THE Drumcree standoff harks back to the “dark days of the past” and amounts to a “sectarian hate fest”, it is claimed.
An emergency motion at Donegal County Council has proposed to simultaneously condemn the flashpoint and send support to the Garvaghy Road residents.
An Orange Order parade to march down the Garvaghy Road in Drumcree, near Portadown, in Co Armagh was scheduled for Sunday.
It was the first time in 28 years that the controversial parade was permitted by the Parades Commission since it ruled, not long after it received statutory powers in 1998, that the Orange Order could not walk the route.
The route led to standoffs in the 1990s and became a volatile annual flashpoint, but was permitted this year when a court ruled that a “sloppy” error was made by the Commission, which is the independent body that rules on parades in the North.
Donegal Cllrs today (Monday), following a motion from Cllr Gerry McMonagle, criticised the permission to grant the parade route through the Garvaghy Road, which is mostly Nationalist.
Cllr McMonagle said: “Some 21 people have lost their lives [because of this dispute over the years]. Three children were burned to death in their homes.
“Another child was killed on the Garvaghy Road, plus numerous others, like taxi drivers going to work. Nobody wants to go back to that.”
He added: “Ordinary people should not have to protest on their road. It is 99 per cent Nationalist. This has brought intimidation and fear back for the residents.”
The Orange Order parade start at Drumcree was blocked on Sunday by large crowds of people and cars at the largely nationalist Garvaghy Road to prevent the Portadown District Orange Order from walking to Carlton Street in the Co Armagh town. Photo: Alan Lewis, PhotopressBelfast.co.uk.
Cllr McMonagle thanked the councillors for their support and said: “I welcome the unanimous support of Donegal County Council for this motion and the clear message it sends that communities should be able to live in peace and free from sectarian discrimination and harassment.
“The residents of Garvaghy Road have the right to live peacefully in their own community without being subjected to intimidation or harassment.
“It is important that we stand in solidarity with those who are affected and reaffirm that communities must not be dragged back to the division and conflict of the past.
“The unanimous support for this motion demonstrates that there is no place for sectarianism or harassment in our communities and that the right of people to live in peace must be respected.”
Cllr Terry Crossan seconded the motion and several councillors spoke to express similar sentiments and strong feelings.
Cllr Tomas Sean Devine branded the Drumcree situation a “sectarian hate fest” and said he is “disgusted” by it and claimed a “clear message” need to be sent.
Cllr Declan Meehan said: “I stand in full solidarity with the residents of the Garvaghy Road.”
Cllr Ciaran Brogan claimed “most people are sick” that this is happening again from a “very dark time” in the past.
Cllr Niamh Kennedy told the council: “I hope this can end peacefully.”
Council cathaoirleach Gary Doherty ended the meeting by saying: “We stand against the politics of division.”