Placing an Irish flag and an image of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on a loyalist bonfire in County Tyrone has been criticized as “childish” and “not acceptable”, reports RTE.
The imposing Moygashel pyre attracted internet attention after a boat was placed above it.
An Irish tricolor and Republican flag and a picture of Mr Varadkar were added to the boat last night.
On the side of the boat hung a banner that read “Good Friday Agreement? That ship has sailed” and a fictitious copy of the 1998 agreement on which the words ‘null and void’ were printed, reports RTE.
DUP MP Carla Lockhart told the BBC’s Sunday Politics programme: “I want to see a society where our culture is respected, our identity is respected, and I think it is no big thing to ask that the Garvaghy Road Residents Association enter in to some form of mediation. Unfortunately for many, many years their intransigence has actually been rewarded by the Parades Commission. We can’t move on if there is no respect or tolerance for a ten-minute walk down a route which has changed enormously over the last 25 years.”
The title “No Irish Sea Border Bonfire” refers to the opposition by union and loyalist communities to post-Brexit trade deals. The bonfire was lit around 11pm after a parade and speech by loyalist activist Jamie Bryson.
Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie tweeted in response: “This is not acceptable, it is childish and promotes hate. Again the many are let down by a few,” reports RTE.
Most of the hundreds of bonfires lit in Loyalist neighborhoods in Northern Ireland pass without incident, but some continue to cause controversy.
In recent years, nationalist and cross-sectarian politicians have complained that their pictures have been placed in the fires.
It’s the busiest date for the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, which usually handles hundreds of calls related to the giant pyres, reports RTE.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.