A meeting last night between members of the Apprentice Boys of Derry and the Bogside Residents' Group, aimed at reaching an accommodation before next week's Apprentice Boys' parade in Derry, ended without agreement. However, Mr Garvan O'Doherty, a local businessman who jointly chaired the meeting with Mr Brendan Duddy, the chairman of the Town Centre Management Group, said progress had been made and the two delegations had agreed to meet again. The two-hour meeting took place against the backdrop of the Apprentice Boys refusing an appeal from the residents' group for face-to-face discussions.
Mr O'Doherty said there had been a "frank exchange of views" during the meeting which he confirmed took place in a single room. "There is a lot of work to be done in summarising the minutes and taking action points thereon," he said.
"There is a moral duty on all of us to reach some sort of accommodation so that the city benefits and so that the North in general can learn from what we are about.
"There will be a follow-up meeting and we hope that further substantial progress can be reported in due course. "There is very much a `state of the nation' in terms of each side's perspectives on the issues. Very pertinent points were raised and we are going to give them some points to consider and to come back to us with.
"You have to be optimistic in the North. There is a lot of work to get a resolution to this issue and the North in general needs to mature and move into a proper political and social society," he said. Mr O'Doherty said he and Mr Duddy jointly chaired the meeting. Asked if the opposing groups were in the same room for the duration of the meeting, Mr O'Doherty replied: "Absolutely, but that is all we want to say because the negotiations are very delicate."
After the meeting, which took place in the offices of the Town Centre Management Group at St Columb's Court, both delegations held respective private meetings to review the discussions. It is understood both delegations will meet later today with their respective groups. One of the most difficult issues still to be resolved is the demand by the Bogside Residents' Group that the Apprentice Boys should also reach agreements with residents' groups in other areas of Northern Ireland where so called "feeder parades" will be held on the morning of the main parade in Derry on August 14th.
A spokesperson for the residents' group had said on Tuesday that an accommodation was conditional on face-to-face talks with the Apprentice Boys but the Apprentice Boys had firmly ruled out direct dialogue between the two groups.
"Let me make this absolutely clear. There will be no direct dialogue or face to face talks with the Bogside Residents and the Apprentice Boys," said Mr William Hay, a spokesman for the Apprentice Boys.