Efforts to resolve the Drumcree crisis reached a critical stage last night. Informed observers said today was "D-Day" and if the impasse was not broken, the slide towards confrontation might be impossible to avert.
The British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, flew into Belfast to hold meetings with senior political and church leaders. Most attention focused on a meeting at Stormont last night with the Sinn Fein president, Mr Adams, whose influence could be crucial.
But Mr Breandan Mac Cionnaith, the chief spokesman for residents on the nationalist Garvaghy Road estate in Portadown, Co Armagh, complained they were not being kept in touch with developments.
He challenged Mr Blair and the newly-elected First Minister of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Mr David Trimble, to meet residents.
"Tony Blair should be coming and talking to this community because at the end of the day it's this community that's living with the threat of being put under siege by the Orange Order," he said.
He also challenged Mr Trimble: "We have written to David Trimble for the last couple of years asking him for a meeting and the only response we ever got was that open letter in the papers during the week."
When asked if a visit by Mr Blair and/or Mr Trimble would ease the situation, Mr Mac Cionnaith said: "I think it would be a start. The decision has been made [the Parades Commission re-routing of the march] and I think we should be discussing how everyone in Portadown is treated equally."
It was reported last night that the Northern Ireland Office had contacted Mr Mac Cionnaith.
Meanwhile, the situation shows signs of building towards a confrontation. Women residents of Garvaghy Road re-established their "justice camp" in tents near the point where the Orange parade enters the road.
An Orange ceremonial arch was erected at the other end of Garvaghy Road. Police in LandRovers were present as loyalists and nationalists.
Sources close to grassroots loyalist opinion in Portadown said they would not accept any compromise, especially if Mr Trimble was involved. But it was felt that mainstream Orange Order members might be open to new approaches if that meant achieving their goal of walking down Garvaghy Road.
On his arrival last night, Mr Blair visited the burnt-out St James's Chapel, near Aldergrove Airport, one of 10 Catholic churches either destroyed or damaged in what was clearly a carefully planned move.
The Loyalist Volunteer Force was blamed but sources close to the outlawed organisation angrily denied responsibility.
There was a constant stream of visitors to Stormont's Castle Buildings throughout the day, including senior members of the Orange Order and the SDLP, the Church of Ireland Primate, Dr Eames, and the Catholic Primate, Dr Brady. Contacts between a senior Armagh Orangeman and the NIO were last night described as cordial but fruitless.
Observers said "all sorts of ideas were being considered" including a scaled-down Orange march and a similarly-limited peaceful protest by nationalists.
Despite claims that Sinn Fein "exercised control" over the nationalist residents, observers said the party's influence was less than hitherto believed and there were reports that members of the 32County Sovereignty Committee would show solidarity with residents on Sunday.