Eleventh Night Bonfires: Portrait of A Troubling Tradition
By Orla Lloyd
The Eleventh night bonfires before Orange Order parades on the 12th of July are in celebration of the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, where the Protestant King William III defeated the Catholic King James II. This was a battle which was instrumental in securing Anglican Protestantism in Ireland. The bonfires are meant to symbolise a cultural tradition and yet they have come to represent a much darker message.
Many people in this city feel afraid as hate groups are gaining more and more momentum. Among the pyre in Belfast, an Irish flag, a Palestinian flag, and message of death to Irish language group Kneecap was lit on fire. The PSNI had clear knowledge of this, and have shown a clear bias by allowing the bonfire to go ahead. By refusing to remove the bonfire, they have condoned a message of sectarianism and hatred. This is despite a formal request for the removal of the bonfire at the Donegall site from the Belfast City Council. Considering this city’s history and the amount of work that has been done to promote peace and understanding between groups of different ideologies, the priority should be to protect the message set forth by the Good Friday Agreement. Loyalists are entitled to expression of free political thought, but it is expected that they do so with mutual respect, as set out under the ‘human rights’ section of the Good Friday Agreement.
Burning an Irish Flag in Belfast or a boat with migrants in Tyrone may just be symbolic. But when the PSNI allow it to happen, credence is given to those who do wish to cause physical harm, as there will be no consequences. It is also extremely threatening to burn those symbols, a clear message that immigrants and Irish are not welcome in Ulster.
The PSNI reasons that they conducted a risk assessment and concluded that it would be more harmful to remove the pyre off of Donegall Road than to let it be. Even so, could the PSNI not have evaluated other options, considering the risk the site posed to the people of Belfast, whom they are sworn to protect? Could they not have directed the group to another, more suitable site, not just beside the city centre? A site without asbestos, a harmful fibre that, once inhaled, has been linked to causing serious diseases such as cancer? A site that doesn’t pose a risk to the power of two major hospitals in the city? The political situation in Belfast is always delicate, but risking crucial infrastructure to allow the lighting of an illegal bonfire that symbolises a lot more than just a celebration is deplorable.
The pressure put on the fire services in the name of a cultural act is significant. The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service described the 11th as “a challenging and extremely busy night”, with firefighters attending 194 operational incidents, 72 of which were bonfire-related. While fire can symbolise rebirth, it also symbolises destruction. The bonfires in Belfast have caused damage to homes in the past, and this year, the damage environmentally and what potentially could’ve been a power outage to two hospitals has been sanctioned by the PSNI.
Sectarianism has been sanctioned by the PSNI. Ultimately, the bonfire was lit in the face of great controversy and legal challenges. Everyone has the right to celebrate their culture, but it should be done safely and without risk or threat to people who oppose them. Immigrants and those of other religious ideologies deserve to feel safe in the city that is just as much their home as anyone else’s.
