This article recounts the violence and other effects related to The Troubles in Portadown, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Much of it has been related to the Drumcree parade dispute.
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Portadown is located in an area known during the troubles as the "murder triangle" [1] because of the high number of killings carried out by paramilitary organisations.
The town is the site of an annual parade in July by an ex-serviceman's lodge of the Orange Order, from St Mark's Church in the town centre, where participants lay wreaths at the war memorial. Participants then marched to Drumcree Church through the predominately nationalist Obins Street (also known as the "Tunnel" area because of an underground walkway connecting it to a higher level at the bottom of Fowler's Entry/Mary Street/John Street). There are records of violent attacks on the Catholics in this area by members and supporters of the 'Orange boys' (later the Orange Order) dating as far back as June - July 1795.[2] In the 1970s and 1980s residents of the Obins Street area objected to the Orange marches, claiming they were triumphalist and arguing that they marked them as being second-class citizens. A local anthropologist has argued that the Orange parades perpetuate sectarian discrimination and violence against Catholics while also denying them their basic human rights[2][3][4]
The Orange 'church parade' through Obins Street was rerouted in the mid-1980s [5] through the then lesser populated but nearby area of Garvaghy Road. In the interim fresh housing stock built on the former McCready's Rose fields on the Garvaghy Road was occupied by a cross-section of families from both persuasions but slum clearance in Obins Street meant that many of the Catholic residents were relocated to the new housing and following sectarian intimidation between both communities in various estates in the town, the Garvaghy Road estates became almost 100% Catholic.
The parade was one of three which had been staged by the Orange Order to march through the Tunnel and was the scene of rioting from as early as 1873. In the modern troubles this flashpoint became the source of confrontation between the Catholics of the Tunnel area and Protestants from neighbouring Edgarstown, often exacerbated by men from other areas within the town reinforcing the numbers on either side. On several occasions in the 1970s this resulted in gun battles between the Royal Ulster Constabulary and locals.[5][6] See 'Two Hundred Years in the Orange Citadel' at http://orangecitadel.blogspot.com/
During the late 1960s and up to the mid-1970s the Edgarstown and Obins Street areas were separated only by a wasteland which had formerly been railway lines and the railway marshalling and repair facility which had dominated the area for many years. Civil engineering projects such as new roads and housing eventually covered this area but in the interim it became a venue for civil disturbance between the rival factions of the two areas, who would clash on the site.
Portadown was greatly affected by the Provisional IRA's bombing campaign from 1970 onwards. Large swathes of the High Street and West Street were destroyed on several occasions by large explosions from car/van bombs and improvised explosive devices as were a number of side streets and at various locations elsewhere in the town. The biggest bomb of them all, was the IRA bomb of May 1993. Public houses appeared to be a favourite target with some, like the Shamrock Chalet on the Armagh Road, being reduced to rubble on mulitple occasions.
Portadown is a predominantly Protestant town and ancestral home of the Orange Order. Other loyalist organisations were strongly represented in the town during the Troubles such as: the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF). A separate splinter group was later formed out of the Mid-Ulster UVF, the leader of which was Billy Wright (known by the press as "King Rat"), who was resident in the Rectory Park Estate prior to his period of imprisonment at HMP Maze during which he was assassinated. The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) was formed in 1996; due to the views held by Wright, his old counterparts in the UVF placed a death threat on his head. This view towards him was also held by the mainstream UDA and UFF. The only allies Wright and the LVF had, was the support of a small section of the UFF based on the Shankill Road in Belfast. Johnny Adair was the leader of C Company UFF, part of the West Belfast Brigade. Both these groups lost their support quickly and were almost defunct by 2007. Wright who was shot dead by the INLA in December 1997 was later replaced by his sidekick Mark "Swinger" Fulton, who later committed suicide in prison. The feud between the UVF and LVF lasted for many years after Wright's killing, with the result of many innocent people such as Protestant teenagers Andrew Robb and David McIlwaine becoming victims. There were also high profile members of the UVF that suffered, such as the commander at the time: Richard Jameson. Loyalists ran a social club in the former Summerson's Cinema in Bridge Street for several years during the early part of the Troubles, before it was closed down by the police.
The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) initially had two stations in the town; one at the "Tunnel" entrance to Obins Street and the other at Edward Street. The former closed in the 1950s and the latter remained the main centre of police operations throughout the Troubles but is now reduced to part time as the police presence has been transferred to the Mahon Road complex.
Portadown had no regular army presence but maintained a small Territorial Army base at Charles Street (known as "Charlies Walls") which housed HQ Company of the 4th Battalion Royal Irish Rangers, (The North Irish Militia). Although this did house small numbers of troops in the early part of the Troubles the main military presence was from units based outside Portadown, such as Kitchen Hill Barracks in Lurgan. The formation of the 11th Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment saw a small barracks being built on the Southern edge of town at Mahon Road on a greenfield site. This was dubbed "Fort Mahon" by the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR). It housed HQ Company, A Company (Tandragee) and E Company (Portadown) - formerly the Lurgan/Portadown Company of 2 UDR. As paramilitary activity in the town increased accommodation was increased at Fort Mahon to include, firstly, a roulemont unit of regular soldiers, mostly Royal Artillery units in battery strength. In the mid 1970s 3 Infantry Brigade was relocated from Lurgan to Portadown and in the late 1970s RUC DMSU & HMSU units were also based there. When the UDR increased in strength a full company of permanent cadre (A Company) was then formed at what was then known as Mahon Road Barracks. In the mid 1980s married quarters were built on the dge of the barracks for the families of regular soldiers attached to the Brigade HQ. Since the end of Operation Banner the military have withdrawn from the complex and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) have taken over the complex to relieve the pressure of working from the cramped conditions of the Edward Street RUC Station. The married quarters have been sold off to the public.