“Every shade of green”
In San Francisco last weekend (Oct. 10), members of the United Irish Cultural Center took advantage of perfect Fall weather and an iconic backdrop to show support for the Garvaghy Road residents of Portadown in Co. Armagh who are trying to stop an Orange Order march through their neighborhood. Photo courtesy of UICC.
Raining on their parade
There is no sign this morning (Tuesday 13 Oct.) that the standoff on Garvaghy Road in Portadown will end any time soon. The Orange Order wants to march through a majority Catholic neighborhood. The residents of said neighborhood are wondering why, after 28 years of not marching, the unionists are at it again. So far, those residents have managed to stop the march with peaceful protests.
The row over the parade began in the Seventies. The 1870s. Unionists (various Protestant sects) were riding high. Nationalists (Catholics) were pretty well defeated. At the time, the population there was 70% unionist and 30% nationalist.
Nowadays the split is about 52% to 37%. Most neighborhoods and schools are heavily segregated.
Past protests were riotous. Not this one.
There is some good news coming out of this standoff: No casualties. No arrests. No riots.
The head of the PSNI (Police Services Northern Ireland ), Jon Boutcher, said there has been no disorder amid the two-week stand-off, which he added “should be viewed positively by everyone”. Belfast Live.
Fat chance of that. Boutcher’s under heavy fire from unionists for not having his officers break up the protests that blocked the parade route and stopped the marching.
He was damned if he did and damned if he didn't.
Allison Morris, a reporter in Portadown for the Irish Independent, said “it would have been a PR disaster for the PSNI” to wade into the throngs of “very elderly” citizens, women and children who were protesting. There were as many as 15,000 protestors at one point it’s been estimated. Nationalist groups that usually don’t get along marched together.
When it comes to points scored in the bid for public support, her verdict is Green – 1. Orange – 0.
“Unionism has problems. There’s a massive spectrum from really, really moderate unionists to hardline Loyalists. And all of them have a different opinion. Whereas with nationalism around Drumcree , every shade of green appears united.”
‘Let them live in peace’: Protestants and Catholics alike express relief in Drumcree - Irish Times
A week after the protest began and as it wound down without incident, the Irish Times sent a reporter to Portadown to talk to Protestants.
“I’m a Protestant in my late 60s living in a loyalist area and I don’t believe there’ll ever be the trouble that we saw about here 30 years ago. I think that ship has sailed.”
“We’re all in our late 20s and knew there was no point in going back to dark days, especially when there’s been peace.”
“My family wanted the parade at the start but then they got sick of the circus around it. They felt it was dragging on for too long and causing too much tension,” says a woman.
“We work with people from the other side and we don’t want any tension. It’s over. We’re relieved someone saw sense – but there’s to be no triumphalism,” says a man.
Click here for the full story. The Irish Times has a paywall but this story should be free to read.
Cúpla focal (A few words)
The situation with the Orange Order march and the Garvaghy Residents' efforts to stop it is dynamic. As I write this, despite the ruling from the top British official in the Six Counties banning the parade, its status is still tied up in the courts. Call the setting calm but tense. If you’d like to keep up with the latest, try Belfast Live.
Thursday Evening. Don’t forget.
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