‘Camp Twaddell’ dismantled as unionists begin to honour Ardoyne parades agreement

PROTESTS in Ardoyne, north Belfast, on Friday evening and Saturday morning against an agreement between the Orange Order and the local community to resolve a three-year-long dispute about parades have passed off peacefully.

The protests went ahead under the banner of the Greater Ardoyne Residents’ Collective (GARC) despite an appeal by a range of community groups and local church figures, Sinn Féin and the Alliance Party.

Some 300 PSNI officers were present at Friday night’s protest parade by GARC and 600 on Saturday morning when three Ligoneil Orange lodges and two bands completed the return leg of their 2013 Twelfth of July parade.

Estimates of numbers at Friday night’s parade varied from observers at 200 to 700 claimed by organisers. GARC welcomed supporters from outside Ardoyne even though they had publicly criticised people beyond Ardoyne helping Sinn Féin in a leaflet drop in the area about the protests earlier this week.

The Parades Commission restricted the number at Saturday morning’s GARC protest to 60.

● Ardoyne on Saturday morning

Soon after the Orangemen had completed their walk on Saturday morning, unionists began dismantling their own protest site nicknamed ‘Camp Twaddell’. Policing of weekly parades by unionists centred on ‘Camp Twaddell’ are estimated to have cost upwards of £20million.

The Crumlin Ardoyne Residents’ Association (CARA) had committed – “in a spirit of reconciliation” – to ending protests at the Orange parades proceeding during the morning time in return for a moratorium on return parades.

Participants have also agreed “to participate in a spirit of co-operation in a community forum which will include representatives of CARA and the loyal orders”.

● Sinn Féin's Gerry Kelly MLA speaks to the media in Ardoyne on Saturday morning – See video here

Speaking later on Saturday morning, Sinn Féin North Belfast MLA Gerry Kelly – who was barracked by ‘dissidents’ supporting the GARC protest, as was Holy Cross parish priest Fr Gary Donegan – said:

“Now we have the potential to move forward. I want this to open up many more good relationships.

“I think it is the dawn of a new era in this area and, of course, there is a knock-on effect. We will be looking to this and gaining hope for other areas.”