Member's statement: Garvaghy Road: Statement by Secretary of State
Member's statement by Mr John O'Dowd on .
- MLA
- Mr John O'Dowd
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 12 October 2026
- Type
- Member's statement (made as a minister)
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Garvaghy Road: Statement by Secretary of State
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5785775
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I welcome the Secretary of State's statement on late Friday evening, which banned the Orange Order procession from the Garvaghy Road. This is not about a victory over one side of the community or the other. It is not about one-upmanship by anyone. It is about lifting a huge amount of pressure off the Garvaghy Road community and allowing that community to breathe. I acknowledge and welcome the way in which the statement was greeted by the Garvaghy Road community with dignity and respect. That is how the residents have carried themselves over the past weeks and, indeed, perhaps even longer, considering how long the issue had been going on before the most recent episode of the debacle. There are opportunities in Portadown for communities to continue to engage with each other, grow with each other and learn from each other, and I have no doubt that there is a will across many sections of society in Portadown for that to continue. They should be given space to do so. I urge politicians to mind their words and to understand that words have consequences. I refer particularly to the use of language such as "using all tools in our armoury". When someone associates themselves, as the MP for the area has, with Mr Bryson, who is an associate of loyalist terror gangs or of individuals in those gangs, the word "armoury" has a menacing undertone. My colleague Councillor Paul Duffy arrived at his workplace this morning to find graffiti threatening his life and warning him to stay away. Words have consequences, and Councillor Duffy saw those consequences this morning. Again, I say this: allow the people of Portadown to continue the good work that they were involved in; allow them to engage with each other; and allow them the space to get on with their lives.
306 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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