Escalating Violence: Northern Ireland (1995)

Background
The Protestant King William 111, the Dutch Prince of Orange, defeated the Catholic King James 111 at the Battle of the Boyne on 12th July 1690. the Orange Order, named after the Prince has used parades as a symbol of their Protestant, British identity for 200 years. The annual parades have been marked by violence and are spotlighted by the media.

On Sunday 9th July 1995 members of the Orange Order gathered at the local church of Dumcree in Portadown for the annual service commemorating the Battle of the Boyne. The Orangemen expected to march down the predominantly Catholic, Nationalist Garvaghy Road on their way back to the Orange Lodge. Hundreds of Catholics turned out to block the route. The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) decided to prevent the march; the first time this had happened in 188 years. The Orangemen refused to be diverted and 1000 extra police were brought in. There was a stand-off. Word spread throughout Ireland. Thousands of Orange supporters started to arrive and 4000 soldiers were put on alert. There was fear that the ceasefire which had been operating since 1994 would be de-railed.

Involvement
The following day, as tensions were beginning to escalate, Brendan McAllister, Director of The Mediation Network, was invited by the RUC Assistant Chief Constable to help undertake crisis mediation. The Mediation Network had been set up in 1991 with the aim of promoting a culture of third party intervention in conflict. McAllister brought in a member of his team, Joe Campbell, by which time there were an estimated 10,000 Orange supporters an the area of the church. McAllister and Campbell went to work visiting representatives of the Orange Order, the RUC and the Garvaghy Road Residents Association (GRRA). As proponents of non-violence peace building, the mediators assume that in each conflict situation all sides have a valid point of view which must be listened to and understood. Mediation is about enabling those in conflict to communicate with each other, to improve understanding and let truth grow.

McAllister and Campbell had found through experience in Ireland that the Irish were reluctant to meet in face-to-face dialogue. So they developed a method which was more akin to intermediation or shuttle diplomacy.

They acted as trusted intermediaries to:

• Help facilitate the flow of information between the sides
• Help infuse a ‘sense of other’, creative thinking and analysis of the situation, in confidential discussions.
• Carry messages between the two side.

By dawn there were disturbances throughout Northern Ireland.

The Catholics finally agreed to let the parade through on the understanding that the following year there would be no parade.

Outcome
A scaled down march without its band and with only one flag proceeded silently down Garvaghy Road. Future marches would require the consent of the residents of Garvaghy Road.

The widely anticipated violence did not occur. The work of the Mediation Network had lasted 16 hours and as Joe Campbell noted “this was the first formal recognition of mediation as a way of resolving community disputes.”

A durable peace did not ensue. McAllister and Campbell considered that what was needed was process-focused peace work rather than event driven peace.

Members of the Mediation Network consider that it is important to think in generational terms when working for peace. And building long term relationships based on respect and dignity is the key.