A week from today tens of thousands of Orangemen and women will parade at venues all across Northern Ireland to mark the Twelfth of July celebrations.

This is part of the tradition of many — but by no means all — Protestants in the province, and in recent years it has become more of a cultural characteristic of part of one community, rather than the symbolic triumphalism which it once represented.

The key to the success of the so-called “marching season” is that it passes off with the minimum of disturbance and confrontation. In the not-so-distant past, however, the tone of events was set by the experience of Drumcree, which led to widespread trouble and inconvenience to people who had nothing to do with the Garvaghy Road stand-off.

Fortunately, yesterday’s events passed off peacefully, as they have done in more recent years, and this gives all sides the opportunity to find a solution as soon as possible. Experience has shown that if conciliatory moves are not well advanced long before

the date of the parade, there is very little chance of a last-minute solution. At the moment there are some hopeful signs. The First Minister Peter Robinson has invited representatives of the Orange Order and also the Garvaghy residents to separate talks to discuss “a possible and agreed basis” for the resolution of the issue. So far, so good, but the noises being made yesterday on the ground do not seem so optimistic. The residents’ spokesman described an Orange return parade via the Garvaghy Road as “a dead duck”.

The Orange representatives are still hopeful that a resolution can be found. So is the incoming head

of the Northern Ireland Parades Commission, Rena Shepherd, who said that there seemed to be a willingness from both sides to produce a solution “that can only be achieved by dialogue”.

Dialogue is the key to finding a lasting peace on this long and controversial issue. It is difficult to know how far the Garvaghy residents’ representatives are taking a tough public stance as a bargaining position, or whether they are themselves adopting an attitude closely akin to the traditional Orange one of “no surrender”. Peter Robinson is right to try to start an initiative which could lead to suc

cess. He has his work cut out, and if the Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness could also provide direct support, despite the political subtleties involved within his own party, it could provide a powerful step in the right direction. The Northern Ireland Executive has been working reasonably well for the benefit of both communities and both Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness have shown qualities of leadership in difficult times. Other contentious parades as at Whiterock, have become much less confrontational, and this is the only way to deal with them. It is far better to focus on dialogue behind the scenes rather than to rely on expensive security measures on the day to keep both sides apart — with sometimes limited effect.

Given all that Northern Ireland and its people have been through, it seems incredible that the Drumcree-Garvaghy problem remains unresolved. Until it is some poison will remain within the system. But it must be allowed to drain away before lasting progress — not only in the Portadown area, but throughout this province and island — can be made.