A list of signatures on an open letter has drawn attention to the tensest moment on a Belfast street in 28 years. Noel Gallagher, Johnny Marr, Paul Weller, Kneecap, Suggs, Imelda May, Susan Sarandon, Ken Loach, Adrian Dunbar — names spanning music, film, and theatre — aren't stepping onto any stage or podium this time, but instead putting their names to a petition addressed to Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant.
The situation started in Portadown, County Armagh, where the issue of a self-organized march on Garvaghy Road has now reached its 11th day of deadlock. For the past 28 years, the Parades Commission has consistently blocked the predominantly Protestant Orange Order from marching through this predominantly nationalist street, due to serious violence that occurred there in the past — according to Irish Independent, three brothers aged 9, 10, and 11 were killed when their home was firebombed by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). That memory has kept the route under restriction for nearly three decades.
But a High Court ruling has loosened that barrier, allowing the Orange Order to march the route again under conditions limiting participation to 35 members and moving the march time up to 8am (instead of the originally planned 1pm). This would be the first such march since 1998. Following the ruling, Garvaghy Road residents immediately took to the streets in protest, and First Minister Michelle O'Neill publicly called on Chris Bryant to intervene, saying the decision had left residents "lying awake at night in fear and anxiety."
What the Open Letter Says
The open letter now circulating calls on authorities to appoint "an independent international mediator from outside Ireland and the UK" to help resolve the dispute. It states: "Residents of Garvaghy Road endured deep trauma, fear and disruption to their lives during the height of the parading conflict in the 1990s. After almost three decades of hard-won calm, it is simply unacceptable for this community to face that anxiety again."
