London-/Derry

No Consent, No Parade

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Parading was the central on-the-ground issue of the post-Agreement years (BBC). Resistance to Orange Order parades marching through CNR areas was led by local groups: in Derry, by the Bogside Residents’ Group, in Portadown, by the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition, and in lower Ormeau by Lower Ormeau Residents Action Group. In each case, residents were appealing directly to the local lodges and to the police. (The Parades Commission would be established in 1998.)

In 1995, there was a three-day stand-off on the Gavraghy Road that resulted in a silent march without bands (CAIN). The police initially re-routed the 1996 march but reversed the decision at the last minute, citing the threat of loyalist violence, and forced residents off the street in order to accommodate the parade.

Rossville Street, Bogside, Derry

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Copyright © 1996 Peter Moloney
M01266

Trimble Calls The Shots, RUC Fires

Extramural Activity1 Comment

Two by the same hand in William Street, Derry: “Trimble calls the shots, RUC fires” and “UUP/RUC”. David Trimble was leader of the Ulster Unionist Party from 1995 to 2005. The issue referenced here is perhaps Trimble’s involvement in the Garvaghy Road dispute, either that he conveyed a threat from the UVF’s Billy Wright to UK Home Secretary Patrick Mayhew, or his admission that he pressured the DPP and the RUC to prosecute the leaders of the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition.

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Copyright © 1996 Peter Moloney
M01262 M01263