Thousands expected at Markethill protest

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Around 3,000 people are expected at a rally to protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol in Markethill next month.

A parade is set to take place on February 18, setting out from the Old Gosford Hotel, with Markethill Fife and Drum Corps, Rising Sons of the Valley Kilkeel, and Markethill Protestant Boys set to take part.

A notice on the Parades Commission website lists the “Mid/South Armagh Grassroots Unionist Collective” as the organisers.

The town has been in the forefront of events organised to protest the protocol in recent months.

Loyalist activist Jamie Bryson, who has addressed previous events in the town, is encouraging other loyalist voices to come forward and speak at next month’s event.

“It is to the credit of the organisers that they are ensuring the fight against the protocol does not diminish,” he told the News Letter.

“I will of course be attending in support of the protest.

“I think it’s important – and this is a recommendation in a Unionist Voice Policy Studies report due to be published on Wednesday – that new voices are platformed and encouraged to speak at protests (rather than the same individuals all the time).

“This is essential in empowering a new network of activists in order to grow the influence and reach of the unionist/loyalist message. And I know from talking to some of the organisers of the event that this objective is in their mind.”

He added: “I should say however that with the end of January looming, I would expect an instruction from Minister Poots to halt checks inside the coming weeks, and in the absence of civil service compliance, the UVPS report on Wednesday will set our recommendations for how that issue should be handled.”

Previous parades in Markethill have sparked controversy.

The PSNI has taken action following previous parades that it said had breached coronavirus regulations on gatherings and events.

Parades and gatherings were held across many unionist areas last Easter in protests sparked by both the protocol and the failure to prosecute anyone for alleged Covid regulation breaches at the funeral of senior republican Bobby Storey in June 2020.