A hate crime investigation has been launched after Northern Irish loyalists lit a bonfire that was topped with a mock migrant dinghy boat.
Below the model boat, which held 12 dummies wearing life jackets, a sign read “Stop the boats,” while another said “Veterans before refugees.”
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) confirmed it had received several complaints about the effigy and said it was being investigated as a hate crime.
Highlights
- Northern Irish loyalists lit a bonfire in Moygashel topped with a mock migrant dinghy and 12 dummies, prompting a hate crime investigation by the police.
- Signs on the bonfire read, “Stop the Boats” and “Veterans Before Refugees,” sparking outrage for inciting hatred and racism against migrants.
- Sinn Féin's Colm Gildernew and Amnesty International condemned the effigy as racist and vile.
- Democratic Unionist Party stated provocative effigies aren't part of traditional July 11 bonfires, emphasizing a call for peaceful cultural celebrations.
- Loyalist activist Jamie Bryson defended the display as ‘cultural expression’ and protest art, while tensions over immigration fuel wider unrest in Northern Ireland.
Police in Northern Ireland are investigating a bonfire effigy as a hate incident
Image credits: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
The bonfire was erected in the village of Moygashel, County Tyrone, and was lit ablaze on Thursday evening local time, despite calls for it to be removed due to the effigy.
The organizers also placed an Irish tricolor flag on top of the bonfire.
“Police are investigating this hate incident,” a PSNI statement said, as reported by The Telegraph. “Police are here to help those who are or who feel vulnerable, to keep people safe.
Image credits: Niall Carson/PA Images via Getty Images
“We do this by working with local communities, partners, elected representatives and other stakeholders to deliver local solutions to local problems, building confidence in policing and supporting a safe environment for people to live, work, visit, and invest in Northern Ireland, but we can only do so within the legislative framework that exists.”
Colm Gildernew, a Sinn Féin party member for Fermanagh & South Tyrone, slammed the display as “vile” and “disgusting.”
“It’s an incitement to hatred of those people and it’s not acceptable,” he said in an interview.
“It is totally racist and full of hatred. It is totally unacceptable, it has to be addressed and people need to speak out,” he added.
Gildernew had earlier called for the effigy to be removed from the bonfire, writing on X: “Vile, racist effigies & posters atop Moygashel bonfire must be removed immediately.
“This is not culture. This disgusting act, fuelled by sickening racist attitudes, is a clear incitement to hatred. All political leaders must step up, condemn it outright & demand its removal now.”
It comes as the Orange Order celebrates the 12th of July by lighting bonfires and marching in parades
Image credits: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
Amnesty International Northern Ireland also described it as a “vile, dehumanizing display of hatred.”
Northern Ireland’s biggest unionist party, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), said it did not support placing provocative effigies or symbols on bonfires, according to The Telegraph.
A party spokesperson said doing so was “not part of the cultural tradition.”
“The July 11 bonfires are a historic and cultural tradition stretching back to the fires lit to welcome the arrival of King William III ... These should be positive cultural celebrations and we support those within our community that wish to celebrate their culture by continuing with that tradition in a peaceful, positive and safe way,” they added.
Jamie Bryson, a prominent loyalist activist, defended the effigy and said several people commenting that the display was “vile” had defended Kneecap—an Irish language rap group.
“It can’t be cultural expressions and art whenever it is nationalist but when it is unionists or loyalists it is treated a different way,” he told UTE News.
In a post on X, he described it as “cultural expression.”
“Every year Moygashel bonfire combines artistic protest with their cultural celebration,” he said.
“Their yearly art has itself become a tradition. This year the focus is on the scandal of mass illegal immigration.”
Last year, a fake police car was set ablaze on the Moygashel bonfire.
Image credits: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
It comes as around 300 bonfires across Northern Ireland were expected to be lit on July 10 and 11, ahead of a large Orange Order parade on July 12.
The celebrations commemorate the victory of William of Orange, a Protestant, over the Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
The Twelfth, as the day is commonly known, is a significant date in the Protestant loyalist calendar in Northern Ireland.
It is marked by parades, bonfires, and displays of Unionist identity, mainly organized by the Orange Order.
While supporters view it as a celebration of cultural heritage and historical victory, the events are also a source of significant tension in some areas.
Tensions surrounding immigration have also intensified, with recent riots in Northern Ireland triggered by Romanian-speaking teenagers being charged with the attempted sexual assault of a teenage girl in Ballymena, County Antrim.
Protesters, some linked to far-right groups, clashed with police and set fire to vehicles and buildings as they demanded an end to the housing of asylum seekers in local communities.