NI court to hear challenge over Drumcree parade decision

A planned legal challenge to the Parades Commission of Northern Ireland's decision to allow an Orange Order parade to take place in Drumcree, Portadown will be heard at Belfast High Court at 11am.

Residents from Portadown lodged a judicial review after the commission gave the Orange Order permission to march on Garvaghy Road.

The body has blocked the order from marching along the road in July every year since 1998.

The commission's decision allows up to 35 Orangemen to walk from Drumcree Church tomorrow morning.

The commission attached conditions that the march should depart no later than 8am from Drumcree Church and disperse by 9.30am.

No supporters are allowed to accompany the parade, and no bands are allowed to participate along the route.

The residents' lawyers will make the case that the decision is unlawful and irrational.

A further appeal to the Court of Appeal may also be needed if the outcome at the High Court is not accepted by the residents or the Orange Order.

A group of people who oppose the parade gathered at Belfast High Court yesterday evening and were addressed by First Minister of Northern Ireland Michelle O'Neill.

"For 28 years, the Garvaghy Road community has lived in peace, and the people of that community have been able to get on with their lives," she said.

"Twenty-eight years of peace was not a problem that required a solution. It was a peace that needed to be protected.

"This march is steeped in a history of hate, sectarian violence, and murder," Ms O'Neill said.

However, DUP leader Gavin Robinson welcomed the decision, saying it was a "significant and long-overdue breakthrough for Portadown District and the wider unionist community".

"We are in 2026 and Orangemen walking silently and peacefully down a road should not be a major issue in a shared society."

The commission, a five-person panel, said that the decision was taken on the basis of detailed consideration of all of the information available and the application of the applicable legal framework, including the Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 and the Human Rights Act 1998.

The Parades Commission said that the determination should not be seen as a victory for one side or as a loss for another.

The body added that all of those affected by the matter are requested to avoid any actions that could increase tensions and to encourage others to do the same.

The Orange Order and the DUP argued it was an opportunity to right a historic wrong.