Taoiseach calls migrant boat effigy 'unchristian' as Eleventh Night bonfires to be lit across north

LAST UPDATE | 21 hrs ago

TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN has said he is “dismayed” by the burning of an effigy of migrants on a bonfire in Co Tyrone and also warned about the threats posed to public health and safety by large bonfires more generally.

Martin said the burning of the boat full of mannequins in life jackets in Moygashel was “unchristian” and “devoid of any appreciation for human dignity”.

He said that what he finds most concerning about the bonfires, which are lit every year by loyalists in Northern Ireland ahead of their main marching day on 12 July, are the health and safety risks they pose. 

Martin referred specifically to reports that asbestos has been found on the site of a large bonfire pyre in south Belfast. The site of the fire is also close to an electricity substation that powers two nearby hospitals. 

“I think, from a public health perspective, bonfires do terrible damage,” Martin said.

“I mean, this morning, it was reported that asbestos is being found, and I find this incredible.

“That will cause lung cancer.”

Northern Ireland’s Environment Minister Andrew Muir has said the Belfast fire should not be set alight and pleaded with anyone who is set to attend the fire to “exercise caution”.

Eleventh Night bonfires are lit across Northern Ireland on ahead of the 12 July commemorations. The Eleventh Night is traditionally the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s (PSNI) second busiest and most resource-intensive day of the year

The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) said late last night that suspected asbestos had been found at five locations on the bonfire site and 20kg of material was removed.

The local council made an official request that the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) intervene and assist in dismantling the pyre.

But following a multi-agency taskforce meeting last night, the PSNI said the consensus was that the risk posed by intervention was greater than the risk posed by the fire. 

The NIAE said: “The Northern Ireland Environment Agency can confirm that fragments of suspected asbestos were found at five locations around the site.

“Approximately 20kg of suspect material was identified and was immediately removed.”

It added: “The risk assessment that NIEA has provided to partners has consistently indicated that there was a strong possibility that fragments of asbestos could be elsewhere on the site.

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“NIEA understand the landowner is due to arrange the removal of all of the asbestos from the site next week, commencing on July 16 2025, but it is important to note that removing the asbestos will be a highly specialised, complex and delicate operation that will require the site to be fully vacated.

“Indeed, the work is of such complexity that the full removal will take a number of weeks.”

The Grand Secretary of the Orange Order Rev Mervyn Gibson said people should “go and enjoy themselves” at the bonfire.

He told the BBC that a council committee vote earlier this week to remove the bonfire was a “political decision”.

He said: “I believe the council voted a couple of weeks ago for the bonfire to go ahead.

“A few days before it, then Sinn Fein and Alliance and the SDLP decide to vote against it.”

Sinn Fein MLA Pat Sheehan said “serious public safety concerns” remain over the fire.

He said: “The question remains: how can a bonfire that poses a risk to the supply of electricity to two major hospitals and is built on a site covered in asbestos be allowed to go ahead?

“Public health concerns must be paramount. What was already a high risk situation has been amplified by the recent discovery of even more toxic asbestos on site.

“There is a lack of decisive action and leadership around this issue because political unionism is failing.”

Migrant boat effigy

A bonfire in Moygashel on the outskirts of Dungannon in Co Tyrone that was topped with an effigy of refugees in a boat was set alight last night.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said earlier yesterday that they were investigating the fire as a hate incident.

An Irish tricolour flag was also placed on the bonfire, which is among about 300 which will be burned across last night and tonight, ahead of the Orange Order’s annual 12 July parades.

The Moygashel bonfire has become well known in recent years for contentious displays. 

Last year, a mock police car was burnt on the top of the bonfire and in 2023 a boat designed to represent the post-Brexit Irish Sea economic border was torched.

With reporting from David Mac Redmond and Press Association

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