Drumcree: Peace and reconciliation aren't the same

Peace and reconciliation are not the same thing, and Northern Ireland is being reminded of the difference at Drumcree.

I still remember the Drumcree conflict in 1996. A dispute over an Orange Order march had brought much of Northern Ireland grinding to a halt. Those in the Protestant Orange Order attempted to follow their traditional route, the Garvaghy Road, ahead of the 12 July parade but the nationalist residents there protested - triggering widespread violence.

I was a student home for the summer. Roads were closed, lorries were stopped, and our family's food distribution business wasn't sure it was safe to deliver. Some drivers were understandably reluctant, so each morning my dad sent me out in the first lorry to show it could be done.