IT was often said you knew you were in a war zone if Kate Adie appeared, and in 1996 she reported from Drumcree.

The Garvaghy Road was locked down. Concrete, steel and barbed wire fences. British military and hundreds of police officers were there to force a march down.

Residents were battered off the road. This was repeated in 1997.

For days on end, the community had to live in this oppressive atmosphere.

Brian Feeney: The problem at Drumcree is the Orange Order, and has been for 200 years

Sarah Creighton: Drumcree is a f*** you to nationalism. Is this really what victory looks like for unionism?

Chinook helicopters flew constantly overhead. A peaceful sleep was impossible, everyday life was greatly restricted. Fear and anxiety was the norm.

Photographs of the infamous sectarian murderer Billy Wright strutting about the hill remains a lasting image in the minds of many.

In 1997, I watched in horror as parade participants passing the chapel jumped up and down, calling out Robert Hamill’s name and re-enacting the........

© The Irish News