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PSNI: Crowds 'cheered' as police officers fell injured in violent clashes over Belfast bonfire

Sinn Féin and SDLP politicians have raised concerns over anti-internment bonfires in recent days.

LAST UPDATE | 8 Aug 2019

Bonfire in north Belfast The scene of the bonfire in the New Lodge area of Belfast Michael McHugh Michael McHugh

THE PSNI HAVE left the scene of a bonfire in Belfast after clashes over the removal of the bonfire material, with assistant chief constable Alan Todd telling reporters that crowds “cheered” as officers fell to the ground injured today.

The bonfire, which was to be lit to mark the anniversary of the introduction of internment, is located at Queens Parade in the New Lodge area, at a site managed by the Department of Infrastructure.

Internment was a policy introduced in 1971 which saw Irish republicans arrested and imprisoned without trial.

In a statement this evening, the PSNI’s Todd said: “At 5am this morning, Thursday 8 August, we began a significant, dynamic policing operation in the New Lodge area of north Belfast to support contractors who had been tasked to remove a bonfire from the road.

During the operation a large crowd gathered and police officers were attacked, resulting in three police officers being injured.

Todd said that having met with the partner agencies and the contractor this afternoon, a decision was made to leave the scene “due to the significant risk to public safety and in particular, innocent bystanders”. 

Bonfire in north Belfast Police are attacked by youths at the site of a proposed bonfire in north Belfast PA Images PA Images

Speaking to reporters, Todd added: “We’ve had three officers injured today by mostly attacks carried out by young people. It’s clear to me that the young people are being orchestrated in the background by older heads, probably related to violent dissident republican groupings. 

There are a significant number of people who cheered when officers fell to the ground having been attacked. That’s reprehensible, and people need to reflect on that. 

The PSNI said that three officer were injured in the clashes as fireworks, bottles, wood and stones were thrown at them. 

Six petrol bombs were recovered by police and a 13-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of riotous and disorderly behaviour.

Bonfire in north Belfast Police at the scene of the bonfire today Niall Carson Niall Carson

Sinn Féin and SDLP politicians have raised concerns over the bonfire in recent days.

SDLP councillor Paul McCusker called for the bonfire’s removal on Wednesday. The BBC reported that his comments came after threatening graffiti had appeared on the wall of a nearby family centre.

“There’s serious concerns about the level of threat here, there’s serious concerns about the level of criminality,” McCusker told BBC Radio Ulster’s Stephen Nolan Show.

Sinn Féin MLA Carál Ní Chuilín tweeted that “this bonfire isn’t wanted”. 

“I’m not long back after visiting residents and it’s clear the local families of those involved need to sit with the residents who are afraid and intimidated,” she said.

Bonfire in north Belfast Police are at the scene of the bonfire after contractors have been ordered to remove it Niall Carson Niall Carson

In a statement, the Department of Infrastructure said: “The Department is working with statutory partners and supported by the PSNI to remove the bonfire from the road in New Lodge. This work is ongoing and the Department asks for the community’s patience and respect.” 

Eleventh Night

This bonfire comes less than a month after a number of petrol bombs were thrown at police during Eleventh Night celebrations in Belfast on 11 July. 

The officers came under attack while on patrol in the Springfield Road area near Lanark Way. 

Two teenagers were subsequently arrested. 

Bonfires are lit in some loyalist areas on 11 July, the night before the Battle of the Boyne is commemorated by Orange Order parades across Northern Ireland.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) saw a 40% decrease in the number of bonfires incidents attended to over the Eleventh night this year. 

However, there was significant tension leading up to the night after as a result of a bonfire at Avoniel. 

The Avoniel site first attracted controversy when staff closed the leisure centre after reportedly being threatened and intimidated by bonfire organisers.

Bonfire organisers had said they could “guarantee no violence” if and when contractors arrived to remove the material, the BBC reported at the time.

With reporting from Sean Murray

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    Mute Paul Whitehead
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    Oct 27th 2021, 7:27 AM

    Great news for the children of the world. Get this miracle vaccine and help stop the spread of covid.

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    Mute Roy Dowling
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    Oct 27th 2021, 7:31 AM

    @Paul Whitehead: miracle vaccine??. Rushed vaccine that my kid won’t be getting. Not enough is known about long term effects 10 year so down the line.

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    Mute Conor Brady
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    Oct 27th 2021, 7:33 AM

    @Paul Whitehead: It took Covid two years in the US to kill as many children as the flu did there in 2018 alone (references available on request). Covid killed 26 kids in the Uk in 2020. 19 of those kids were desperately ill beforehand. 7 were healthy. In a nation of 14mil kids, that is not a risk to base any sort of policy on. To suggest children are at risk any more than normal is completely misleading, fear-inducing nonsense. With zero long term safety data to go by, can we not just leave the vaccines for the at-risk??? Or, dare to dream, the at-risk who are yet to be vaccinated in poor countries who we know are dying for want of them?

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    Mute Mac Muinteoir
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    Oct 27th 2021, 7:40 AM

    @Conor Brady: you can if you want.

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    Mute Kevin Thompson
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    Oct 27th 2021, 7:43 AM

    @Conor Brady: how many kids were in hospital from Covid?

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    Mute Lee King Buckett
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    Oct 27th 2021, 7:55 AM

    @Roy Dowling: if nobody took a vaccine that didn’t have a 10 year track record then we would still be dying of whooping cough, polio and a host of other things.

    There come times in our history where something occurs which is sufficiently serious to warrant a trust in scientific and medical progress for the good of humanity as a whole.

    Large corporations and governments don’t have anything to gain from killing off our kiddies – they kind of need them if they are to continue to stay in business.

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    Mute Francis Mc Carthy
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    Oct 27th 2021, 8:16 AM

    @Roy Dowling: They say that the worst side effects will happen 70yrs or so down the line. Yikes!

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    Mute Francis Mc Carthy
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    Oct 27th 2021, 8:19 AM

    @Conor Brady: one of the reasons that they will be vaccinating young children will be because of anti-vaxxers like you @@ But of course, you are too blind to see that.

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    Mute barry moore
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    Oct 27th 2021, 8:22 AM

    @Francis Mc Carthy: who is they the anti vaxers with no training other than how to YouTube

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    Mute Sarah Lou
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    Oct 27th 2021, 8:33 AM

    @Francis Mc Carthy: I am annoyed at engaging but what about his post says he is antivax. I am fully vaccinated, even had the flu vaccine myself after the covid vaccine and have literally had all vaccines available to me in my lifetime…. As have my children. But I agree with Conor here. One of those studies was 2 months the other was 2.5 WEEKS for the 5-11 year group. The documented death rate in the age group is something like 0.0005% and that is assuming every case of covid in that age group is documented. Presently for adults the research is showing a 4.5 month life span of efficicenty for the adult vaccine (again absolutely i will get the booster) but are we doing to repeatedly vaccinate 5 to 11 year olds for an illness that is currently not high risk to them? Would vaccinating countries with less than 10% of their adult population vaccinated who are literally dying waiting for it not be the best thing for the world?? I mean I just don’t understand this oh anti vax anti vax mantra. I personally would call conors post the most educated one here.

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    Mute John
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    Oct 27th 2021, 8:44 AM

    @Roy Dowling: That makes 2 of us, my daughter won’t be getting it.

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    Mute Francis Mc Carthy
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    Oct 27th 2021, 8:56 AM

    @Sarah Lou: hmmm, first of all, Conor is anti-vax. Also, just because you don’t see the virus as a danger to children, they are transmitting it back into their and other people households. Hope that helps.

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    Mute Sarah Lou
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    Oct 27th 2021, 9:34 AM

    @Francis Mc Carthy: compelling and all as the argument was…. No it doesn’t help at all. They are bringing home to their vaccinated households. There are of course kids in every avenue that will be more vulnerable and should consider vaccination but your argument that kids should be mass vaccinated to protect already vaccinated adults does not stack up. Equally…. I hope that helps.

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    Mute Tom Doyle
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    Oct 27th 2021, 1:05 PM

    @Sarah Lou: I will take it that you agree that the data has proven that it is the over 60′s & the immunocompromised that are at most risk from covid-19 and that the vaccines went and gave them protection from the covid-19 and from the Alpha variant yes? Has those odds risen since highly contagious Delta variant came to our shores ? The fact of the matter is that the less chance of the delta variant mutating among the non vaccinated ( children included) then the less chance of vaccine evading variants. Hope that helps you even more.

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    Mute David Van-Standen
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    Oct 27th 2021, 1:28 PM

    @Paul Whitehead: This “miracle vaccine” was originally created in 2018 by the Pfizer BioNtech collaboration as flu vaccine, the reason was to produce a cheaper, more profitable alternative.

    “Innovative vaccine approaches are urgently needed to provide improved protection against seasonal flu, and to respond rapidly and in quantity to pandemic influenza threats. mRNA vaccines offer a novel approach to code for any protein or multiple proteins, and the potential to manufacture higher potency flu vaccines more rapidly and at a lower cost than contemporary flu vaccines.”

    Does that “miracle” from 2018 sound familiar?

    https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180815005735/en/BioNTech-Signs-Collaboration-Agreement-with-Pfizer-to-Develop-mRNA-based-Vaccines-for-Prevention-of-Influenza

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    Mute Sarah Lou
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    Oct 27th 2021, 1:34 PM

    @Tom Doyle: Tom do you think we live in a vacuum or a bubble?? some continents are at 10% vaccination TEN percent that is 90% unvaccinated in their adult population and you are concerned that the children, many of whom have a level of naturally acquired immunity already, are going to cause the new variant and not the largely unvaccinated continent?! where are the humans all gone. people are literally dying because they have no access to this vaccine and people on here calling out for kids to be mass vaccinated to protect adults who are vaccinated or using tenuous examples of potential situations. The facts are we have one of the most vaccinated adult population in the world, noone is appreciating how privileged we are and want to grab grab grab taking away from those who need it most. Stop seeing Ireland as the only place in the world and start thinking about the human race in general.

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    Mute Fiona Fitzgerald
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    Oct 27th 2021, 3:24 PM

    @Sarah Lou: Agree with you that it’ll be a lot better when everyone has an equal chance to be vaccinated. I’m glad to see the USA is back in COVAX for that. The world’s at 37% fully jabbed and 49% partly; which is great. I feel it’s a case of masking up before handing out PPE to others – or it defeats the purpose – and we do actively support COVAX.

    But all infectious outbreaks turn into a mostly childhood illness after several years.

    It’s always the unprotected youngest generation who catch it in the next wave.

    Delta’s contagious enough for now. Is it not best to keep on top of the spread as it mutates, not export it? Ireland really doesn’t have a great healthcare system.

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    Mute Sarah Lou
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    Oct 27th 2021, 3:35 PM

    @Fiona Fitzgerald: Ideally we would do something to fix the healthcare system which would prevent the deaths of many people, allowing us to export the vaccine to those who need it saving even more lives. I cant believe people now want to mass vaccinate the kids to protect the health system.

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    Mute Paul Whitehead
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    Oct 27th 2021, 7:06 PM

    @Conor Brady: The vaccine is safe. Close on 7 billion doses administered.. The 4.5M deaths we have seen worldwide are from covid and not vaccines.

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    Mute Paul Whitehead
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    Oct 27th 2021, 7:07 PM

    @David Van-Standen: It has saved millions of lives – therefore it is a miracle vaccine.

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    Mute Tom Doyle
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    Oct 28th 2021, 7:28 AM

    @Sarah Lou: nice try, but no puff of the cigar for you. We’re talking about vaccinating a small % of the Irish population to help get the Delta variant under control in our own country.

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