Bonfire topped with migrant boat effigy set alight as police probe hate crime

It also featured signs reading “stop the boats”, “veterans before refugees” and “stop illegal immigration”.

An Irish tricolour flag was placed on top, which is among about 300 which will be burned across Thursday and Friday night in the region as part of the Orange Order celebrations.

Thousands of people attend parades on the Twelfth every year to mark the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 when the Protestant King William of Orange defeated the Catholic King James.

Police in Northern Ireland said they had received a number of reports about the bonfire prior to it being lit.

“Police are investigating this hate incident. Police are here to help those who are or who feel vulnerable, to keep people safe,” the force said.

“We do this by working with local communities, partners, elected representatives and other stakeholders to deliver local solutions to local problems, building confidence in policing and supporting a safe environment for people to live, work, visit and invest in Northern Ireland, but we can only do so within the legislative framework that exists.”

The display was criticised by political representatives and Church leaders.

Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, John McDowell, described it as “racist, threatening and offensive”.

Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland director, meanwhile, said the bonfire is a “vile, dehumanising act that fuels hatred and racism”.

Malachy Quinn, an SDLP councillor, described the display as “threatening”.

“Absolutely disgusted by the racist, threatening display on the Moygashel bonfire, Councillor Quinn said.

“This isn’t culture. It’s hate, plain and simple. Dungannon is a proud, multicultural town. No one should feel unsafe in their own home. Silence is not an option.”

Alliance Councillor Eddie Roofe called for the effigy to be removed “immediately”.

Councillor Roofe stated: “It is nothing but a blatant act of racism and hatred, and cannot be excused as a celebration of culture.

“Those responsible only seek to incite fear and spread far-right beliefs and do not represent the community as a whole.

“Every year, we see incidents of hate and intimidation associated with bonfires, and this behaviour is entirely unacceptable.”

Prominent loyalist activist, Jamie Bryson, meanwhile defended the display on X.

“Every year Moygashel bonfire combines artistic protest with their cultural celebration, he wrote.

“Their yearly art has itself become a tradition. This year, the focus is on the scandal of mass illegal immigration.”

It is however, not the first time the Moygashel bonfire has featured a contentious display.

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

Concerns have meanwhile been raised over a bonfire in Belfast, which is on a site containing asbestos and is close to an electricity substation responsible for powering two hospitals.

Belfast City Council had asked the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to assist contractors in dismantling the pyre due to safety concerns.

But the PSNI confirmed on Thursday that the risk of the bonfire was deemed “lower and more manageable” than intervention.

The Northern Ireland Environment Agency said that during an inspection of the bonfire site, fragments of suspected asbestos were found at five locations.

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

Mitigating measures, including the placing of plastic sheeting over the asbestos pile, fire retardant sheers, signage and double fencing, have been put in place.

While the landowner of the site is due to arrange the removal of all of the asbestos from the site next week, Agriculture and Environment Minister Andrew Muir has urged people to “exercise caution and common sense in the coming days”.