Bonfires: Michelle O'Neill appeals to effigy creators to 'catch themselves on'
- Published
A effigy of Michelle O'Neill appeared on the Eastvale Avenue bonfire in Dungannon
Sinn Féin's deputy leader Michelle O'Neill has told people using effigies on bonfires to "catch themselves on".
It comes after an effigy of her image, along with Irish tricolours, were displayed on an Eleventh Night bonfire in Dungannon, County Tyrone.
She urged those responsible to "join the rest of us in building a better future".
The police have said they are treating the incident as a hate crime.
Posting on Twitter, Ms O'Neill said she was determined to be a first minister for all.
"I will represent the whole community irrespective of who you are and where you come from," she said.
A number of other politicians have also reported that their names and imagery were used at other sites.
Bonfires are lit in many unionist areas across Northern Ireland on 11 July as part of events to mark the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne.
'No bonfire is totally safe'
The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) said it attended 34 bonfire-related incidents.
The call outs happened between 18:00 BST on 11 July and 02:00 on 12 July.
NIFRS said the number of incidents attended by firefighters was one lower than in 2022, with peak activity between 22:00 and 01:00.
Suzanne Fleming from NIFRS said the majority of callouts were preventative measures, such as radial cooling on properties near bonfires.
One person was taken to hospital after falling from a bonfire on the Portaferry Road, Newtownards. It is believed the man was part of the crew lighting the bonfire.
"No bonfire is totally safe. As they get higher, there is obviously a danger," Ms Fleming said.
"Every year we hope that people do take as many precautions as they can because whether it's the building phase or lighting phase, someone could fall and hurt themselves."
An effigy above a poster bearing the name of Cllr Taylor McGrann appeared on a bonfire in Rathcoole
Sinn Féin's Taylor McGrann, a councillor in Antrim and Newtownabbey, called for unionist and community leaders to "stand up against these displays of sectarian hatred" after his name was highlighted on a bonfire in Rathcoole, north Belfast.
Police have also said they are treating this incident as a hate crime and that they had liaised with community representatives about having the material removed.
DUP MLA for North Belfast Phillip Brett said he "condemned without reservation the appearance of this sign" and called for its immediate removal.
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Alliance Party councillor Michael Long also posted an image which showed several of his election posters on a bonfire, while Social Democratic and Labour Party councillor Gary McKeown tweeted a picture of his image on a bonfire in Belfast.
On Wednesday, Orange Order grand secretary, the Reverend Mervyn Gibson, described the burning of effigies and election posters as wrong.
"Bonfires should be celebratory events and not about condemning anyone else's politics or culture," he told BBC News NI's Good Morning Ulster programme.
Earlier this week, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson had urged people not to burn flags or effigies on bonfires, describing it as "wrong and disrespectful".
On Tuesday, DUP MLA Deborah Erskine urged bonfire organisers to remove the effigy of Michelle O'Neill in Dungannon, adding that many events would be held "without burning flags, symbols or effigies".
Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie described this incident as "vile and hateful", while Alliance Party MLA Eóin Tennyson said it was "disgraceful and completely unacceptable".
Bonfires were lit in unionist areas, such as this one in Belfast, on Tuesday
Tuesday's incidents come after a picture of Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Leo Varadkar and an Irish flag were set alight in Moygashel, County Tyrone, on Saturday.
Bonfire and Twelfth of July events are held annually in Northern Ireland by many within the unionist community to celebrate the 1690 victory of the Protestant William of Orange - also known as King Billy - over his Catholic father-in-law, King James II.
The Eleventh Night bonfire tradition commemorates the preparations for the battle, when large fires were lit to welcome William of Orange to Ireland.
- Published10 July 2023
