Disclosed is a dual priority switching apparatus for making input port to output port connections on a requested basis quickly and dynamically, in a standard mode from any one of the input ports to any one of the output ports, in a multi-cast mode from any one of the input ports to a fixed number of subsets of multiple output ports simultaneously, or in a broadcast mode from any one of the input ports to all output ports simultaneously, using a new high priority approach to resolve either broadcast or multi-cast contention amongst input ports. The disclosed priority broadcast and multi-cast functions provide a more complex, yet faster and higher powered broadcast and multi-cast function. The disclosed invention permits multiple broadcasts to be queued at the individual switching apparatus which resolves the broadcast contention on a synchronous priority driven basis that permits one broadcast to follow the other at the earliest possible moment and the quickest possible speed. In addition, the present invention permits multiple multi-cast operations to occur simultaneously within in the network. This is becoming an increasingly important function for future massively parallel processors consisting of many nodes that can be subdivided into many tasks. The multi-cast function permits subsets of nodes assigned to the same tasks to communicate amongst themselves without involving other nodes that are not in its own subset. The present invention provides a network capable of sustaining many multi-casts simultaneously, thus, providing a very powerful tool for future parallel applications. In accordance with our inventions, we provide hardware circuitry for the detection and correction of deadlock conditions in the multi-stage network. Deadlock conditions are not expected to be usual conditions in the network, but there is a possibility of their occurrence resulting from multiple simultaneous broadcasts or multi-casts colliding within the network in a manner which is not resolvable. The hardware circuitry detects all the different types of deadlock conditions automatically and issues correction indications to the network paths involved. The network deadlock is thereby eliminated, and the two broadcasts or multi-casts involved continue their operation in a rearranged sequence that will not cause deadlock.