrows, deputy district master, said Orangemen would return to Drumcree Bridge every Sunday until they were allowed march down Garvaghy Road. He concluded his speech by stating, as Orangemen have said every year: "Here we stand, we can do no other."
Mr David Jones, Portadown District spokesman, said the Parades Commission and other local groups should immediately resume efforts to resolve the dispute. He did not rule out meeting with the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition, but indicated such contact was unlikely in the short term.