High Court temporarily blocks Garvaghy Road parade

A High Court judge in Belfast temporarily blocked the planned Orange Order parade along Garvaghy Road in Portadown on Saturday, suspending both the Parades Commission’s permission and the lodge’s parade notification while residents’ legal challenge proceeds. The Orange Order appealed, and a decision was expected later Saturday; the outcome was not reported in the available accounts. Justice Patricia Smyth issued the injunction after residents of the largely nationalist area challenged the commission’s decision to permit a parade on Sunday. The commission’s ruling had allowed the Orange Order to march along the road for the first time in nearly 30 years. The judge said the residents needed an opportunity to have their case considered before the parade could proceed. The commission had approved a restricted procession of up to 35 participants, with no bands or accompanying supporters and a single banner on Garvaghy Road. It had required the group to leave Drumcree Church by 8 a.m. and disperse by 9:30 a.m. The injunction also paused the lodge’s notification of the parade, preventing the procession from proceeding under that notification while the legal challenge was considered.