“Protestants like to march and Catholics like to walk,” so the Derry saying goes. Last week, another episode in the Drumcree dispute between the Orange Order and the residents of Garvaghy Road caught many by surprise. The standoff which ensued, and with a history dating back at least 30 years, raised worries that old wounds could once again spell trouble for Stormont.
The route along the predominantly Catholic Garvaghy Road, part of a traditional Orange march since 1807, has been inactive since 1998, when it was blocked by the Northern Ireland Parades Commission. The Commission was created in the last days of the Troubles in order to restrict contentious marches and maintain the then far more fragile peace.
