Michelle O’Neill accused of ‘breaking the law’ on Garvaghy Road

First Minister Michelle O’Neill MLA (left) and Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald (centre) at the Garvaghy road. Picture: Peter Morrison/PA

Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill has been accused of “breaking the law” by her actions on the Garvaghy Road.

DUP leader Gavin Robinson claimed “standards have been shattered” and said they will engage with Secretary of State Chris Bryant about “how we can go forward when there is such a level of disdain for the simple fundamental democratic principles of society”.

“We have law makers acting as law breakers and they need to face the consequences for their actions.

“We can’t have a situation where people who have the privilege of holding high office in Northern Ireland so flagrantly disregard the pledge of office and statutory underpinnings of their office,” he told media in Belfast on Sunday afternoon.

Thousands of protesters have blocked the predominately nationalist route in Portadown in a bid to prevent a contentious Orange Order parade passing.

A ruling by the Parades Commission adjudication body permitting the march from Drumcree Church was upheld in an “unprecedented” late night sitting of the High Court in Belfast just a few hours earlier.

The Drumcree parade, which was associated with violent clashes during the Troubles, has been banned since 1998.

Protesters, many of them wearing balaclavas, clustered in large groups in heavy rain along the road on Sunday morning, a move that delayed the scheduled 8am start of the parade.

Sinn Féin leaders were among those gathered on the road, including the First Minister and Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O’Neill.

Mr Robinson blasted the presence of Stormont ministers and elected representatives as “shameful”, and claimed they are “breaching their pledge of office, participating in an unlawful protest and blocking”.

“That is a situation that I think cannot be allowed to pass unchallenged, I believe there are sincere calls for those individuals to be investigated and prosecuted for the position they are taking, but as it stands today, there is a lawful determination from the Parades Commission,” he said.

He said Ms O’Neill is “breaking the law”.

“She’s the head of an Executive and she is prepared to wilfully disregard the ruling of our courts, the determination by the statutory body charged with determining parades in Northern Ireland,” he said.

“Those are fundamental questions for her and the pledge of office that is given and the law that sits behind that are important fundamentals that are being tested today by her actions, and they will be tested through sanctions as well.”

Asked whether his party will continue to work with Sinn Féin, Mr Robinson responded: “Our party is maintaining the dignity of the Portadown Orangemen as they have shown determination and patience so will we.

“I can look at you all in the eye today and say we are being plunged into difficult territory because of the actions of people who are expected to be lawmakers in our country breaking the law.

“The fundamental principle of upholding the rule of law in this society are sacrosanct and cannot be tarnished.”

He added: “We have someone who calls herself a First Minister for all breaking the law today, breaking the law, prepared to give a two-finger salute to the rule of law and order in this country, and she is surrounded by other people who should know better.

“The crisis is not of our making, I think all around us can see how challenging a situation this is but the fundamentals remain, the rule of law must sustain, a legal determination must be policed appropriately.”

Earlier Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald called on Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant to intervene to ban the parade.

She said the people of the Garvaghy Road would “not be drawn back to the past”.

Ms McDonald said: “We have spent all night here, all night talking to people, listening to people, seeking to reassure people that actually this can be resolved, and it must be.

“So here is what needs to happen now – the Secretary of State needs to intervene. The chief constable of the PSNI needs to intervene and put a stop to this.

“This is madness. This, in fact, is primitive treatment of any community in the year 2026. It is intolerable, and it will not be tolerated.

“The mood here has been peaceful. It has been united and orderly.

“This is a dignified and united community, and they are absolutely determined that they and we will not be drawn back into the past.

“That is the message from Garvaghy Road today.”

DUP leader Gavin Robinson said: “A First Minister’s duty is to uphold lawful decisions, not inflame opposition to them. The rule of law cannot apply only when Sinn Féin likes the outcome. Our institutions are founded on respect for the police, the courts and the rule of law.”

UK prime minister Andy Burnham has appealed for “calm on all sides” over the Orange Order parade, saying there have been “big gains made in Northern Ireland, and we don’t want to see things go backwards”.

Police repeatedly notified the protesters through a loudspeaker on Sunday that they are liable for arrest for taking part in an unnoticed parade. The Press Association understands more people entered the road in the belief the police were sending reinforcements.

The group of Orangemen due to take part in the parade waited at nearby Drumcree Church, having assembled early on Sunday.

Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Jon Boutcher appealed to “those with influence to encourage people to comply with the law” as he his officers would detect any offences throughout the day.

He added: “It is incumbent on us all to come together at times like this to do all we can to preserve a peaceful Northern Ireland.”

The Irish Government said it is “very concerned about the situation”.

A Government statement said: “Our primary concern remains to avoid a return to the divisions of the past, recalling the significant progress made over many years in furthering reconciliation under the Good Friday Agreement.”

The march was finally given the go ahead at a hearing which concluded at 2.15am on Sunday after opposing legal teams outlined their arguments over the controversial parade.

The hearing was one of three separate emergency legal cases heard before the courts in Belfast across Saturday and into early Sunday.

The final time-limited sitting, which began at 12.20am on Sunday, was heard before Justice Michael Humphreys.

During proceedings he acknowledged the “unusual if not unprecedented circumstances as it is now 1.45am, with a parade scheduled to begin in just over six hours’ time”.

Outlining his decision, Justice Humphreys cited case law that as a public body the courts must respect the commission’s judgment and “their decisions will not be lightly interfered with”.

He said: “The picture painted here is of a public body which took evidence from the relevant sources, weighed up the key issues which were in play and arrived at a reasoned decision.

“The jurisdiction to impugn (a) public body’s decision on that basis is necessarily limited to cases where no reasonable decision could arrive at that outcome and in my view, in this case that threshold has not been met.”

He added: “This court cannot substitute its own view or anyone else’s view for that of the commission.”

Earlier, Northern Ireland’s most senior judge, Lady Chief Justice Siobhan Keegan, also described the situation as “unprecedented” as she presided over the second challenge.

Justices Keegan and Humphreys joined Lady Justice Denise McBride in the Court of Appeal which, in the late hours of Saturday, upheld an appeal by Portadown Orangeman Alan Hynes to allow the march to go ahead. That appeal was heard after a temporary injunction was issued in the first legal challenge on Saturday that would have prevented Sunday’s parade happening as scheduled.

In that initial ruling, Justice Patricia Smyth blocked the Parades Commission’s decision, saying the “long-running dispute has the potential to escalate” across Northern Ireland.

The stand-off at Drumcree made headlines in the 1990s, with nationalist residents of the Garvaghy Road opposed to the parade passing through the area, leading to violent clashes for several summers and political tension necessitating a major security operation.

The Orange Order has unsuccessfully applied for more than a quarter of a century to complete its 1998 walk along its traditional route.

On Friday, the commission reversed its long-running determination, to the welcome of unionist parties and outrage of nationalist and republican parties.

Permission was granted for a parade subject to strict restrictions, including a limit of 35 participants and the 8am start time.