Across unionist areas in towns and cities, hundreds of towering infernos are built, most surmounted with Irish flags, which are then ritually burned. Bizarrely, since 2010 Belfast City Council has financed a scheme whereby those associated with these bonfires can claim £100 if no Irish Tricolours are incinerated. Loyalists and the Orange Order must not be permitted to dictate local authority policy or intimidate elected public representatives on the issue of bonfires. Neither the nationalist community nor the rule of law should acquiesce to threats and intimidation. We are told that these bonfires are inclusive celebrations of loyalist culture where everyone is welcome and respected.

Source: Irish Examiner July 23, 2020 23:05 UTC