LAST UPDATE | 1 Oct

MORE THAN 140 people from Protestant backgrounds have signed an open letter calling on the Orange Order to end the stand-off over its planned march along the Garvaghy Road.

The letter, addressed to Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant and Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee, says its signatories hold a wide range of views on politics, faith and identity but “feel compelled to speak publicly about what is happening in Portadown”.

It comes as 14 members of the US Congress have separately written to Bryant urging the British government to cancel the planned Orange Order parade.

The Protestant-background signatories said they value the “peace and progress” built since the Good Friday Agreement and are concerned that the current dispute could “reopen old wounds”.

🚨 Open letter from people of Protestant backgrounds concerning the Garvaghy Road

🚨 We feel compelled to speak publicly about what is happening in Portadown.

🚨Over the past few hours we have collected over 140 signatures.@RhonddaBryant @HMcEntee pic.twitter.com/QE1yfZGmwK

— Rev Karen Sethuraman (@KarenSethuraman) October 1, 2026

They acknowledged that parading remains an important tradition for many within the Protestant community, saying some of the signatories have family and friends for whom it is important and some have been directly involved themselves.

However, they appealed directly to the Orange Order to “look towards the bigger picture and bring this impasse to an end in the interests of our entire community”.

“We recognise its importance to many in our community,” the letter states.

“The vast majority of loyal order parades take place each year without restrictions – an outcome enabled by agreements and arrangements reached after exhaustive efforts.

“All of that is now being called into question, with potentially devastating consequences far beyond Portadown.”

The signatories said residents of the Garvaghy Road were being subjected to renewed trauma after “28 years of calm”.

We must avoid the abyss we are currently staring into.

They also called on the British and Irish governments to work together “without delay” to resolve the dispute and ensure the parading framework is “robust and trusted”.

Among those listed as signing the letter are retired Independent and former Alliance MLA Trevor Lunn, European unionist Jane Morrice, Presbyterian minister Ricky Montgomery and a number of other clergy, community workers, academics and retired public servants.

The letter states that descriptions attached to signatories’ names are for identification purposes only and that all signed in a personal capacity.

US politicians intervene

In a separate intervention, 14 members of the Congressional Friends of Ireland Caucus have written to Bryant calling on the British government to cancel the parade.

The group includes congressmen Richard Neal and Brendan Boyle.

“Without decisive action, we risk reopening one of the most painful chapters of Northern Ireland’s history and undermining nearly three decades of peace, stability, and reconciliation made possible by the Good Friday Agreement,” the letter states.

The representatives said allowing the march to proceed would “reopen wounds that have yet to fully heal” and described the dispute as a “consequential moment on the island of Ireland”.

This is a consequential moment on the island of Ireland.

The Orange Order parade represents a return to the divisions of the past. After 28 years of progress thanks to the Good Friday Agreement, we have come too far to turn back now.

Today, I joined my colleagues in the… pic.twitter.com/W61JmWlvZ4

— Rep. Richard Neal (@RepRichardNeal) October 1, 2026

Neal said separately that the proposed parade represented “a return to the divisions of the past”.

“After 28 years of progress thanks to the Good Friday Agreement, we have come too far to turn back now,” he said.

Talks resume

The interventions came as talks aimed at resolving the dispute resumed at Hillsborough Castle this evening.

Bryant returned to Northern Ireland for further discussions with representatives of the Orange Order and the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition on the fifth day of the stand-off.

A fresh legal challenge over the decision to permit the march, which had been due to be heard on Friday, has meanwhile been postponed until Monday to allow talks to continue.

Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition spokesperson Breandán Mac Cionnaith said before travelling to Hillsborough that the residents’ position had not changed.

Breandán Mac Cionnaith outside Hillsborough Castle today. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

“The British Government know what our position is, the Orange Order know what our position is, my community knows what the position is,” Mac Cionnaith said.

The residents said on Wednesday that they would accept a document put forward during talks by Bryant if it was also accepted by the Orange Order.

DUP Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart has described the proposed deal as “not acceptable”.

PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said today that the policing operation surrounding the stand-off has so far cost around £3 million.

PSNI officers pictured on Garvaghy Road on Monday. Rolling News Rolling News

Boutcher warned that the consequences of police attempting to force the Orange Order parade through protesters could be “catastrophic” for Northern Ireland.

Despite significant tensions during the five-day stand-off, there has been no violence and nobody has been injured.

Additional reporting from Press Association