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BONFIRES HAVE BEEN lit in loyalist areas across Northern Ireland as the annual Twelfth of July tradition took place amid coronavirus restrictions.
While there were fewer fires than usual, significant crowds did gather at several of the bonfires that went ahead.
In north Belfast, there was a second night of sporadic disorder close to a community interface as police came under attack from petrol bombers in the nationalist New Lodge close to a bonfire in the loyalist Tiger’s Bay area.
Ahead of the Eleventh Night fires, politicians and community leaders had urged people to avoid mass gatherings and stick to Covid-19 regulations that limit outdoor gatherings to no more than 30 people.
Crowds well in excess of 30 were witnessed at a number of fires that were lit late last night.
The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said crews responded to 24 bonfire related incidents between 6pm last night and 1am today – a 29.5% decrease compared to 2019.
The spokesman added that no attacks on personnel or appliances were reported.
Bonfires are torched in loyalist communities across the region every 11 July to usher in the main date in the Protestant loyal order parading season, the Twelfth of July.
The bonfires mark a loyalist tradition to remember the anniversary of the Protestant King William’s victory over the Catholic King James at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
While the majority pass off without incident, some are the source of community tension, with authorities previously having intervened to remove towering pyres on health and safety grounds.
Many of the fires were cancelled during the Covid-19 lockdown, with a number of sites cleared of wood by the local authorities.
However, the recent easing of restrictions in Northern Ireland led to some reversing the decision to cancel.
Some bonfire builders also appear to have been motivated amid loyalist anger over a controversy that saw hundreds of republicans acting in alleged variance with the regulations to gather in west Belfast last month for the funeral of IRA veteran Bobby Storey.
The Orange Order has cancelled its plans for traditional mass Twelfth of July parades and demonstrations, which were scheduled to take place tomorrow, 13 July due to the fact the Twelfth falls on a Sunday.
Some loyalist bands are planning to take part in localised events tomorrow, urging people to stay in their homes while they parade past.
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Where’s Arlene to condemn these mass gatherings and lack of social Distancing?
@Rab C Nesbitt: Making money off some scheme….
@Rab C Nesbitt: cash for ash
@Rab C Nesbitt: they aren’t politicians attending. Maybe that’s why! Deflect deflect deflect.
@Joe: So ordinary people can’t spread the virus? Only politicians?
@Rab C Nesbitt: Arlene just condemned the bonfires and violence last night on UTV, you must be gutted.
@Rab C Nesbitt: signing the book of condolence for Big Jack!
@Paddy O Rourke: Or rather cash for sash!
@Rab C Nesbitt: same place as Michelle O’Neill condemning mass gatherings at funerals I would have guessed, but did I see a contributor has said Arlene has already condemned them?
# Irish lives matter
@WiseUp: # orange lives matter
@Dave Bolger: The orange order have been represented in the Irish flag, it’s the orange order that fuel the hatred towards nationalism with these ridiculous marches. I’ve no issue with loyalists, if they want to celebrate how the queen and London ignore them and would love to be rid of them that’s their prerogative.
@Dave Bolger: The color “Orange” brings out the numbhead in all who wear it
@WiseUp: and the white for PEACE, we’re educated enough in the Republic
@Alan Watts: Only some are I’m afraid
Ah the Orange men,, Faithful to their supreme orange leader Donald Trump perhaps..
The fleeeeeeeg. Let me fly the fleeeeg. Grown men burning tricolour. Absolute small pe5nus energy.
@Maalouf: or burning the Ivory Coast fleg.
Let them have their parades. Natural selection and all that jazz.
@danny: Sensible people will be staying at home by choice. Sure what intelligent people would disregard all medical advice?
Those Protestants up to no good as usual
@Darren: These people clearly do not understand protestantism/reformed faith values, there is has no room for hate, these nuckle draggers are far removed from any christian ethos. The 12th marches and fires are just a hate fest akin to the KKK and nothing more.
@Darren: I understand and appreciate this reference
I hope the psni are bringing in special investigators to identify the culprits, to appear balanced at least..
@l: and the media will of course play their part by stretching the bollyox out of an non story Storey.
I all fairness did people think corona virus restrictions would stop the 12th bonfires on the Shankill Road. It takes a couple of months to build these bonfires.
@Ronan Mc Namara: Grown men spending months of their lives building fires of hate, happy twelfth “Ronan”
@Ronan Mc Namara: fun fact for you…. the space you incorrectly misassigned to your fake surname was created and incorporated by Irish monks. Soooo… everytime you use a space in your written word you will henceforth think of Ireland and its contribution to your civilisation – or lack thereof.
@Hup Abù: ROFLMAS
@Hup Abù: It’s young lads of 12 or 13 usually collect the stuff for the bonfires you might know if you were ever set foot in the Belfast.
@Ronan Mc Namara: Oh I’ve been to Belfast many a time and seen these knuckle draggers in all their glory. Pathetic Grown men building bonfires to honour the nonsense I’ve already described.
I suppose you could call it kkkulture.
@Hup Abù: hero
All the shinners went to a IRA killer Funeral, they had there fun. Let the other half have there’s.
@Heisen berg1: attending a funeral is fun, Christ what planet are you currently residing? Trollsville?
@Noel Doherty: They must not teach how to spell in trollsville. He has there Instead of their. Making fun of things only works when you show intelligence.
@Heisen berg1: Simple words for a simple analysis for a simple mind
@Noel Doherty: SF made a total horses ass going to the that IRA funeral. Then trying to tell us all black was white.
@Noel Doherty: well they all got there photo on all the News, so it’s a good day out for them!!!
@Heisen berg1: thanks for backing up my comment
@Heisen berg1: so 2 wrongs make a right are you a total knob jockey or a bad troll
@Michael Patrick Newell: Bit of Column A and a bit of Column B
@Olivia Smith: Your comment is only about Grammer. Nothing to say to the guy above talking about having fun at a funeral. Nothing wrong with that comment in your small little mind?
@Heisen berg1: Just keep the spread down to less than thirty potential vectors at a time, that’s all people are asking.
Fun fact: Watched a good doc on the beeb last night, about the ‘glorious Revolution’, king James and William & Mary… anyhoo it turns out that twelfth July is actually the anniversary of the battle of Aughrim, not the battle of the Boyne… Aughrim was the final defeat of the jacobites. Something to do a changing/ aligning of calendars that got it all thrown out…
@cazzzzzzzzzRubbish Aughrim was not the final defeat of the jacobites……..they ran off to Limerick City where they could not be defeated. The 12th is to celebrate King Willy not Aughrim,
@Ronan Mc Namara: Enjoy your day Ronan, try not let the hate, bitterness, ignorance and stup!dity ruin it
@Ronan Mc Namara: you’ve right, not final, but decisive, the fled from Aughrim to Limk. But yep, 12th July is when Battle of Aughrim took place, not battle of the Boyne… Willy wasn’t at Aughrim.
@Hup Abù: póg mo thóin
@cazzzzzzzzz: Ginkle and Saint Ruth….Jacobites were wining until the French General got his head blown off with a cannon ball, he is buried in the Abbey in Loughrea. To this day most of the land is owned by protestant farmers in Aughrim who are well integrated and respected in the community.
@Ronan Mc Namara: what’s your point? Like I said fun fact, battle of Aughrim is the 12th of July, not battle of the Boyne, like many think. .i.e they are celebrating it on the wrong date. What’s with the grumpyness?
@cazzzzzzzzz: Do you not think they were celebrating the Boyne first 1690… Aughrim = 1691? or are you really that silly?
@Ronan Mc Namara: Yeah, that’s correct. But they only started celebrating it in the 18th century, and clearly got it wrong. The historian in the previously mentioned documentary, instead of calling everyone names or silly, found that originally they celebrated the anniversary of the battle of Aughrim, but when the calendar change thingamejig happened, ir clearly got a bit confused. You ok hun?
@cazzzzzzzzz: I suppose chronology dosent matter when you have Irish lads marching around playing irish music badly, while ligting fires and pretending to be British as they simultaneously honour a dutch king on a white horse funded by the Pope in Rome to fight against other British men – comment doesnt make sense – yep
@Ronan Mc Namara: I’m a proud republican and even I knew that about the 12th July being the wrong date for the battle of the boyne. Scarlett for ye Ronan, call yourself a loyalist! Hang your head in shame and flagellate yourself with a tricolour :-)
@cazzzzzzzzz: The 12th is when the sun is at it’s strongest in the year. Traditionally homage was payed to a horse king, bonfires etc. It has been proven a shot was never fired at the battle of the Boyne. Willam stole this tradition for his own use thats what pissed of the Irish………basically bonfires have always been in Irish culture on the 12th you gom.
@Johnny 5: Mc Namara is a good loyalist ya clown.
@Ronan Mc Namara: hahaha, how was the soup. I suppose Ronan is too.
@Ronan Mc Namara: Sure, if you threw a dart at a calendar you’d probably land on one of Ireland’s many traditional bonfire nights: May Eve, Bealtaine, St Johns eve, Samhain… what’s your point? 12th July still ain’t the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne, it’s the anniversary of the Battle of Aughrim. Ronan your contribution to this thread reminds me of some classic Harry Enfield ‘Old Git’ sketches… good times. :)
Sìos an twelfth – Irish and Ivory Coast lives matter
We won’t need to worry about these orange mutants spreading corona, it’s not a strong enough disease to infect bigotry diseased loons like the orange order with their fleeeeeegs WATP
Irishmen(and women) dressed like Englishmen to honour a Dutchman who beat his father in law…
@Jason Maguire: Don’t forget there’s a homophobic element to the Orange Order. Ironically they honour a man who was a known homosexual.
Annual bigotryfest, cavemen
Only fools & fires
@Looney Tunes: haha
@Looney Tunes: wheres trigger
What harm are they doing.? Let them have their bonfire night, it’s part of the Irish culture. Groups of disparate individuals and groups gathering to rant and rave about the evils of Irish republicans and Irish unity. Sure isn’t that what we do in the Dáil, RTE, and the Independent every day of the year. Let them have their own few days.
King Billy’s Bonfire Brigade
The Orange Order, what happens when the Oompa Loompa’s go too far down the 4chan rabbit hole
They all got there photo on the news, and 11 other family’s didn’t get to say goodbye to there loved ones on the day because of social distancing. A result for the shinners.
@Heisen berg1: hope them shinners are paying you rent lad
@Heisen berg1: Staw clutching 9/10. Well done.
@Heisen berg1: did you get probed by alien shinners or something
They’re a mad lot anyway!
The Doors , come on baby light my fire.
Sure King Willy loved de sausage & his triple K followers choose not to take this on board.lol
“NO SUSPENDERS”
Those pesky proddies again
Surely Catholics were the true Loyalists as supported legitimate King James 11
Pure sectarian hatred, who will be investigated or prosecuted over this? yet they are prosecuting peaceful BLM protestors for gathering in Writer’s square. Northern Ireland is still an apartheid state, and very very badly run. I live here so I see it every day, 3 x the corona death rate of Ireland amongst other things (per capita)…
Surely Catholics were the true Loyalists as supported legitimate King James 2
have your say