Sinn Féin has said it will not let Northern Ireland be “dragged back to the dark days of the past for the political fortunes of the DUP.”
Following a weekend of anxiety and tension, 35 members of the Orange Order were blocked from walking down the Garvaghy Road in Portadown, County Armagh.
After a 28 year long hiatus, the Parades Commission announced that the Portadown District could hold the march along the mainly nationalist road at 8am on a Sunday morning.
The news came as a shock to local residents, who remembered clashes over the route in the 1990s that were so violent they made international news.
The Garvaghy Road in 1998. Picture by: Leon Farrell/RollingNews.ie.However, after the Orangemen left Drumcree Church, they found themselves unable to walk down the Garvaghy Road after thousands linked arms, blocking the street.
Among the protestors were First Minister Michelle O’Neill, Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald and Gerry Adams.
It was a standoff that the Police Service of Northern Ireland was unable to resolve and the Orange men returned home, unable to carry out their longed for walk.
The Garvaghy Road. Pictyre by: Steven McAuley/Alamy Live News.Michelle O’Neill described it as a “victory for this community in standing steadfast for the right to live free from sectarian harassment and intimidation.”
However, on Newstalk Breakfast, DUP MLA Gareth Wilson said the Orange Order simply want the law to be upheld.
“I think what we witnessed yesterday, I think there are huge questions to ask for Sinn Féin representatives who very deliberately - and I would say with huge enthusiasm - broke the law yesterday,” Mr Wilson said.
“Because we can't have a one version or one view of the rule of law for one community and then an interpretation of that for another community.
"And that is what we saw yesterday.”
The Garvaghy Road. Picture by: Steven McAuley/Alamy Live News.Also on the programme, Sinn Féin TD Pádraig Mac Lochlainn noted that it was not just members of his party on the Garvaghy Road, but politicians from the SDLP, the Social Democrats, People Before Profit and Aontú.
“There was a range of political representatives there,” he said.
“And you know why they were there? Because what you have done in the DUP and within unionism is absolutely outrageous.”
I have spent the night on the Garvaghy Road in support of the community.
There should be no unwanted orange march forced through the heart of this community. pic.twitter.com/4eobhki7w9
— Michelle O’Neill (@moneillsf) September 27, 2026
Deputy Mac Lochlainn continued that the local community was still "absolutely traumatised” by the events of the 1990s and unionists seem not to care about how raw those emotions still are.
“Rosemary Nelson, their legal representative, was murdered; the Quinn children were murdered in their homes,” he said.
“Robert Hamill beaten to the ground in Portadown - that's what happened all of those years ago, that's the past.
“That's why so many political representatives from around the island of Ireland, of all political colours and parties were there with that community because we're not standing for it.
“We're not getting dragged back to the dark days of the past for the political fortunes of the DUP.”
The Garvaghy Road. Picture by: Steven McAuley/Alamy Live News.Mr Wilson replied that the Donegal TD’s description of the controversy was a “gross misrepresentation of reality”, adding that Sinn Féin had “ably assisted and encouraged the murder of human beings” during the Troubles.
“There were people on the streets yesterday, including the First Minister,” he said.
“I'm in disbelief at the actions of Sinn Féin with regards to the rule of law.”
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Bryant is in talks with the province’s political parties to resolve the dispute. However, while he said there are a “few ideas around”, he admitted that "we haven't got a solution yet".
Main image: First Minister Michelle O'Neill and Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald on the Garvaghy Road. Picture by: Alamy.com.
