Sunday, July 8, 2007

Drumcree Orange Parade

The annual Orange parade from Portadown to Drumcree Church of Ireland has passed off without incident this morning.

After a service at Drumcree Church, the Orangemen marched to a barrier manned by PSNI officers and staged a brief protest at the decision by the Parades Commission to restrict their route.

As in previous years, the return parade was banned from the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road.

The District master, Daryl Hewitt criticised the decision of the Parades Commission to restrict their route.

He also said that the Orange Order was prepared to enter talks with Garvaghy Road residents, chaired by an independent chairman, with no preconditions.

It is ten years since Orangemen were allowed to use the Garvaghy route.

In the 90's, the Drumcree event was marked by violent clashes but it has been free of trouble for the past three years.

There was a reduced PSNI presence to monitor today's events

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