Parades Commission to rule on Drumcree march for first time in nearly 30 years after final round of talks

From the Newshound archive · first published 23 September 2026 · last updated 24 September 2026.

The Parades Commission is set to issue its decision by Friday on whether 60 Orange Order members may march along the Garvaghy Road in Portadown on Sunday. The ruling follows a final round of separate talks on Wednesday with the DUP, Sinn Féin, TUV and the Orange Order. A High Court judgment last month overturned the commission's previous determination, obliging it to reconsider a march it has banned every year since 1998. DUP leader Gavin Robinson described Wednesday's engagement as "positive" and said the decision represented an "opportunity" to restore unionist community trust.

The Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition urged the commission not to permit a march that could 'reawaken old animosities', noting that 3,500 locals have signed a petition opposing it.

TUV leader Jim Allister rejected residents' concerns, arguing it would be "untenable in public law" to deny 60 people permission to walk down a road.

Loyalist paramilitary representatives on the Loyalist Communities Council gave assurances of 'no violence or public disorder' from loyalist organisations regardless of the outcome.