// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Thousands of people gather in support of Drumcree Orangemen
The rally was organised by the Portadown District Lodge
Thousands of people have gathered in Portadown to show support for the Orange Order in the wake of the Drumcree dispute.
Hundreds of Orangemen paraded through the town centre, joined by bands and supporters who were not deterred by the stormy weather.
The parade comes amid continuing tensions surrounding the long-running Drumcree dispute, whereby the Orange Order has been banned from walking down the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road in the County Armagh town.
Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant banned the contentious parade on security advice after a stand-off between Orangemen and Garvaghy Road residents lasting almost two weeks.
This was the first major rally the Orange Order had held since a group of them were prevented by protesters from parading along the road in late September.
The scale of the crowd in Portadown appeared to surprise even the most optimistic of organisers.
Thousands of supporters lined the parade route and listened to the speeches
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP Carla Lockhart was there, while her party colleagues and assembly members Jonathan Buckley and Brian Kingston paraded with their lodges.
The Drumcree dispute has led to divisions within the unionist party, with Lockhart standing down as party officer on Thursday. She said the DUP had it "within its gift to remove" Michelle O'Neill as Northern Ireland's first minister.