Kneecap expected to visit Garvaghy Road amid Drumree dispute

IRISH RAP TRIO Kneecap is expected to visit the Garvaghy Road at the centre of the Drumcree parade dispute.

It comes as a sustained stand-off continues a week on from when the loyal order march was originally supposed to go ahead.

A major policing operation has been put in place for the weekend with both sides in the dispute organising rallies to bolster support, with positions entrenched in the run-up to a further legal challenge.

Kneecap and contemporary Irish folk singer Radie Peat are to visit the Garvaghy Road this evening, it is understood.

Fellow musicians The Mary Wallopers and Beoga took to the stage in Portadown earlier this week.

Footage from the scene showed large crowds gathered as for the performances. 

Residents on the Garvaghy Road have been protesting since last Sunday to block the 35-man contingent of the Portadown District Orange Order from progressing through the area. 

This has resulted in the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) refusing to give the march the go-ahead to proceed.

Residents in the largely nationalist area around the road have been backed by Sinn Féin, the SDLP and People Before Profit in their efforts. 

Under parading laws in Northern Ireland, protests must be notified to, and approved by, the Parades Commission adjudication body.

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A fresh legal bid against the march is to be heard at the Court of Appeal in Belfast on Monday, with lawyers for the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition arguing that the Parades Commission had “materially misdirected itself” on the police assessment of the potential for disorder and had not given an “accurate representation of the evidence received from PSNI” in its decision.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant appealed for calm in the run-up to the weekend, stating that he had “hope people can still find further compromise” despite chairing talks during the week which ended without agreement.

Byrant’s description of the impasse as being between “a rock and a hard place” was derided as “nonsense” by Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday as thousands of people gathered in support of the residents, she said: “The Secretary of State is tone-deaf to the needs of Garvaghy Road. He has a superficial understanding of the needs of this community and we’re not going to tolerate it.”

Deputy First Minister and DUP MLA Emma Little-Pengelly described the rally as “electioneering” as she criticised O’Neill and Sinn Féin for a “complete abdication of leadership”.

Byrant, who chaired talks with both sides during the week which were unsuccessful at reaching an agreement, said a prolonged stand-off in Portadown is “ultimately in nobody’s interests”.

O’Neill said the right outcome “includes no march down this road” as Sinn Féin called on Bryant to use his powers to prohibit the march.

After the rally in support of the residents on Saturday, PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Anthony McNally said anyone blocking the Garvaghy Road will still be treated as “participating in an unnotified and therefore illegal protest”.

The senior officer said evidence gathering remains ongoing and anyone found to have broken the law “will face criminal justice consequences”.

Orangeman legal adviser Jamie Bryson previously said Orangemen will accept the determination of the courts on Monday, challenging Garvaghy Road residents to do the same.

In a speech on Saturday, Breandán Mac Cionnaith, of the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition, said there was “no logical reason” why the Orange march should proceed “through the heart of this community”, contending an alternative route “back the way they came” was available.

“Garvaghy Road was solved in 1998; it does not need to be solved again”, he said