Drumcree stalemate continues as protesters remain overnight

Protesters remained on Garvaghy Road overnight as the Drumcree parade dispute persisted into a new day, with the main parties involved in Northern Ireland’s conflict locked in a stalemate after a day of governmental talks and heated exchanges at Stormont. Talks to resolve the issue took place on Monday while members of the Orange Order waited to begin their permitted parade, which had been scheduled for Sunday morning and was intended to march down the mainly‑nationalist Garvaghy Road in Portadown. Orangemen also maintained a presence at Drumcree church overnight, though their numbers were smaller than on previous nights. They spoke to officers at the police enclosure adjacent the church in an effort to proceed down the Garvaghy Road, but there appeared to be no significant prospect of a breakthrough. Christopher Nelson, who was 11 when his mother, solicitor Rosemary Nelson, was murdered by loyalists in 1999, said the current situation had revived memories of that period. Rosemary Nelson had represented the Garvaghy Road Residents Association. Nelson recalled that he “dreaded the summer holidays approaching” because he knew his mother “would be spending a lot of time on the Garvaghy Road.” He continued, “With that came the interest around what was going to happen to her when she was out there. Is mum coming home tonight and if she is, is she going to be okay?” He said his mother spoke to her children about her work frequently and told them she was “helping families similar to our own.” Nelson added, “She tried her best to make you feel safe even though there was uncertainty in the back of your head,” a remark he made to BBC Radio Ulster’s Good Morning Ulster programme. Nelson has never spoken publicly about his mother’s death. He explained that he feels now is the time to do so because “if she were here she would want me to be here and she would be standing on that road.” Now a father of two and married to Sinn Féin councillor Catherine Nelson, Nelson said he does not want any child “worrying or concerned” and described the situation as “happening all over again.” His message to representatives was to “think about the children on both sides.” He elaborated, “This comes from a child who went through it, who experienced it, whose life it impacted. Does any need to be done to protect them.” Nelson also said he was “very worried” about the current concern, noting, “I know how severely it escalated and what the repercussions were in many cases.” The Drumcree parade, which in the 1990s sparked some of the most serious unrest in Northern Ireland’s history, was due to proceed for the first time in 30 years after a series of legal challenges. Since 1998 the Orange Order had been barred from completing its Drumcree march, and until this year it had repeatedly been refused support to finish the route by the Parades Commission, the body established to adjudicate such disputes. The Orange Order is a Protestant pro‑British organisation, while the area it wishes to march—specifically the Garvaghy Road—is predominantly Catholic and inhabited by pro‑Irish nationalists. Protesters blocked the road throughout the weekend, and after a meeting with the Northern Ireland secretary a typical resident of the road said the Orange Order should focus on a different route. On Sunday protesters on the Garvaghy Road were joined by members of Sinn Féin, including First Minister Michelle O’Neill, and the Social Democratic Labour Party. The Democratic Unionist Party subsequently accused O’Neill of acting unlawfully. Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant stated, “nobody should be attending an unlawful protest,” but added that it was not his job “to determine whether someone has or hasn't breached the law.” Speaking in the Northern Ireland Assembly on