Garvaghy Road appeal postponed until Monday

Garvaghy Road residents have postponed their legal appeal against a permitted Drumcree parade until Monday, creating more time for discussions with the Orange Order and Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant. No agreement has been reported, and the residents’ position remains unchanged. The appeal had been due to be heard Friday at the Court of Appeal in Belfast. The residents are challenging the Parades Commission’s decision to allow 35 Orange Order participants to walk along Garvaghy Road, subject to an 8 a.m. start. The route had been barred since 1998. The parade did not proceed on Sunday, September 27, after protesters blocked the road. Delegations from the Orange Order and the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition met separately with Bryant at Hillsborough Castle on Thursday evening. The meetings followed earlier discussions during the week. Residents’ spokesman Breandán Mac Cionnaith said their position had not changed. Orange Order representative Nigel Dawson said the document discussed at Hillsborough was an opening discussion paper, not a proposal, and that the Order remained available for further talks. The document’s contents have not been made public.