Residents feel 'fully vindicated' following High Court ruling that Sir Chris Bryant's decision to ban Orange Order parade on the Garvaghy Road was lawful
Residents of the Garvaghy Road feel ‘fully vindicated’ after a High Court ruled the Secretary of State for NI’s decision to ban the Orange Order from parading through that road was lawful.
Following a Parades Commission determination that Portadown Orange District were permitted to walk down the Garvaghy Road, there was a standoff and the Secretary of State Sir Chris Bryant took the decision to ban the parade through that district.
-
-
Following a number of High Court sittings, this latest decision by the High Court in Belfast on Wednesday ruled that Sir Chris’ decision to ban the parade was lawful.
Speaking outside the High Court, Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition spokesperson, Breandán MacCionnaith, said those living in the mostly nationalist area were ‘fully vindicated’.
Speaking outside the High Court, Mr MacCionnaith said: “The position of the community of the Garvaghy Road, the men, women, and kids who live there has been fully vindicated.
“The position we took in relation to this Orange March was fully justified. All we sought was the right that was promised under the Good Friday Agreement, the right to live free from sectarian harassment. That right has been vindicated and upheld today. There’s no getting away from it.”
Residents’ lawyer Darragh Mackin said: “There is no Court of Human Rights authority, there is no domestic authority that points to the context of this parade because it is unrivalled in human right’s history.
"But the reality is, as the court has found, the human rights of the residents, the human rights of the wider community, the human rights of the wider society now resulted in a lawful determination by the Secretary of State for the first time in over 3 decades to prohibit a procession.
"We cannot go back to that time.”
Portadown Sinn Féin Councillors Paul Duffy and Clare McConville-Walker welcomed the High Court decision saying it ‘sent a clear message that the rights, dignity and peace of local residents must be respected’.
"The days of forcing unwanted, sectarian marches down Garvaghy Road must be firmly consigned to the past.
"Sinn Féin has stood shoulder to shoulder with the residents of Garvaghy Road in their fight to protect 28 years of peace and progress, and we will continue to stand with them.
"No community should ever have to endure sectarian harassment, intimidation or the disruption of their daily lives simply to accommodate an unwanted march.
"The residents of Garvaghy Road have suffered enormously over many decades. They have shown tremendous strength and determination in defending their rights and protecting the peace they have worked so hard to build.
"Today's decision is an important affirmation that their voices matter, their rights matter, and their community deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
"Now is the time to allow the people of Garvaghy Road to live in peace, without fear, intimidation or the threat of unwanted sectarian marches.
"We are proud to stand with this community. We will not waver in our support for their right to live free from sectarianism and intimidation.
"There is no going back. Not now. Not ever."
SDLP leader Claire Hanna said the judgement ‘provides clarity and an opportunity to rebuild relationships’.
Gerry Carroll of People Before Profit described the ruling as a ‘victory for the people of the Garvaghy Road’.