There was a visible police presence inside Derry Courthouse yesterday as numerous men appeared charged with taking part in an illegal Easter Monday parade.
All of the defendants entered Derry Magistrate’s Court to be dealt with together.
They are each charged with taking part in an unnotified public procession in the Central Drive area of Creggan on April 2 of this year.
The eight defendants were Joseph Barr, 29, of Sackville Court, Gearoid Peter Cavanagh, 29, of Northland Road, William Martin McDonnell, 31, of Harvey Street, Paul McIntyre, 50, of Ballymagowan Park, Patrick Mellon, 26, of John Field Place, John Nash, 64, of Fergleen Park, Gary Hayden, 45, of Tyrconnell Street and Thomas Ashe Mellon, 42, of Rathmore Road.
The men, who were represented by different legal firms, only nodded to confirm their names but did not acknowledge the charge put to them.
A defence solicitor confirmed that all matters would be contested and a Public Prosecutor informed the court that a ‘full file was not in yet’.
The cases were adjourned until May 30 when a date is expected to be fixed for a contest. All defendants have been excused on that date.
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