Orangemen ‘not doing any deal’ on Drumcree march, says spokesman but talks continue

Portadown Orangemen are “not doing any deal” surrounding their contentious plan to march down Garvaghy Road at Drumcree in Co Armagh, their legal adviser Jamie Bryson told supporters on Wednesday night as a standoff continues with residents.

Speaking at a loyalist community event in support of the Orange Order marchers, Bryson said: “We have been engaged in a talks process with the Secretary of State and the Government – that is true.

“What is absolutely not true is the Portadown district are not doing any deal – there is no document on the table.

“And Portadown district would not be doing any deal which doesn’t deliver on the fundamental legal principle and the fundamental legal principle is this – that the Portadown district will walk the Garvaghy Road.”

The loyalist activist said he had been speaking with the master of the Portadown district Nigel Dawson, adding: “We are going to respect the integrity of the process with the secretary of state – we gave a commitment that we would not come out and brief the media, and we haven’t and we are going to stick to that.”

He said the Portadown Orangemen would not “sell out” even if they were offered £20 million.

Earlier, DUP MP Carla Lockhart said Orangemen would not accept any deal on the Drumcree dispute that sees them “walk away” from their right to parade down the Garvaghy Road.

“They have been wronged for 28 years,” she said.

Hundreds of Garvaghy Road residents were briefed on Wednesday night on the outcome of Hillsborough talks, following declarations earlier in the day from their leader.

Breandán Mac Cionnaith of the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition said he would be prepared to accept a compromise proposed by the Northern Ireland secretary of state Chris Bryant if the Orange Order would do the same.

“We talked about that proposal because I want to make sure that people are happy about what I’m doing on their behalf and the other members of the coalition are doing on their behalf. So we have always reported back to the community. That’s nothing new,” Mac Cionnaith told journalists later, speaking outside the St John The Baptist’s church’s pastoral centre. However, the level of detail given at the meeting was unclear.

The Hillsborough talks are due to resume on Thursday.

Hundreds of people remained on Garvaghy Road on Wednesday evening, though the mood was calm, with one Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) patrol car seen in the vicinity at one point.

Bryant hosted talks on Wednesday aimed at resolving the stand-off at Drumcree, meeting both the Orange Order and the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition separately at Hillsborough Castle.

Bryant struck an optimistic note following the meetings, saying a deal to resolve the Drumcree stand-off is “tantalisingly close if everybody can just go that extra mile”, following further talks on Wednesday.

Full details have not yet emerged, but Mac Cionnaith said on Wednesday afternoon he had “received a document from the Secretary of State” and “if it’s accepted by the Orange Order, it’s accepted by us”.

Speaking to reporters outside Hillsborough Castle after meeting the Orange Order and the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition, Bryant said those involved were “still engaged in warm conversations” and “have not got to the end of this process yet”.

Meanwhile, meetings have been taking place between unionist parties and Northern Ireland’s Chief Constable, with DUP leader Gavin Robinson telling reporters afterwards they wanted to see the “outworkings” of his “major investigation” into the protest “within a week”.

Earlier, Jon Boutcher offered to meet organisations at the centre of the Drumcree parade standoff, including the Orange Order and the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition, in an attempt to break the impasse over the controversial march.

The president and vice-president of Sinn Féin have said they stand over their participation in the protest that prevented an Orange Order parade from marching at Drumcree.

A “large-scale criminal investigation is under way” regarding the “unlawful protest”, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters on the Garvaghy Road in Portadown, Mary Lou McDonald called on the Northern Secretary to intervene, saying Chris Bryant “has the power, has the discretion to call this and to stop this march, and that’s what he should do”.

O’Neill said she “made a choice to stand with the residents of the Garvaghy Road” and it was “a choice I will continue to make.

“There are times in life you have to do the right thing, and the right thing is to stand here with these residents,” she said.

In a PSNI statement on Wednesday, the Chief Constable said: “To be clear, the upholding of the Parades Commission determination does not come at any cost.

“The outstanding officers of the PSNI and our mutual aid colleagues will not allow society to implode into violent disorder and mob rule must not be allowed to win.

“A large-scale criminal investigation is under way regarding unlawful protest on the Garvaghy Road. I have given a clear direction regarding prioritising the evidence-gathering and a criminal justice process.”

On Sunday, a limited march by 35 members of the Orange Order – which was given the go-ahead by the Parades Commission and subsequently by the High Court in Belfast – was prevented from proceeding due to the presence of protesters on the Garvaghy Road.

The order have made a number of attempts to parade down the road since then, but their way has been blocked by police Land Rovers, with protesters now maintaining watch along the sides of the road.

Now in its fourth day, the standoff at Drumcree appears no closer to being resolved and has led to angry exchanges between unionist and nationalist Assembly members at Stormont.

Unionist Assembly members (MLAs) have called for the arrest and prosecution of McDonald and O’Neill, because of their presence at Sunday’s protest. It has been deemed illegal by the PSNI because it was not notified to the Parades Commission, as is required in the North.

On Wednesday, Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) MLA Timothy Gaston said he had tabled motions to exclude O’Neill and other Sinn Féin ministers from holding office for a period of 12 months, claiming they “no longer enjoy the confidence of the Assembly” after participating in the “unlawful” protest on Sunday.

A legal challenge to the High Court decision that overturned an earlier injunction banning the parade is due to be heard at Belfast’s Court of Appeal on Friday.