Appeal court overturns ban on Garvaghy Road march

A court in Belfast has allowed an appeal of the decision to bar the Orange Order from marching down the Garvaghy Road later today.

At 11.30pm last night, at a sitting of the Court of Appeals, Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan said the High Court judge who granted an injunction against the march had "unfortunately erred in law".

The Court of Appeal approved a request for the case to now be heard by a different high court judge.

The Lady Chief Justice said doing so after midnight was "unprecedented" but the issues were of such significance it was merited.

The court agreed the new hearing would be time-limited and last no more than an hour.

Lawyers for the Garvaghy Road residents had asked for the case to be referred to a different high court judge this evening for reconsideration of the original judicial review.

That was opposed by counsel for the Orangeman and the Parades Commission who pointed to the lateness of the hour and the exhaustion of the legal representatives.

The court of appeal has now risen to consider the request.

Members of the Orange Order have been banned from marching down the Garvaghy Road in Portadown after a High Court judge granted a temporary injunction.

Residents of the largely nationalist area launched an appeal against the Parades Commission ruling permitting the Orange Order to walk down the street for the first time in 30 years.

Justice Patricia Smyth blocked the commission decision, saying the "long-running dispute has the potential to escalate" across Northern Ireland.

The stand-off at Drumcree made headlines in the 1990s, with nationalist residents of the Garvaghy Road opposed to the parade passing through the area, leading to violent clashes for several summers and political tension necessitating a major security operation.

The Orange Order has unsuccessfully applied for more than a quarter of a century to complete its 1998 walk along its traditional route.

On Friday, the commission reversed its long-running determination, to the welcome of unionist parties and outrage of nationalist and republican parties.

Delivering her ruling, Ms Smyth said: "The level of mistrust between the residents and the Portadown Orange lodge cannot be overstated.

"It's also clear to me that this particular long-running dispute has the potential to escalate within Northern Ireland."