A man at the centre of the Drumcree Orange Order parade dispute has resigned from Sinn Féin.
Breandán MacCionnaith had been a full-time political adviser to Upper Bann Sinn Féin Assembly member John O'Dowd for the past three years.
Mr MacCionnaith came to prominence in the late 1990s as the spokesman for the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition, who forced the local Portadown Orange Lodge to stop marching through the nationalist area during their annual July parade.
The halting of the parade led to years of street violence and clashes, and the stand-off remains to be resolved.
Mr O'Dowd confirmed the resignation of Mr MacCionnaith as both his adviser and as a party member, but said he remained a friend and comrade. He declined to say what was behind the surprise departure.
Mr MacCionnaith is expected to remain the spokesman for the Garvaghy Road group. He was one of 17 full-time political advisers appointed by Sinn Féin to its Stormont Assembly team in 2004, and it is understood his contract was up for renewal.
PA