The spokesman for the Garvaghy Road residents, Mr Breandan Mac Cionnaith, may be a hero to his supporters but he is the new demon figure for many in the unionist and loyalist community in Northern Ireland. They are not slow to recall that in 1982 he was given a six-year sentence at Belfast Crown Court for "carrying a firearm with intent, false imprisonment and hijacking".
But like a number of other ex-prisoners on both sides of the divide, Mr Mac Cionnaith has acquired a position of political prominence in recent years. Some would say he holds the fate of Northern Ireland in his hands as the latest Drumcree crisis deepens. The key question, then, for Mr Mac Cionnaith is, will there be "Orange feet" on Garvaghy Road? He says it isn't a matter of the nationalist residents tolerating the Orange march. "It's a matter of the British government's resolve to uphold the determination of the Parades Commission. The decision was taken against the background of the criteria which they're obliged to operate under the legislation."
He urges people to read the Parades Commission report in detail because it stresses the need to address the social and economic imbalances in the town, the disparities between the Catholic and Protestant communities and the whole issue of segregation and sectarianism.
Mr Mac Cionnaith thinks it is imperative, in line with his interpretation of the Parades Commission report, to address "the whole idea of access to the town's centre and to equality of opportunity for the town's Catholic and nationalist community".
He feels the Drumcree march must be put in its proper perspective. Nationalists regarded it as a public manifestation of all the wrongs they suffered on a daily basis. These wrongs would have to be removed to get the nationalists to accept an Orange presence in the future.
He says the demon status he has acquired is an attack on his community and that there have been direct attempts at demonising the community itself. "In the last couple of weeks we've been called dogs, animals, tigers, monsters who should be locked in cages, and that's not a reference to me, that's a reference to every man, woman and child that lives in this community." He continues: "I think it demonstrates a mindset, which is the problem in Portadown. There's a mindset which does not see the Catholic and nationalist community as equal, and certainly those statements would suggest that they don't even see the Catholic and nationalist community in Portadown as human beings."
When asked if he was concerned that his insistence on the implementation of the Drumcree decision could bring about anarchy and chaos, he replies: "Let's be clear on one thing, it's not my insistence; it's actually coming directly from the British government and the Irish Government that the decision must be upheld. I certainly don't wield the power that I can influence the two governments."
He says the two governments "see the need for this decision to be upheld, basically on the grounds of justice for the nationalist community in Portadown, because justice and equality is something which is in very, very short supply for this community, not just in the past number of years but probably throughout the whole history of this town". He says that for the first time since Partition, the two governments "have the opportunity to prove to the nationalist community in Portadown that they are going to be treated with equality under the law".
Asked what he saw as the solution, he pointed to proposals put forward by the residents last week which, if taken up by the Orange Order, could prevent the annual recurrence of the crisis.
"We asked them to abide by the Parades Commission decision and accept it and if they'd done that we would publicly acknowledge that as reciprocation for the gesture of goodwill that we made in 1995. If that was to happen then the next logical step would be actually to start addressing all the other problems because, as the Parades Commission said, the marching issue cannot be divorced from the other problems in the town." He continued that "to really address the marching problem is to address the other problems which confront this community day and daily". The nationalists needed to see the equality agenda being delivered in Portadown. "Then we would have absolutely no hesitation in encouraging this community to accept - possibly accept - some form of an Orange presence on the Garvaghy Road in the future."
He says he would step aside in negotiations if that was the real problem, but he believes it is a smokescreen. "The real problem is the ability of the Orange Order to sit down and engage in dialogue with a proper commitment. No, the Orange Order by the actual step of sitting down with me and other people from this community are having to acknowledge that we're their equals. Now, that is a major problem for them."
