News

Allison Morris: Loyalist stand offs no longer enjoy the same degree of political cover

Loyalist Jamie Bryson pictured at a protest at Avoneil leisure centre. Picture by Arthur Allison.
Loyalist Jamie Bryson pictured at a protest at Avoneil leisure centre. Picture by Arthur Allison. Loyalist Jamie Bryson pictured at a protest at Avoneil leisure centre. Picture by Arthur Allison.

The actions by Belfast City Council in forcibly removing tyres from a bonfire at the weekend should not have come as a surprise.

For the last three years the council has been proactive in tackling troublesome bonfires through litigation.

Under pressure from rate payers of the city they have moved from a court injunction in 2017, to a high court action forcing material to be moved from two sites in east Belfast in 2018 to further forced removal of material this year - an annual narrowing of the road for loyalists.

While it's easy to be negative the situation has improved dramatically over the last number of years, there are now only a fraction of fires that still cause problems.

The majority of communities have come to realise that cultural expression need not involve a yearly stand off with authorities and engage in positive expressions of culture.

Fires such as the one in Portadown which threatens to force families to flee their home because of its dangerous proximity, will always make headlines, with tolerance for such towering infernos in short supply.

In east Belfast, generally considered the most hard line of loyalist communities, the targetting of bonfires by any agency is generally met with resistance.

So that loyalists were willing to voluntarily remove tyres from one bonfire and relocate another to a safer location should be welcomed as progress.

Read More

  • Loyalists vow to remain at Avoniel bonfire site in standoff with council
  • Talks continue about problem Portadown bonfire but 'time running out'
  • Organisers of The Open in Portrush warn of possible bonfire 'disorder'

But we also need to be realistic, the time for debating and identifying safe sites to locate bonfires is not days before they are due to be lit.

That this annual controversy is still emerging in the days before the eleventh night is a failure on the part of all the agencies funded generously to deal with this situation.

And if neglected there is always the danger of a towering structure near the homes of vulnerable residents and a stand off in the car park of leisure centre.

While there are those who will continue to resist change they no longer appear to enjoy the same political cover they would have had during previous stand-offs, such as the 2012 flag protests.

Read More

  • Calls for calm as loyalist bonfire protest forces Avoniel Leisure Centre to close
  • Loyalist bonfires using 'tractor tyres' says Fire Service Belfast inspection reports
  • Bonfires 'infringe several areas of law', says academic study

The rate payers money used to fund the hiring of contractors to remove material and the disposal of thousands of tyres would be better invested in sporting and youth facilities for the young people of east Belfast, give them hope and focus and ensure that a once a year fire is not the high point of their year.

Until then the alternative is expensive intervention which costs not just financially but in term of damaged relations with already marginalised communities.