For a generation of politicians, journalists and others, the Drumcree parades crisis of the 1990s was a bitter, often deeply unpleasant chapter that had been filed away, often as a bad memory best forgotten.
But it was never forgotten by Loyal Orange Lodge No 1 on Carleton Street in the town, which still carries many of the divisions of the Troubles.
Each Sunday since 1998 they held a token protest at Drumcree church on the hill to complain about being barred from marching on the Garvaghy Road.
Each year, the lodge submitted an application to march on the Sunday before the Twelfth of July on their traditional route from the church to Carleton Street. Each year, it was refused.
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This year, they did the same. They were refused, as usual. This time, however, the lodge, helped by outsiders, sought a judicial review of the Parades Commission’s decision.
The court hearing has done much to destroy the Parades Commission’s reputation. Its commissioners refused the application effectively by rote; it had not been properly considered on its merits, the judge ruled.
In reality, the commission had refused the march 27 times before. Nothing had changed, so it was inevitable that it would do so again. Consequently, the paperwork was not even read, let alone considered.
Faced with this humiliation, the commission began anew and left more than a few startled – including those in the broader Unionist community – when it granted permission to the Orange to march.
The rush of court hearings and appeals over recent days has put parading back on Northern Ireland’s political agenda in ways that could threaten the existence of the Stormont institutions.
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is maintaining a hard line because defending the right to march goes down well with its membership, even if a majority of Orangemen are Ulster Unionists, not members of the DUP.
In addition, such a line offers a defence against advances by the even more hardline Traditional Unionist Voice, led by Jim Allister, and the DUP is always terrified of being outflanked on its right.
And there are other actors. Jamie Bryson is not a member of the Orange, but has become influential largely on the back of the profile offered to him by the BBC’s Stephen Nolan Show on Radio Ulster.
The successful legal strategy adopted by the Orange is significantly down to him. His high profile infuriates many on the political stage, but he cannot be ignored.
And the Orange has been smarter. It agreed to cut the parade down to 35 participants, with no bands. It ensured that no supporters turned up at the church to create the image of threat so common 30 years ago. And it has learned to use the courts to its advantage. However, the gathering of supportive crowds on Sunday, even if not members of the Lodge, could be in breach of parades legislation and damage its cautious approach.
On Sunday evening, they marched down the hill where they were politely blocked by police and returned quietly to the church.
For Sinn Féin, the issues are different, but equally important. The head of the Garvaghy Road Residents Association, the now nearly-70-year-old Breandán Mac Cionnaith, is no supporter of the party, even if most on the road vote for its candidates. He split with it over its decision to support policing in 2007 and is a member of Éirígí, a dissident republican organisation – though one that has always insisted that it has no links with violence.
For now, Sinn Féin acts to influence the residents’ group, but it cannot control it. Equally, it cannot be seen to act against its wishes, and Garvaghy Road residents do not want the Orange marching down their street. Now, or ever.
Besides, marching rows have always worked to mobilise Sinn Féin’s base. This is no small advantage for a party that has grown tired of Stormont and is making few efforts to make it work, even if it can be forgiven for being weary of the DUP.
Equally, the unforeseen crisis has damaged the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Its decision to tell the Parades Commission that it did not believe that a parade this year would threaten public order is hard to fathom.
For now, the PSNI is attempting to police its way out of trouble. It told the Orange at 7.35am on Sunday to prepare to march, only to come back 10 minutes later to say it could not because there were too many protesters.
The protesters had been there for the guts of 12 hours at that stage. They were not going anywhere then. They are not going anywhere now. Drumcree 2026 is different from the Drumcrees of the 1990s, but it remains just as dangerous.
