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Newry and Armagh MLA Justin McNulty has attended a Police interview at Musgrave Police Station today, 6 November following his presence on the Garvaghy Road during the September protests over a proposed parade by Portadown District Loyal Orange Lodge. Speaking afterwards McNulty said he acted in defence of residents and that other issues matter more, including the closure of maternity services at Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry. He also accused Executive parties of using the Drumcree row as a distraction from their failures at Stormont.
Defending his decision to stand on the Garvaghy Road he said: “My actions were in defence of the rights of the Garvaghy Road residents and in the interest of society in general rather than in opposition to the law. There are moments in life when you have to make a choice to do what is right, even if that decision is controversial or causes backlash.”
He said he took the decision to ensure a parade did not go ahead, adding: “I decided to stand on the Garvaghy Road to ensure that a parade that would have wreaked havoc on a community did not take place.” He added: “I was proud to stand on the Garvaghy Road, shoulder to shoulder with residents.”
Mr McNulty stressed that his own interview was not the main concern. “But I want to be clear - there are more important issues than me being interviewed by the Police today,” he said. He pointed to events of the past two days, saying:
“There was a bomb scare yesterday that grounded flights around Europe including an Aer Lingus flights out of Dublin, and today RTÉ and other media outlets have been evacuated. What we saw in relation to the Drumcree march decision was a bomb scare called in by the Police and the Parades’ Commission, inadvertently or otherwise. The Police and the Parades’ Commission both claimed that the parade would pass along the Garvaghy Road peacefully, when even the dogs on the street knew that was never going to happen. A lot of harm was done. This caused untold stress for communities - relationships were pushed to breaking point, institutions on the brink of collapse, sectarian tensions elevated to new heights, a cost of over £3 million for policing so far, and has reflected poorly on the Orange Order. But ultimately this bomb scare is a smokescreen, so that politicians in the Executive can hide away from their failures at Stormont, and hide behind sectarianism."
He called on politicians to return to the issues affecting people day to day, beginning with Daisy Hill. “We have Maternity Services closed at Daisy Hill Hospital, roads that are deteriorating and unfinished, a stadium that remains unbuilt, people can’t get in to see doctor, waiting lists are skyrocketing, kids can’t get places into special education units, school estates are crumbling, houses can’t be built because of inadequate wastewater infrastructure, we have an epidemic of violence against women and girls, an epidemic of addiction, an epidemic of suicide, and all the Executive parties can talk about is Drumcree?”
Mr McNulty said ordinary people were the ones paying the price. “We all know who this smokescreen serves, and it isn’t the ordinary people who every day are fighting against the cost of living crisis, fighting to make ends meet. It’s time for politicians to come out from behind this smokescreen and get back to doing the right thing for people and communities who are struggling and to start rebuilding relationships for the greater good.”
He concluded with “Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine". (people live in each others shadow)
