Bonfires in loyalist areas ahead of 12 July parades

Hundreds of bonfires are being lit across Northern Ireland.

The pyres, ranging from towering structures to beacons, are at an estimated 300 locations.

While some were set on fire yesterday, the majority of them will be lit tonight.

In Co Tyrone, a mock police car was burned on the top of a bonfire near Dungannon last night.

Hundreds of pallets were placed in a cylindrical tower to create the structure in a yard in Moygashel.

A car made up to look like a PSNI vehicle was placed on top of the fire prior to it being set alight.

An Irish tricolour flag and a banner reading “Saoirse don Phalaistín”, meaning Freedom for Palestine, were also placed on the pyre.

Hundreds of people gathered to watch as the unstable structure quickly toppled over into trees.

It is not the first time that a bonfire in the area has attracted significant attention.

Last year, a boat was placed on top of the pyre in Moygashel, including a picture of then-taoiseach Leo Varadkar, themed as an anti-Northern Ireland Protocol pyre.

The vessel represented unionist and loyalist communities’ opposition to post-Brexit trading arrangements across the Irish Sea.

One of the tallest fires in recent years was at Craigyhill in Larne, which reportedly reached 62m in 2022.

The bonfires are an annual tradition in loyalist neighbourhoods ahead of Orange Order parades tomorrow, 12 July.

Most pass off without incident, but several continue to be the source of controversy.

The parades commemorate victory in the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.

It saw King William of Orange defeat Catholic King James II to secure a Protestant line of succession to the British crown.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland is expecting to deploy 4,000 officers and staff – around two thirds of the force – in a public safety operation today and tomorrow.