Northern Irish court dismisses challenge against Protestant parade route

Garvaghy Road Residents Association spokesperson, Brendan MacCionnaith, speaks outside Belfast High Court where Judge Patricia Smyth issued a temporary injunction stopping an Orange Order march planned to be held in Portadown, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, September 26, 2026. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

DUBLIN, Sept ⁠27 (Reuters) - Northern Ireland's High ⁠Court dismissed a new ‌application in the early hours of Sunday to stop a Protestant ​parade from passing ⁠through a ⁠Catholic area after the Court of ⁠Appeal ‌vacated a temporary injunction granted on ⁠Saturday to residents who opposed ​the ‌parade.

The residents had challenged Friday's ⁠ruling ​by Northern Ireland's Parades Commission that permitted the ⁠Orange Order to march ​along the Garvaghy Road, a Catholic enclave in the largely ⁠Protestant town of Portadown, during its annual Drumcree parade.

The ruling by the ​Parades Commission overturned ⁠an almost 30-year ban on ​the route.

(Reporting ‌by Amanda Ferguson; ​Writing by Graham Fahy; Editing by Jamie Freed)