THE FIRST MINISTER of Northern Ireland has said that not allowing the Orange Order to march at Drumcree is “the right decision”, but it could have been taken sooner.

Michelle O’Neill appeared on The Late Late Show less than an hour after Northern Ireland Secretary of State Chris Bryant announced the controversial parade would be banned.

It follows a 13-day stand-off between Orangemen and nationalist residents of the Garvaghy Road in Portadown.

“We said from day one, the Secretary of State could step in. He could have stopped this nonsense. He could have put an end to it. But unfortunately, he chose not to until the eleventh hour,” O’Neill told presenter Patrick Kielty.

O'Neill with Patrick Kielty on the set of The Late Late Show RTÉ RTÉ

She said the last two weeks have been a “rollercoaster” for the residents of Garvaghy Road and their supporters.

“No one ever thought for a second that the Prades Commission would have reversed a decision that stood for 28 years.

“People were absolutely gobsmacked,” she said.

“I went down to the courts after the decision came in, and I think everybody was taken by surprise because no one thought they would unravel the peace and the progress of the last 28 years.”

She said the prospect of the parade going ahead has been “hanging over them”, but there’s a feeling of relief on Garvaghy Road tonight following confirmation that it won’t.

Over 1,500 people from Protestant backgrounds signed a letter calling for the parade not to go ahead.

“They weren’t afraid to raise their voice to say that this is not something that they wanted to see,” O’Neill said.

She doesn’t believe the views of Orangemen who she faced at the protests over the last fortnight reflect the wider sentiment among unionists.

“We won’t allow a small minority of people to drag us into the past,” she said.

“We need to have mutual respect across our society. And I think the way in which we build the new Ireland that I certainly want to see is that we create space and accommodate each other.

“The Orange culture will have a part to play in our new Ireland, and I think that’s really, really important.”

O’Neill received a letter from the PSNI today inviting her to a police interview over her attendance at the protest on the road.

She said she will cooperate fully, but she stands over her decision to support the Garvaghy Road residents.

“I’ll do whatever needs to be done. I’m happy that the decision that I took was the right decision,” she said.

“It was to do what was right, and it was to support that community who needed my support.”