A High Court ruling has overturned a decision by the Parades Commission preventing an Orange Order march from proceeding along Garvaghy Road in Portadown, County Armagh. The ruling has sparked political controversy and warnings of renewed sectarian confrontation.

The court found that the commission failed to follow proper procedure when refusing permission for the march, which has been barred every year since 1998. Mr Justice McAlinden said public administration must have the confidence of the public, and errors and shortcuts must be corrected. Following the ruling, the commission acknowledged its decision-making process was flawed, and one of its six commissioners, Billy Gamble, resigned.

Unionist leaders welcomed the judgment. DUP leader Gavin Robinson said the ruling exposed why confidence in the commission had collapsed within the unionist community. In contrast, Sinn Féin First Minister Michelle O'Neill visited Garvaghy Road and said residents feared a return to the violence of the 1990s. She questioned whether unionist leaders wanted to revisit those dark days.

The Parades Commission adjudicates on thousands of marches each year and is credited with reducing parade-related disorder, but unionists have long alleged bias against the Orange Order. The commission chair, Evelyn Collins, said she would not resign and pledged to work to regain trust from all sections of the community.

The Orange Order indicated it would return to court if the commission rejects a future application to march down Garvaghy Road. Breandán Mac Cionnaith of the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition said marches through the mainly Catholic neighbourhood finished in 1998 and will not be repeated. The Portadown branch of the Order said it was ready to engage in mediation.

The dispute dates back to the late 1990s, when efforts by Orangemen to march down Garvaghy Road led to violent clashes with residents and police, threatening the Good Friday Agreement. Since then, a de facto truce has held, with the Orange Order staging annual peaceful protests instead. The court ruling has reopened debate over the legitimacy of the commission and the potential for renewed confrontation next July.