Burning bonfires to mark July 12th celebrations in Northern Ireland should “not be to the detriment of other people’s culture”, according to the grand secretary of the Orange Order.
Mervyn Gibson was reacting to the burning of an Irish flag and picture of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on top of a pyre in Moygashel, Co Tyrone on Saturday evening, which he said was “wrong”.
The senior Orangeman and Presbyterian minister called for more education on the issue.
Acknowledging the reduced prevalence of effigies and sectarian flag burning in recent years, he added there was “still a lot of work to be done”.
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The incident in Moygashel, close to Dungannon, is being treated as a hate crime by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).
Speaking to The Irish Times, Mr Gibson supported comments made by Mr Varadkar who said he did not believe the burning of his picture was reflective of the majority of unionists in the North.
“I’ve always condemned posters on bonfires and there’s no need for flags to be burned,” Mr Gibson, a former RUC special branch officer, said.
“It only takes one or two people to put something on top of a bonfire ... I’ve said for years it’s wrong. There’s nothing new in condemning it but sadly it still happens.
“People need educated moving forward. Bonfires are about celebrating one’s culture, these celebrations should not be to the detriment of other people’s culture.
“These incidents have been reduced [in number] but we still have work to do.”
The towering Moygashel pyre, themed as an anti-Northern Ireland Protocol bonfire, attracted attention online after a boat was placed on top of it.
Billed by organisers as a “family friendly event” with the boat adding to the “festival atmosphere”, a Tricolour and republican flag as well as a picture of Mr Varadkar were added to the top of the bonfire on Saturday evening before being set alight.
DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson described the actions of those involved as wrong, regardless of their views on post-Brexit trading arrangements.
“I think that what happened in burning the flag of our neighbouring state and burning the poster of Leo Varadkar was wrong,” he told RTÉ on Monday.
“It is disrespectful. If people want to earn respect and have respect for their own identity and culture then they have got to show respect for others and I don’t think that what happened and these things that were burned on the bonfire are right.
“I think that is the view of the overwhelming majority of unionists.”
Asked if bonfires should ever have effigies or flags placed upon them, the DUP leader responded: “Personally, I don’t think they should. Perhaps some may in a historical context, but this is not a historical context.”
“To do things that I believe are disrespectful to others and are not set in a historical context, I think that is wrong.”
On the side of the boat, a banner reading “Good Friday Agreement? That ship has sailed” was attached, with a mock copy of the 1998 landmark peace deal across which the words “null and void” were printed.
It was given the title “No Irish Sea Border Bonfire”, referencing loyalist opposition to the protocol.
Hundreds of bonfires will be lit across the North on Tuesday evening on the “eleventh night” ahead of the July 12th Orange Order marches to mark the victory of Protestant William III over Catholic James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
