A dramatic late‑night legal battle over Sunday morning’s planned Drumcree parade has ended with the Court of Appeal issuing its ruling in favour the Orange Order – overturning Justice Patricia Smyth’s earlier decision to grant interim relief to the residents.
As a result, the Orange Order will be legally permitted to walk down the Garvaghy Road on Sunday morning.
After sitting at 9.30pm on Saturday to hear an appeal against a High Court injunction, the verdict was delivered inside the courtroom shortly before midnight.
Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan said Justice Patricia Smyth who granted the earlier injunction against the march had “unfortunately erred in law”.
The Residents of Garvaghy Road and their legal team are considering other legal avenues to prevent the parade. It is understood a further hearing in the High Court will be commencing in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Reacting to the decision, Sinn Féin president , Mary Lou McDonald, said: “The decision tonight to overturn the court ruling, and force an unwanted orange march through the Garvaghy Road is disgraceful.
“This march is steeped in a history of hate, sectarian violence, and murder, and championed by Unionist leaders. Our message tonight is clear. There is no going back. Not tomorrow. Not ever.
“Sinn Féin stands fully with the Garvaghy Road community, and they have the full support of people from right across Ireland in the period ahead.”
The judgment caps an extraordinary day of fast‑moving legal and political developments around Drumcree – one of Northern Ireland’s most sensitive and historically volatile parading flashpoints.
Earlier on Saturday, the High Court granted a temporary injunction suspending the Parades Commission’s determination which had given the go‑ahead for a small, tightly‑restricted Orange Order parade to pass down the predominantly nationalist Garvaghy Road at 8am on Sunday morning.
Residents had launched urgent judicial review proceedings after the Commission ruled this week that Portadown District LOL No 1 could complete part of its traditional Drumcree return route – with just 35 participants, no bands, and under strict conditions on timing and conduct – for the first time since 1998.
The Commission framed those conditions as an attempt to balance the District’s right to peaceful assembly on what it regards as its historic route with the rights and fears of Garvaghy Road residents, who remain overwhelmingly Catholic/Nationalist/Republican and have long opposed the Drumcree return leg entering their area.
The High Court judge, Justice Patricia Smyth, nonetheless granted the interim injunction, effectively blocking the parade unless overturned on appeal. The Orange Order’s legal team, lead by Jamie Bryson, signalled immediately that he would appeal, triggering tonight’s emergency Court of Appeal hearing.
During the earlier High Court proceedings, Justice Smyth made a pointed plea to all sides, urging them to “step back from the abyss” and “reach agreement for the sake of everyone in Northern Ireland”.
“It is right to say that much has improved between the two communities in the area but it is fragile,” she warned.
The court was also told of a separate notification to the Parades Commission for a substantial counter‑protest on Sunday, organised by Garvaghy Road residents and supporters.
According to the application – which appears on the Commission’s website – the demonstration could involve up to 5,000 participants, reflecting the depth of concern among locals and those opposed to any return of an Orange march to the road.
Tonight’s Court of Appeal judgment now supersedes the High Court’s interim injunction and sets the legal position for tomorrow. As things stand, the Parades Commission’s determination stands and the parade may proceed under its original conditions – subject to any additional guidance from the court and to policing decisions on the ground.
Most read today
PUBLIC NOTICE
