Some members of the Church of Ireland select vestry at Drumcree, which met yesterday, have indicated "great disquiet" over the use of church property for political meetings during the past five days. Reliable church sources indicated that vestry members were afraid to take action "because of the volatility of the situation" and for fear of causing "resentment".
"They are between a rock and a hard place," a source said yesterday. "If they close those doors, the mob could turn on them and burn the hall and everything in sight. They are too afraid of an attack to close the doors." Meetings involving Orange Order officers at district, county and Grand Orange Lodge level, along with the DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, his party colleague, the Rev William McCrea, Mr Jeffrey Donaldson of the UUP, and Pastor Kenny McClin ton, have been held in Drumcree parish hall.
It is also believed that other politicians there this week included the DUP's Mr Peter Robinson and Mr Nigel Dodds, as well as Mr Willie Ross of the UUP.
The hall has become to all intents and purposes the headquarters of the Orange Order's standoff at Drumcree, and has been such from the beginning. At 1.25 p.m. last Sunday, Orangemen retreating from the barrier across their route to the Garvaghy Road were addressed over the public address system from the property by Mr Robert Saulters, Grand Master of the Orange Order, Mr Denis Watson, Armagh County Grand Master, and Mr Harold Gracey, district master of the Portadown lodge.
At 11.20 on Sunday night Dr Paisley arrived there for the first time to meet Orange officials. He emerged at about 1 a.m. on Monday. He returned to the hall again before leaving Drumcree at 1.20 a.m.
It was indicated to The Irish Times yesterday that some members of the Drumcree select vestry appeared to be still unaware that their parish hall was being used for political purposes.
The select vestry at Drumcree acts as trustees for the parish hall, and has approved the use by the Orange Order of an annex at the back of the hall during the current impasse. A kitchen there is used to prepare food for protesters. Toilets are also used by them and a room has been set up as a first aid station.
One of the two rooms upstairs was being used during the week by members of the Star of David accordion band, Portadown, when it rested between performances up and down the hill. The other room has been used for political meetings.
The main hall is out of bounds to the Order and "is closed until further notice", as was announced over the public address system last Sunday. However, Orangemen have been seen emerging from it a number of times during the week and it is believed that the public address system, or "Radio Orange 1690 FM" as it describes itself, is based there. The Portadown district standard, which was carried at the head of last Sunday's parade, is stored against one of its walls.
The Orange Order also uses a small building attached to the graveyard at Drumcree. It is known as "the stables" and has been used for daily prayer services. These are conducted by the chaplain of the Portadown district lodge, the Rev Duane Russell, an Independent Methodist minister (unconnected to the Methodist Church).
The Order uses two fields each side of the Church of Ireland rectory in Drumcree, as car parks.
The rector of Drumcree, the Rev John Pickering, said last night that the church graveyard is empty and "the hall is a place of refuge". He was not aware of any disquiet surrounding the Orange Order's use of the parochial hall and thought it "rather odd someone should have said that when I haven't heard it". He believed that the expression of disquiet by vestry members was "not a truthful statement", and suggested that the Church of Ireland press office should be contacted about it.
A spokeswoman at the press office said the Church of Ireland's Representative Church Body "has no jurisdiction over the hall. It belongs to the vestry who are its trustees". She also said the same applied to the lands being used as car parks by visiting Orangemen.
She said the church would be happier if its property was used for church-related events, and she paid tribute to Orange Order marshals who had kept the church itself and its graveyard clear of people all week.
