Orange Order blocked for a THIRD TIME as DUP demands prosecution of Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill over illegal protest
From the Newshound archive · first published 27 September 2026 · last updated 28 September 2026.
DUP leader Gavin Robinson has called for criminal prosecution of Sinn Féin First Minister Michelle O'Neill after she joined an illegal mass blockade on the Garvaghy Road in Portadown, preventing the Orange Order's first Drumcree parade in nearly 30 years. Around 30 Orangemen made a fresh attempt to march from Drumcree Church at 4am Monday but were stopped by armoured PSNI Land Rovers for the third time. Talks between Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant and PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher are under way after protesters largely dispersed overnight.
Robinson called the police response to Sunday's chaos a 'facilitation of mob rule' and demanded O'Neill face charges for breaking the law.
The Drumcree march down the nationalist-majority Garvaghy Road was banned in 1998 and cleared to proceed again this year after a successful High Court challenge.
Residents' Coalition leader Breandán Mac Cionnaith told the crowd at midnight: 'We've stopped them once — the process now is to ensure we stop them permanently.'