The PSNI confirmed on 16 October 2026 that it is investigating six unnotified processions that took place across the North this week, in locations ranging from the Shankill Road in west Belfast to the Waterside area of Derry.
According to RTE.ie, the processions on the Shankill Road, in Dunloy, on Tennent Street in north Belfast, in Bangor, in the Waterside and in Newtownabbey all proceeded without the notification required under parading law. Assistant Chief Constable Anthony McNally said the absence of that notification may constitute an offence.
What the PSNI said about the six processions
McNally struck a careful balance in his statement, acknowledging that the right to parade is a fundamental one while insisting it sits alongside the rights of others.
The right to participate in a public procession is a fundamental human right. However, this is balanced by the need to uphold the rights of others, protect public health and safety, minimise disruption to normal life and by the need to prevent and detect crime.
He added that police assess each case against public safety, the prevention of disorder and the requirement that any response be lawful, necessary and proportionate. The PSNI said it will continue to monitor the situation and engage with those involved.
Drumcree shadow hangs over the investigation
The announcement comes at a sensitive moment. People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll was interviewed under caution at Musgrave police station for more than 90 minutes over his attendance at protests on the Garvaghy Road earlier this month, part of the long-running Drumcree parading dispute in Portadown.
Carroll denies any criminal offending. Speaking to reporters after the interview, he said he had been on the Garvaghy Road openly, as an elected representative, standing with residents whose notice of protest had been given and referenced in open court.
Everyone on the road acted peacefully and there was no evidence of violence. I was exercising my right to free expression and peaceful assembly.
First Minister Michelle O'Neill and a number of Sinn Féin MLAs have also received letters from police regarding their attendance at the same protest, a development that has raised serious questions about the criminalisation of peaceful political assembly.
A community that said no
The near two-week standoff began after the Parades Commission permitted an Orange Order parade to complete its traditional route from Drumcree Church down the Garvaghy Road for the first time in almost 30 years. The parade never went ahead. Significant numbers of protesters blocked the route, and Secretary of State Sir Chris Bryant ultimately overturned the commission's decision.
Chief Constable Jon Boutcher had earlier warned there would be consequences for anyone found to have broken the law. For the residents of the Garvaghy Road, the memory of what this dispute once was remains raw.
For nearly three decades the Garvaghy Road residents have said no to a sectarian march being forced past their homes, 4,000 residents signed a petition against it. And when a community asks for support, that's exactly what an elected representative should turn up.
Carroll did not mince his words about the wider tradition of peaceful defiance.
Peaceful protest is a fundamental right. Every gain working class people have made, from the suffragettes to civil rights to the right to strike, was done by people willing to defy unjust laws.
He pointed to the cost of it all: millions of pounds spent policing Drumcree over the years, hours spent interviewing him, and now more resources going toward pursuing peaceful protesters. Twenty-one people died in the violence that once surrounded this parade, and Carroll said he is proud to stand with a community that refuses to return to those days.
Solicitor: the very idea of charges is absurd
Jack Murphy of Phoenix Law, Carroll's solicitor, said the west Belfast MLA attended the interview voluntarily and denies any criminal offending.
He's proudly standing with the people of the Garvaghy Road and he continues to do so, and in our contention, that proposition that standing with those people is a criminal offence is quite simply absurd.
Murphy said police told the legal team their investigation is ongoing but could not say what happens next. In his words, it is quite clear that the PSNI are still confused in relation to their own investigation. Any charges would be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.
Two standards, one question
There is an uncomfortable symmetry in this week's news. Six loyalist processions proceeded without notification and will be investigated. Elected representatives who stood on a residents' road, after a notice of protest was lodged and cited in open court, have received police letters and interviews lasting an hour and a half. Carroll said he makes no apology for standing with the Garvaghy Road residents and would do it again in a heartbeat.
The PSNI insists it will protect the rights of everyone. For many nationalist communities, that promise will be measured against how these two very different sets of events are handled in the weeks ahead.
FAQ
How many unnotified processions is the PSNI investigating?
Six, according to a PSNI statement reported by RTE.ie on 16 October 2026, in the Shankill Road area, Dunloy, Tennent Street in north Belfast, Bangor, the Waterside area of Derry and Newtownabbey.
Why was Gerry Carroll interviewed by police?
The People Before Profit MLA was interviewed under caution about alleged criminal offences linked to the Garvaghy Road protests during the Drumcree dispute in Portadown earlier in October 2026. He denies any wrongdoing and says he was exercising his right to peaceful assembly.
Did the Drumcree Orange Order parade go ahead?
No. The Parades Commission had allowed the parade to complete its route down the Garvaghy Road for the first time in almost 30 years, but protesters blocked the road and Secretary of State Sir Chris Bryant overturned the decision.