Tensions run high in Northern Ireland after contentious march given go-ahead | CBC News

First time in decades Orange Order parade has been allowed to go down Garvaghy Road

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham called for calm in Northern Ireland on Sunday after a contentious parade was given the go-ahead by the High Court in Belfast in a late-night sitting.

It's the first time in nearly 30 years that the Orange Order parade has been allowed to go down the Garvaghy Road, which had been a notorious flashpoint between the communities in the years before the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 largely ended the bloodshed in Northern Ireland. During the so-called Troubles, some 3,600 people were killed while some 50,000 were wounded.

Burnham appealed for "calm on all sides" over the parade, saying there have been "big gains made in Northern Ireland, and we don’t want to see things go backwards."

"Police are engaging and working with all parties and will continue to do so. It is incumbent on us all to come together at times like this to do all we can to preserve a peaceful Northern Ireland."

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Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill, who represents Sinn Fein, the party historically linked to the Irish Republican Army, said the decision to give the march the go-ahead "brings into question how this whole peace process works."

Gavin Robinson, the leader of the Democrat Unionist Party, the largest pro-U.K. party in Northern Ireland, called out Sinn Fein leaders for inflaming the situation.

The march was given the final go-ahead at a court hearing concluded at 2:15 a.m. local time on Sunday.

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