Portadown District L.O.L. No.1

The Annual Orange Parade to Drumcree Parish Church

Drumcree is one of two 'mother' churches in Portadown - the other being Seagoe Parish Church.

The annual Orange service at Drumcree Parish Church is one of the oldest Orange services in Ireland.

The first service was held in 1807.

The Garvaghy Road is the shortest and most direct route between Drumcree Parish Church and Carleton Street Orange Hall.

The Garvaghy Road was originally bounded by farmland and was only developed for housing in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The housing was originally mixed but intimidation and ethnic cleansing forced almost all Protestant families to leave the area.

In 1985 the R.U.C. conducted a demographic survey of the Garvaghy Road and approved it as a route for the Orange Parades. The main reason given was that few houses faced directly onto the Garvaghy Road.

It is the main arterial route from that part of the town into Portadown town centre. The geography and demography of the area has not changed significantly from that time.

The parade takes less than 10 minutes to pass a given point.

Since 1985 the Loyal Orders have re-routed ten parades away from Obins Street/Garvaghy Road area. The Drumcree parade is the only one left that passes along the Garvaghy Road.

Garvaghy Road

The Facts

There are approximately 900 houses along the disputed 600 metre stretch of the Garvaghy Road.

Only 66 houses face directly onto the Garvaghy and Drumcree Roads.

Less than 10 houses (less than 1%) have addresses actually on the Garvaghy Road.

75% of the houses are between 100-600 metres away from the Garvaghy Road.

It is impossible to see the Garvaghy Road from the vast majority of the houses along it.

It was statistics similar to these compiled in 1985 and 1986 that enabled the R.U.C. to approve the Garvaghy Road as a main route to the Orange Hall in Portadown.

The Estates Off The Garvaghy Road

The Facts

Churchill Park - Contains approximately 200 houses. Only 5 of which face directly onto the Garvaghy Road.

The Beeches - Contains approximately 100 houses. Only 5 of which face directly onto the Garvaghy Road.

Garvaghy Park - Contains approximately 100 houses. Only 10 of which face directly onto the Garvaghy Road.

Ballyoran Park - Contains approximately 500 houses. Only 46 of which face directly onto the Garvaghy and Drumcree Roads.

Code of Conduct

Drumcree Church Parade

Bands are only allowed to play Hymn tunes. Many of these tunes are common to both communities.

Bands refrain from playing whilst passing St. John's Chapel on the outward journey to Drumcree Parish Church.

As an act of good faith bands do not play at all along the Garvaghy Road.

Stewards are appointed to ensure individuals on parade do not respond to provocation. In the long history of the parade the Orange Order has never been involved in any form of indiscipline during a parade along the Garvaghy Road.

Only local Orangemen, a small number of County Officers and the local Member of Parliament, take part in the parade and only members of Portadown District i.e. local residents walk along the Garvaghy Road.

The parade is led by members of the Portadown Ex-Servicemen's Lodge and only their Standard and the District Bannerette are carried in the parade.

WHO IS CORRECT?

On 28 June 1999 the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Tony Blair, M.P., told Portadown Orangemen that "he had asked them to move and you have moved".

Mr Blair further stated that Portadown District "had been reasonable" in their efforts to find a just and lasting solution.

He went on to say that the District had "changed the dynamics of the situation" and that the District "had taken a bold step".

On 28 June 1999 the Parades Commission, an unelected, unaccountable quango imposed conditions on Portadown District's Annual Church Parade home from Drumcree Parish Church preventing them from walking back into Portadown via their traditional route and stated "the opportunity provided by such a break (the banning of the 1998 parade) should be seized by political, community and religious leaders to demonstrate greater responsibility and to make strident efforts to bridge the chasm between both sides of the community so laying the foundations for a more tolerant atmosphere in the future. Regrettably the Orange Order has not used this opportunity in a positive way".

Is it not reasonable to pose the question who has the greater understanding of what is really happening in relation to the situation in Portadown?

Alternatively are the Parades Commission simply being anti Orange?

THE SEARCH FOR A SOLUTION

It is frequently but incorrectly stated that the Orange Institution is not committed to dialogue.

Portadown District L.O.L. No. 1 has gone to enormous lengths in a bid to broker what would objectively be considered a fair and honourable resolution of the Garvaghy Road parade dispute.

In an attempt to resolve the situation regarding their traditional parade home from Drumcree Parish Church via the Garvaghy Road, Portadown District, together with representatives of County Armagh Grand Lodge, and the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, has had discussions with a wide and influential range of people over a sustained period.

The list of people and groups they met is numerous and includes:-

• The Prime Minister, The Rt. Hon Tony Blair, M.P.
• The Secretary of State
• Members of Parliament
• Members of the House of Lords
• Northern Ireland Office Ministers
>
• The main church leaders in Ireland
• Local politicians
• The Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and other senior police officers
• Civic leaders
• Prominent members of the business community
• Local church and business representatives
• Conflict resolution analysts

In the period since the present Drumcree Stand-Off began the officers of Portadown District L.O.L. No. 1 have worked incessantly in an attempt to resolve the serious impasse which they now find themselves in an intense round of meetings and consultations have continued on virtually a daily basis.

Evidence of the lengths to which the Portadown Orangemen have gone to find a permanent solution to the Garvaghy Road parade problem can be judged from the record of meetings and consultations, dating back to July, 1998.

The Orange delegations attended both the bilaterals and proximity talks determined to find a just and lasting solution to the impasse.

However, at every stage our desire to obtain such a solution was frustrated by the delaying tactics of the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition, who have shown no interest in the core issue but are prepared to hide behind any excuse to avoid dealing with the issue and have, on every occasion, thwarted our best efforts to move the process forward through their intransigence.

They have repeatedly concerned themselves with irrelevant questions such as the make-up of the Orange delegation or have produced papers with in-built pre-conditions, including the fact that there can't be an Orange parade on the Garvaghy Road, but then disingenuously conclude with the hope that we (the Orange) won't set pre-conditions and that they are actually prepared to consider everything.

In light of this anyone approaching this situation with a balanced and logical view will conclude that Portadown District L.O.L. No. 1 have "gone the extra mile" to achieve a solution. The same cannot be said of the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition.

Letter To The Garvaghy Road Residents, July 1997.

From County Armagh Grand Orange Lodge.

The following letter has been sent to the residents of the Garvaghy Road area outlining the position of Portadown District on its annual church parade from Drumcree Parish Church.

The letter will be printed in the local Portadown press. An opportunity is being given to all within the Portadown community to make a constructive response.

The letter is signed by the County Master and County Chaplain and is sent in good faith. The letter is self explanatory and really needs no further comment.

Dear Resident,

We are writing to all residents of the Garvaghy Road area to explain our position about the annual walk by members of Portadown District Orangemen from the service of worship at Drumcree Parish Church in July.

This is a sincere and genuine attempt to deal with the many misconceptions concerning the walk and there are a number of points we would like to make for your information:

1. The service on the first Sunday in July is partly to remember those who died at the Battle of the Somme in 1916. We pay tribute to all those of both communities who died for the cause of peace and justice.

2. The Orange Order is traditionally a parading organisation. We see our parade as an outward witness to our sincere belief in the Reformed Faith. For that reason, we see attacks on our parades as both a denial of civil liberties and an attack on our religion. For us, this is as distressing as the disgraceful protest - which we unreservedly condemn - outside Harryville chapel.

3. In the interests of harmony, mutual respect and reconciliation the Orange Order has acknowledged objections raised by the Nationalist community and has already implemented the following principles for the Drumcree Church parade:

a. The number of parades in the area has been reduced from ten to one in the past ten years.

b. Only members of Portadown District parade.

c. No bands take part which could be perceived as antagonistic to our Nationalist neighbours. Accordion bands lead the parade playing hymn music that is common to both traditions.

d. The Orangemen walk four abreast so that the walk will pass any one given point in less than five minutes.

e. The Order marshals and disciplines its own members to ensure there will be no confrontation on our part. If this was reciprocated, then there would only be a need for a minimal police presence.

f. The right to walk peacefully and in a dignified manner and the right to protest in a peaceful and dignified manner should not be denied to anyone.

It is the sincere hope of the Orange Order that the vast majority of the people of Portadown will work together in a new spirit of tolerance to defeat extremists who want confrontation this Summer. As a matter of principle, we cannot be involved in talks with convicted terrorists because of what they have inflicted on our community. But we do want to listen to all those within the community who want to promote harmony and mutual respect among the people of Portadown and would welcome constructive comments which should be sent to the following address: Co. Armagh Grand Orange Lodge c/o House of Orange, 65 Dublin Road, Belfast BT2 7HE.

We sincerely hope that this letter will go some way towards building up inter-community confidence and respect so that we can look forward not only to a peaceful Summer but to a more peaceful and tolerant era for all the people of our land.

The letter has been signed by Denis Watson, County Grand Master and Rev. William Bingham, County Grand Chaplain.

4 JUNE 1997.

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