Preparations for a giant Ulster loyalist bonfire have forced the evacuation of families from 52 homes in east Belfast.



The fire and rescue service advised residents in Chobham Street to temporarily leave their properties on Friday because a massive pile of wooden palettes is to be set alight on Sunday, the eve of Ulster loyalism’s most sacred day, the Twelfth.

Bonfires are set on fire to commemorate the beacons lit to let Protestants in Ireland know that Prince William of Orange had landed on the island in the war against the Catholic King James II, which climaxed in the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.



48 hours before the Chobham Street bonfire is to be ignited, workers from the Housing Executive, Northern Ireland’s public housing body, boarded up 52 homes near the vast wooden structure.

Local unionist politicians attempted to persuade those behind the bonfire to reduce its size but its builders, mainly local youths, refused to back down.

A Housing Executive spokesperson said: “We are assisting the Department for Regional Development in Chobham Street by boarding up the largely private houses on their behalf to assist residents during this difficult time.

“Approximately 52 houses in the area will be boarded up, one of which is owned by the Housing Executive. DRD will recompense the Housing Executive for the cost of this work.”

The East Belfast Ulster Unionist councillor Jim Rodgers said it was the biggest bonfire he could recall. “This is a very worrying time for many of the residents,” he said. “There are four streets which are worrying the fire and rescue service, as well as the Walkway community centre which is voluntarily owned.”

Chris Lyttle, an Alliance party member of the Northern Ireland assembly, called on the authorities to take action. He challenged the minister responsible for regional development, Danny Kennedy, to intervene to make the bonfire safe.

“We are working with people to help them celebrate culture and tradition in a positive manner, but the size and location of this particular bonfire now poses a serious risk to residents, a community centre and a dedicated cycle and walkway,” he said.

“It is unacceptable in 2015 that a government department has allowed this bonfire to progress to the stage, where residents are living in fear for the safety of their homes. The minister for regional development must take action to make the area safe and show greater leadership on this issue.”

Building the bonfire is a rite of passage for many young working class loyalists and Protestants in Northern Ireland. Housing estates and areas compete with each other to build bigger, more bulkier bonfires each year in the run up to the Twelfth.

The bonfires have become the target of attacks prior to the Twelfth, and nationalist youths recently set one site on fire prematurely with petrol bombs. Loyalists have accused those responsible for that incident, at Sandy Row in south Belfast, of seeking to further raise sectarian tensions before the marching season’s peak.

As 12 July falls on a Sunday, the Protestant Orange Order will hold its demonstrations to commemorate the Battle of the Boyne the following day, as Orangemen prefer not to hold their biggest parades on the Sabbath. All of the bonfires across Protestant Ulster will be lit at midnight on Sunday.