Last night in the UK, police were made aware that a terrorist group were planning to cause major disruption in a city, devices were left near homes and caused havoc outside an airport, vans and buses were set alight, and images of elected politicians were burned next to signs calling for the murder of an entire religion.

Did the people of Britain hear much about this? No. Because this wasn’t London or Manchester. This was Belfast.

It happens every year. The 12th of July is when members of the Protestant, unionist community parade to mark the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne. But on the night before, when they light their infamous bonfires, trouble often ensues.

After police moved in to remove some pyres which had gotten ‘out of control’ yesterday, they were met with hostility, and last night the PSNI received reports that the UVF were threatening serious disruption in response. A bomb threat sparked panic at Belfast City Airport, and a bus was set alight in the city.

For their part, a handful of youths in the republican Bogside area of Derry have also been committing vandalism for no apparent reason, and intimidating the local area.

Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures An abandoned shop is seen in Mullan, Co Monaghan. The building was home to four families who left during the Troubles. The town was largely abandoned after the hard border was put in place during the conflict. Mullan has seen some regeneration in recent years, but faces an uncertain future with Brexit on the horizon Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures A defaced ‘Welcome to Northern Ireland’ sign stands on the border in Middletown, Co Armagh Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Mervyn Johnson owns a garage in the border town of Pettigo, which straddles the counties of Donegal and Fermanagh. ‘I’ve been here since 1956, it was a bit of a problem for a few years. My premises has been blown up about six or seven times, we just kept building and starting again,’ Johnson said laughing. ‘We just got used to it [the hard border] really but now that it’s gone, we wouldn't like it back again’ Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Farmer Gordon Crockett’s Coshquin farm straddles both Derry/Londonderry in the North and Donegal in the Republic. ‘At the minute there is no real problem, you can cross the border as free as you want. We could cross it six or eight times a day,’ said Crockett. ‘If there was any sort of obstruction it would slow down our work every day’ Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures John Murphy flies the European flag outside his home near the border village of Forkhill, Co Armagh Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Potter Brenda McGinn stands outside her Mullan, Co Monaghan, studio – the former Jas Boylan shoe factory which was the main employer in the area until it shut down due to the Troubles. ‘When I came back, this would have been somewhere you would have driven through and have been quite sad. It was a decrepit looking village,’ said McGinn, whose Busy Bee Ceramics is one of a handful of enterprises restoring life to the community. ‘Now this is a revitalised, old hidden village’ Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Union Flag colours painted on kerbstones and bus-stops along the border village of Newbuildings, Co Derry/Londonderry Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Grass reflected in Lattone Lough, which is split by the border between Cavan and Fermanagh, seen from near Ballinacor, Northern Ireland Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Donegalman David McClintock sits in the Border Cafe in the village of Muff, which straddles Donegal and Derry/Londonderry Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures An old Irish phone box stands alongside a bus stop in the border town of Glaslough, Co Monaghan Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Billboards are viewed from inside a disused customs hut in Carrickcarnon, Co Down, on the border with Co Louth in the Republic Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Seamus McQuaid takes packages that locals on the Irish side of the border have delivered to his business, McQuaid Auto-Parts, to save money on postal fees, near the Co Fermanagh village of Newtownbutler. ‘I live in the south but the business is in the North,’ said McQaid. "I wholesale into the Republic of Ireland so if there’s duty, I’ll have to set up a company 200 yards up the road to sell to my customers. I’ll have to bring the same product in through Dublin instead of Belfast’ Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures A disused Great Northern Railway line and station that was for customs and excise on the border town of Glenfarne, Co Leitrim Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Alice Mullen, from Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland, does her shopping at a former customs post on the border in Middletown, Co Armagh. ‘I’d be very worried if it was a hard border, I remember when people were divided. I would be very afraid of the threat to the peace process, it was a dreadful time to live through. Even to go to mass on a Sunday, you’d have to go through checkpoints. It is terribly stressful,’ said Mullen. ‘All those barricades and boundaries were pulled down. I see it as a huge big exercise of trust and I do believe everyone breathed a sigh of relief’ Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures A bus stop and red post box stand in the border town of Jonesborough, Co Armagh Reuters

It is a sign of just how detached Northern Ireland is from the rest of Britain that these incidents barely made headlines on the mainland.

It is particularly ironic because the unionist demonstrations which mark this time of year are all performed in the name of being loyal, British citizens. And while many mark the tradition peacefully, others insist on threatening displays of sectarianism.

They celebrate their identity by burning mountains of palettes and tyres, upon which they hoist Irish and EU flags, statues of the Virgin Mary, the election posters of nationalist politicians, threats to the press, taunts aimed at victims of the Troubles, and signs bearing the chilling acronym "KAT". This stands for ‘Kill all Taigs’ – and by Taigs, they mean Catholics.

It is particularly ironic because the unionist demonstrations which mark this time of year are all performed in the name of being loyal, British citizens. And while many mark the tradition peacefully, others insist on threatening displays of sectarianism.

They celebrate their identity by burning mountains of palettes and tyres, upon which they hoist Irish and EU flags, statues of the Virgin Mary, the election posters of nationalist politicians, threats to the press, taunts aimed at victims of the Troubles, and signs bearing the chilling acronym "KAT". This stands for ‘Kill all Taigs’ – and by Taigs, they mean Catholics.

It is particularly ironic because the unionist demonstrations which mark this time of year are all performed in the name of being loyal, British citizens. And while many mark the tradition peacefully, others insist on threatening displays of sectarianism.

They celebrate their identity by burning mountains of palettes and tyres, upon which they hoist Irish and EU flags, statues of the Virgin Mary, the election posters of nationalist politicians, threats to the press, taunts aimed at victims of the Troubles, and signs bearing the chilling acronym "KAT". This stands for ‘Kill all Taigs’ – and by Taigs, they mean Catholics.

It is particularly ironic because the unionist demonstrations which mark this time of year are all performed in the name of being loyal, British citizens. And while many mark the tradition peacefully, others insist on threatening displays of sectarianism.

They celebrate their identity by burning mountains of palettes and tyres, upon which they hoist Irish and EU flags, statues of the Virgin Mary, the election posters of nationalist politicians, threats to the press, taunts aimed at victims of the Troubles, and signs bearing the chilling acronym "KAT". This stands for ‘Kill all Taigs’ – and by Taigs, they mean Catholics.

Is this British culture? Surely the majority of English people would say it is not. Margaret Thatcher once said Ulster was as British as Finchley, but it’s hard to imagine a burning heap of all things Catholic – or Muslim, or Jewish – being tolerated in north London.

Northern Ireland is different from the rest of the UK – as perfectly evidenced by the absent media coverage, and the lack of outrage over this demonstration of unionist culture.

And yet it is for the sake of unionists that Northern Ireland is being dragged along, against its wishes, behind the trainwreck that is Brexit, in case they should feel any less British than the rest of the UK.

It is in their interests that the DUP cling on to the back of the wagon, steering a British prime minister – even as her wheels fall off – not caring for the consequences, so long as we all go over the cliff edge together.

It is all the more bizarre, all the more infuriating, when you consider that 56 per cent of people in Northern Ireland actually voted to remain in the EU. A recent poll showed support has now risen to 69 per cent.

So there is a strong wish in Northern Ireland to remain in a union – but it is the European Union. In the Brexit negotiations, it should at least receive special status.

Put simply, the region is a world away from London, and if no one there pays attention to our troubles now, why would they care when we are hit by the worst effects of Brexit?

For it is in Northern Ireland that farmers will be most hit, families will be separated across a border, the rights of passport-holding Irish citizens will be reduced – and yes, our very access to electricity threatened.