Protesters block Northern Ireland march being held for first time since Good Friday Agreement

Updated on: September 27, 2026 / 3:45 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Tensions ran high in Northern Ireland on Sunday after a contentious parade was blocked from making its way through the town of Portadown by thousands of protesters.

The demonstrators, many wearing balaclavas, congregated on a street in the town, where many favor unification with the Republic of Ireland. They came after an early-hours decision from the High Court in Belfast to give the parade the go-ahead.

Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald and First Minister Michelle O'Neill are among the protesters blocking the road, according to BBC News. O'Neill urged the crowd to stay until at least midnight.

Gavin Robinson, the leader of the loyalist Democratic Unionist Party, has accused O'Neill and her party of breaking the law and "giving two fingers to the police, the courts and the rule of law," according to the BBC.

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…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/world/