Court of Appeal reserves judgment on Drumcree Orange Order parade as DUP warns Stormont cannot return to normal

From the Newshound archive · first published 3 October 2026 · last updated 6 October 2026.

Three senior judges at Belfast's Court of Appeal have reserved judgment after Garvaghy Road residents challenged the Parades Commission's decision permitting the Orange Order to march along the road for the first time in nearly three decades. Residents' barrister Denise Kiley KC argued the commission reached an "irrational conclusion" by failing to properly weigh PSNI warnings of an "unclear picture" on potential disorder. Now into its second week, the stand-off continues with protesters holding their position on the road and Orangemen remaining assembled at Drumcree Church.

DUP leader Gavin Robinson warned it cannot be "business as normal" at Stormont, accusing 40 Sinn Féin representatives of having "broken the law" by attending protests on the Garvaghy Road.

The Parades Commission's barrister Tony McGleenan KC hit back, insisting the body was "fully briefed" by police and that disagreeing with the outcome "doesn't make it irrational".

Chief Justice Siobhan Keegan said a ruling would be delivered "within a swift enough time frame" but could not give a date, leaving the nine-day standoff unresolved.