Judge’s final remarks on Drumcree felt like an epitaph as much as a conclusion

Even before the stand-off at Drumcree developed a month ago, the dispute had ended up in the courts; now, it has had its end in the courts.

A member of the Portadown Orange Order sought to challenge the decision by the Northern Secretary Chris Bryant to ban the parade after two weeks of stalemate. In a judgment delivered in the High Court on Wednesday, the judge either refused to grant leave for an appeal or, on a handful of grounds, granted leave then dismissed the appeal.

Bryant’s decision was “lawful”, Judge David Scoffield said, but added it was “highly regrettable it was required in the circumstances in which it arose”, and said those who had opposed the march should take “no particular joy” in the outcome.

The judge’s final remarks, delivered in the formal surroundings of a Belfast courtroom, felt like an epitaph as much as a conclusion, as he reflected on the “very significant cost” of these weeks for the people of Northern Ireland.

He listed those costs: the “threat of serious and widespread disorder”; the financial impact – at least £5.5 million (€6.6 million) – through the “diversion of police resources”; the impact on community relations; the “significant concerns ... about the respect for the rule of law”.

There are other costs too that he might have added: the damage done to the North’s powersharing institutions; the consequences when sectarian fault lines are reinforced; the fear of a return to the violence of 1990s Drumcree.

Balance all that against what has been achieved. The lodge’s legal right to process along the notified route on the Garvaghy Road “had been established, subject to conditions”, the judge said, though he added that “the existence of a right does not require its exercise”.

Outside the courtroom, victories were claimed. Loyalist activist and legal adviser to the Portadown Orange Order Jamie Bryson reiterated its “legal right to walk the Garvaghy Road” and said he wanted to be “very clear ... the Portadown District will walk the Garvaghy Road”.

Breandán Mac Cionnaith, spokesman for the Garvaghy Road residents, said: “All we sought was the right that was promised under the Good Friday Agreement, that right to live free from sectarian harassment. That right has been vindicated and upheld today.”

[ From local row to peace-process shambles: How the Drumcree standoff developedOpens in new window ]

And so, it is not quite the end.

It is “likely” there will be an appeal, and as it rumbles on through the courts, so too will it rumble on through the politics of this place, another running sore continuing to poison relations – and further hamper delivery – in Stormont as in society in general.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin emphasised on Wednesday the importance of trying to “develop and build stronger community relations”, while the Northern Secretary, in the aftermath of the court judgment, spoke of his commitment to “support reconciliation and rebuild relationships that have been damaged”.

It is clear it will take much to repair the damage, not least given the potential for other flashpoints; an application for a march on Belfast’s Lower Ormeau on November 7th is currently under consideration by the Parades Commission.

But where there is overwhelming unity is in people’s opposition to violence. Polling published on Wednesday by research agency More in Common found that regardless of religious or political affiliation, the “clear priority” for four out of five in Northern Ireland was that the Drumcree stand-off ended peacefully.

There is also only one resolution deemed acceptable by voters across that political divide, by unionists as well as nationalists: that the right to parade is “confirmed”, but the Orange Order “chooses not to use it”.