Orange Order says Garvaghy residents 'being rewarded with parades veto' ahead of massive 25th anniversary Drumcree march

Whilst it has rarely made headlines, marchers have been continuing to turn up on the country lane outside Drumcree Anglican Parish Church on the edge of Portadown every Sunday for the last 25 years in protest at that decision, their pathway blocked by police each time.

This Sunday, a major gathering will be staged there to mark a quarter-century since the dispute flared.

The 11/1 parade application form lists four bands as being involved – Edgarstown Accordion Band, Star of David Accordion, Portadown Defenders Flute Band, and Portadown True Blues Flute Band.

Some 1,500 participants and 1,500 supporters are listed on the form.

The outward parade begins in Carleton Street Orange Hall in Portadown at 10.15pm, arriving at the church for an 11.30am service.

The return route – the bit which is blocked, on account of objections from residents of the Garvaghy Road along the route – is set to commence at 1pm.

An editorial in the Orange Standard reads: “Efforts to resolve the dispute with residents of the Garvaghy Road have proved futile.

"The residents refuse to talk, and the Parades Commission rewards their refusal with what amounts to a veto of the parade.

“District officers have taken part in processes and met virtually everyone from Prime Ministers to business leaders in the town to bring this impasse to a close.

“They have met people whom they didn’t want to meet, and at times been shunned by people, but it has been in the continuing effort to get the district home.

“The district deserves great credit for its determination not to stop until it has completed the parade it started in 1998.”

In addition, tomorrow will bring the annual Rossnowlagh parade in south Co Donegal.

It is expected that upwards of 50 lodges will be present from Donegal, Cavan, Leitrim, and Monaghan, as well as visiting Orangemen from Northern Ireland and further afield.

It sets out at St John’s Parish Church at 12.30pm and heads to a demonstration field on the edge of the shoreline, for a religious service at 3pm, conducted by the Rev Brian Russell, Rector of Drumholm Parish.

The return parade will leave the demonstration field at 4.45pm.

More from this reporter:

• Orange Order leaked documents: 'Our junior movement is booming – the idea we're an old dying breed is nonsense'

• IN MAPS: Compare the Orange Order's current Twelfth route in Belfast with the slashed-down version planned for next year