Sinn Fein vows to cooperate with any Drumcree Parade police investigation

Northern Ireland / 2 October 2026 No breakthrough on Drumcree parade dispute 2 October 2026 South Asia / 2 October 2026 India’s ‘Cockroach’ protesters demand resignation of election chief over voter list changes 2 October 2026 US / 2 October 2026 Trump threatens Europe diesel export ban 2 October 2026 East Africa / 2 October 2026 Ethiopia expels 10 Eritrean diplomats as tensions escalate 2 October 2026 Europe / 2 October 2026 Greece pushes EU to suspend asylum during periods of mass migration 2 October 2026 Round-up / 2 October 2026 World in brief: October 2, 2026 2 October 2026 THE president of Sinn Fein said today her party will co-operate with any police investigation into the protest on Garvaghy Road in Portadown.

Mary Lou McDonald said: “There’s no question with us co-operating with any process that will unfold.”

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has said anyone “found to have broken the law will face criminal justice consequences.”

Ms McDonald and Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill are among those who have attended the protest, which police have described as unnotified and “therefore illegal.”

Protesters have continued to block Garvaghy Road to stop the proposed Drumcree parade by Portadown District Orange Lodge through the mainly nationalist community.

Both sides of the divide held rallies at either end of Garvaghy Road on Saturday.

Speaking on BBC’s Sunday Politics programme, Ms McDonald said: “There are moments in political life where you have to take a stand, and this is one of those moments.”

When asked about the legality of the protest she said: “Others will determine whether or not that is in fact the case.”

The Northern Ireland Parades Commission decided that the Orange Lodge parade could go ahead on Sunday September 27 with restrictions.

A fresh legal bid by the residents to prevent the march is due to be heard on Monday.

The actions of Ms McDonald, Ms O’Neill and nationalist politicians have been slammed by unionists.

In a post on social media, Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said the “behaviour of Michelle O’Neill and her party has been disgraceful” and a “complete abdication of leadership.”

Ms McDonald said that this “comes down to right and wrong,” and that as people who care passionately about the future, she and Ms O’Neill know that for “that to happen we have to stand foursquare with the community of the Garvaghy Road.”

The Sinn Fein leader said there was a “broad crowd politically and otherwise” at the huge rally on Saturday, adding that it was “resolute but good humoured with a real eye for the future.”

“I cannot fathom anybody suggesting that 28 years on when progress has been made in such significant ways, not least in Portadown and in the wider Garvaghy community, why it is that anybody would seek to reopen that wound.”

Meanwhile, Democratic Unionist Party leader Gavin Robinson accused Sinn Fein of attempting to goad unionists into collapsing Stormont.

Ms McDonald said it is “anything but,” adding that it is about the ability of communities to live, work, and build futures together.