Drumcree: Sinn Fein defiant over blocking Orange parade - as deputy First Minister accuses Michelle O'Neill of following the law of the mob
The deputy First Minister has accused Michelle O’Neill of following “the law of the mob” and of standing shoulder to shoulder with IRA members and dissidents – as Sinn Fein MLAs defended the party’s decision to block a road to stop an Orange order parade.
There were heated scenes in the Assembly yesterday over the weekend’s events, in which the first minister attended and encouraged a protest police have called “unlawful and unnotified”.
Ms O’Neill has declined to appear before the Assembly to answer an urgent question – only appearing to make a statement earlier in the day.
DUP MLA Phillip Brett accused Ms O’Neill of showing “utter contempt” for the people of Northern Ireland – saying “her arrogance knows no bounds”.
Sinn Fein claimed the first minister attended the Garvaghy Road protest in her role as party vice president, not as first minister.
The PSNI has blamed the illegal gathering at the weekend for its inability to allow Portadown Orangemen to complete a parade down the Garvaghy Road, which had been granted for the first time in 28 years.
Despite having the legal backing of the commission and the courts, Sinn Fein decided the parade was illegitimate and both encouraged and took part in a protest which blocked the route.
Unionists reacted furiously, calling for investigations into the conduct of Sinn Fein politicians, while the Irish prime minister has told republicans to “get off the fence” in relation to its attitude to policing.
Micheal Martin said there will not be a future in Northern Ireland if there are “constant attempts to undermine the PSNI”.
At the start of proceedings yesterday, MLAs discussed a motion by the DUP MLA Jonathan Buckley who said it “cannot be business as usual” at Stormont.
“The sight of Michelle O’Neill, a self-proclaimed first minister for all, conducting the orchestra on the Garvaghy Road, taking part in and encouraging participation in what was an unlawful protest represents a flagrant breach of the law and her obligations under the pledge of office.
“When we see a first minister, members of parliament, and a principal deputy speaker of this House, actively engaged in criminality, the public are right to be angry. There must be consequences for lawmakers who become law breakers.”
Earlier, the DUP leader said he will refer any elected representatives who were at the Garvaghy Road protest in Portadown to the relevant standards commissioners.
Ms O’Neill made a members’ statement on the matter, saying she was proud to protest with the residents of Garvaghy Road who “have suffered generations of sectarian domination, intimidation and violence”.
“They are entitled to live their life free from fear and intimidation. I will assert that right for them all day long and every day. This is 2026, folks, and we are not going back,” she added.
Despite an appeal from the Speaker Edwin Poots at the start of proceedings for MLAs to moderate their language, there were heated exchanges.
Sinn Fein MLA Emma Sheerin said: “And what I say to the bringer of this motion today, to you, and to you, and to you, and to each and every single one of you, that you are an absolute disgrace”, pointing across the chamber at DUP MLAs.
“You are a debarrassment [sic]. You've spent the past few weeks working away behind the scenes, trying to drag us back to the past, trying to impose what is nothing more and nothing less than a supremacist, bigoted, sectarian, hate fest.”
She added: “Nobody in this chamber or outside of it will impose this parade through the residents of the Garvaghy Road. We are not going back.”
John O’Dowd MLA said: “While I and other Sinn Fein members stood on the Garvaghy Road over the weekend to ensure that they will never, ever be returned to second-class citizenship in this society, and that no one, no one on behalf of anyone, will be beating the people off the streets ever again.”
Deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly rounded on her partner in government, criticising a “total abdication of leadership” by Ms O'Neill.
“When the people of Northern Ireland needed responsible leadership, Michelle O'Neill decided on populist political stump speeches, in breaking the law, defying a lawful decision of the courts, and encouraging others to do so.
“Michelle O'Neill decided to follow the law, the law of the mob, and not the law of the land – and that matters. It matters.
“Michelle O'Neill decided, with so many others on the benches across from me, to stand shoulder to shoulder with IRA members, with IRA, and dissidents, shoulder to shoulder.”