Michelle O’Neill has reacted to the Garvaghy Road parade being banned just before she was due on the Late Late Show.
The Orange Order wished to march down the predominantly nationalist road in a highly contentious parade for the first time in 28 years, which saw thousands of people turn out in protest as a standoff between the order and residents of the area rumbled on for several weeks.
On Friday evening, the UK’s Secretary for Northern Ireland, Chris Bryant, said that he would ban the parade after he was asked to review the Parades Commission’s determination over the parade’s route by the PSNI.
Appearing on the Late Late Show just over an hour after the decision was made, First Minister Michelle O’Neill admitted that she and Patrick Kielty were set to have a very different conversation — but Ms O’Neill ended up discussing Mr Bryant’s decision on the show, welcoming it as the right call.
‘It’s a decision that should have been taken at the very start of this process,’ Ms O’Neill said. ‘The Garvaghy Road residents didn’t ask for this to be revisited upon them. But yet for the past 13 days, they’ve been living with this constant fear and a cloud hanging over them, that this unwanted sectarian march was going to be forced down that road.
‘We said from day one that the Secretary of State could step in; he could’ve stopped this nonsense, he could’ve put an end to it, but unfortunately he chose not to until the 11th hour… [but] that is absolutely the right decision.’
Despite the Orange Order’s threat of ‘serious consequences’ should the march not go ahead, Ms O’Neill also pointed out that a letter supporting the Garvaghy Road residents was signed by over 1,500 people who identify as Protestant, and that the people of Northern Ireland won’t allow ‘a small minority’ to undo what has been achieved since the Good Friday Agreement.
‘We won’t allow a small minority of people to drag us into the past, to disrupt all that has been achieved over the last 28 years,’ Ms O’Neill said. ‘We have a really positive story to tell, people can take some hope and some heart from this.
‘I think any right-minded person out there would know that you cannot unravel what we have secured in the 28 years – when you look at all the voices who have stepped in in support and solidarity of the residents, to say no going backwards and that we are about the future, peace and prosperity and a good standard of living for all of our people.’
‘People can take heart from the fact that so many people across the island travelled to the Garvaghy Road and from abroad as well, as they felt so strongly that the Garvaghy Road residents needed their supports.’
Ms O’Neill, who was invited to an interview by the PSNI after she participated in the protests on the road, added that she will do whatever needs to be done, adding: ‘I am happy that the decision that I took was the right decision… I stand over that decision, and I will deal with whatever the process is that needs to be dealt with.’
Announcing his decision on Friday evening, Mr Bryant said that in the interests of wider public interest and safety, he came to the conclusion that the circumstances under the Parades Commission’s original decision have ‘changed considerably.
‘With this in mind, I call for all protests, rallies and demonstrations to be stood down. There is no excuse for a continued ratcheting up of tensions.
‘The community in Portadown has been on the sharp end of intense attention for a number of weeks. It will take time to rebuild relations. The least we can all do now is give them breathing space. Looking ahead we will need to work together to help repair the damage that has been done and to resolve this issue.
‘I will continue to do all I can to bring the community together over the coming weeks and months.’
