The Catholic and Anglican leaders of Ireland have called for an urgent new effort to promote reconciliation as tensions rise in Northern Ireland over a disputed Orange Order parade.
Archbishop Eamon Martin, Primate of All Ireland, and Archbishop John McDowell of the Church of Ireland issued a joint statement on 27 September, urging all sides to use peaceful and democratic means to resolve the dispute.
The appeal came as thousands of protesters gathered in Portadown, County Armagh, to oppose a planned Orange Order march along Garvaghy Road, an area associated with the local Catholic and nationalist community.
The two archbishops said that too much was at stake and called for the immediate creation of what they described as a “reconciling initiative”. They also said they could not recall a time in the previous 30 years when the Christian commandment to love God and neighbour was more urgently needed.
Protesters dispersed on the evening of 27 September, while members of the Orange Order continued efforts to carry out the parade into the early hours of 28 September.
The dispute has drawn political attention. Michelle O'Neill, Northern Ireland's first Catholic first minister, joined the protest, while unionist politicians accused her of breaking the law. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham called for calm, and Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin also backed calls for dialogue.
On 30 September, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant put forward a proposal to the two sides. A representative of the Garvaghy community said the proposal was acceptable to them, while the Orange Order rejected it.
Archbishop Martin warned that the latest events could damage decades of work to improve relations between nationalists and unionists following the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. He also referred to the trauma associated with previous unrest around Garvaghy Road and said there was a need to avoid returning to the divisions of the past.
The Orange Order, founded in Ulster in 1795, is a Protestant fraternal organisation that holds annual parades commemorating the victory of William of Orange over the Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
The proposed Portadown march would have been the first Orange Order parade through the Garvaghy Road area since 1997. The route became one of the most contentious parade disputes during the Troubles, the period of sectarian and political violence that lasted for roughly three decades and resulted in more than 3,500 deaths.
The conflict was rooted in divisions between mainly Catholic nationalists, who generally supported Irish reunification, and mainly Protestant unionists and loyalists, who generally supported Northern Ireland remaining part of the United Kingdom.
Portadown itself has a Protestant majority, while the Garvaghy Road area has a strong Catholic and nationalist presence. Local residents have long opposed Orange Order marches along the road, while the organisation has argued that restrictions on its traditional parade routes interfere with its rights.
Previous disputes over the route were accompanied by serious violence. In 1995, a stand-off over the parade resulted in several deaths. In 1997, local Catholics were prevented from reaching their parish church, forcing Mass to be celebrated in front of British Army lines.
The Parades Commission subsequently banned the Orange Order from marching along Garvaghy Road in 1998. The body was established to deal with disputes surrounding the large number of parades held across Northern Ireland.
The 1998 dispute was also followed by a deadly loyalist attack in which three Catholic boys were killed when their home was attacked with an incendiary device in the early hours of 12 July. The attack was carried out by the Ulster Volunteer Force, a loyalist paramilitary organisation.
The Orange Order has continued to seek permission to use Garvaghy Road, arguing that a permanent restriction would unfairly limit its rights. The Parades Commission has repeatedly rejected applications.
In 2022, the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition told the commission that memories of previous violence continued to affect the local community. The commission concluded at the time that restricting the route remained necessary and proportionate.
The commission initially rejected an application for a parade along the road earlier this year, but that decision was overturned after it was found that proper procedures had not been followed. The Orange Order then submitted a new application for a substantially smaller parade.
Police advised the Parades Commission that they did not expect the reduced event to result in disorder or violence. The commission said it gave that assessment significant weight before approving a small parade subject to strict conditions, stating that this provided a way of balancing the rights of marchers and local residents.
Unionist politicians welcomed the decision, while residents' representatives warned that permitting the parade could damage agreements reached in other communities.
Archbishop Martin had already expressed his shock and disappointment on 26 September at the legal developments that cleared the way for the march. The latest joint appeal from the two church leaders reflects their concern that renewed tensions around Garvaghy Road could damage efforts to maintain peaceful relations between Northern Ireland's divided communities.
Based on reporting by UCA News.
