Eleventh night bonfires have been lit across Northern Ireland, including one in Belfast containing asbestos, despite prior warnings.
Controversially, effigies of the Irish rap group Kneecap were placed atop a bonfire in south Belfast. There has also been widespread condemnation regarding the placement of Irish flags and sectarian slogans on other pyres situated in loyalist neighbourhoods.
Separately, the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service fought a gorse fire in the Belfast Hills, off the Ballyutoag Road.
The bonfire at Meridi Street, off the Donegall Road in south Belfast, had faced warnings, political disputes, and legal challenges in the days leading up to its lighting.
Earlier on Friday, Stormont Environment Minister Andrew Muir publicly urged that the Meridi Street bonfire, located on a site contaminated with asbestos and near an electricity sub-station powering two major hospitals, not be lit.
Despite these appeals, it was lit as scheduled late on Friday, concurrent with hundreds of other bonfires being ignited as part of the July 11 tradition preceding the Orange Order’s July 12 parades on Saturday.
A separate bonfire near Roden Street also featured effigies of Kneecap, along with a sign written in Irish.
A bonfire on Eastvale Avenue in Dungannon, Co Tyrone, displayed a poster of the group with the phrase “Kill Your Local Kneecap,” seemingly a response to a 2023 clip appearing to show a band member stating: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.”
Further criticism was leveled against the placement of Irish flags and sectarian slogans on several bonfires, including one in the Highfield area of west Belfast.
A small number of bonfires were lit on Thursday night, including the controversial pyre in Moygashel, Co Tyrone, which drew widespread condemnation from political figures and church leaders for being topped with an effigy of migrants in a boat.
In a statement released prior to its lighting, the PSNI affirmed an ongoing investigation into a hate incident concerning that bonfire.
The boat atop the Moygashel bonfire contained over a dozen life-sized mannequins wearing life jackets.
Below the boat were several placards, with messages including “Stop the boats” and “Veterans before refugees”.
