Reg Empey: Sussex has a bonfire model from which Northern Ireland could learn

A letter from Lord Empey:
By Letters
Published 15th Jul 2023, 17:28 BST
Updated 15th Jul 2023, 17:29 BST
People on Monday a day before the burning of the Corcrain bonfire in Portadown. The Eleventh Night focus in much of Northern Ireland is now on huge pyres, not the tradition and celebration of the date, says Lord Empey. And how can anybody think they can advance loyalism by attacking ambulance staff? Photo: Liam McBurney/PA WirePeople on Monday a day before the burning of the Corcrain bonfire in Portadown. The Eleventh Night focus in much of Northern Ireland is now on huge pyres, not the tradition and celebration of the date, says Lord Empey. And how can anybody think they can advance loyalism by attacking ambulance staff? Photo: Liam McBurney/PA Wire
People on Monday a day before the burning of the Corcrain bonfire in Portadown. The Eleventh Night focus in much of Northern Ireland is now on huge pyres, not the tradition and celebration of the date, says Lord Empey. And how can anybody think they can advance loyalism by attacking ambulance staff? Photo: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

(Scroll down for other letters about bonfires, including one about the annual blazes in Lewes in Sussex)

The coverage given to bonfires and incidents arising from them has been unprecedented this year. It is interesting to note, however, that Northern Ireland is not the only place in the United Kingdom where this is a tradition of bonfires.

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If one looks at East Sussex, for example, you will find that the town of Lewes claims to have the biggest bonfire festival in the world. There, they have a series of bonfires and parades to commemorate Guy Fawkes night in November each year. In 1605 Fawkes and his colleagues participated in a failed plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament..

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Also commemorated in Sussex, is the burning at the stake of 17 Protestant martyrs between 1555 and 1557 on the orders of Mary Tudor, known as ‘bloody Mary’ . During her reign she had over 200 Protestants burned as she tried to reverse the Reformation brought about by her father Henry III.

Effigies have also been burned on these bonfires. In recent years effigies of Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, broadcaster Piers Morgan and controversially former First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmon were all set alight. Police did investigate the Salmon incident and it caused outrage on social media.

In Sussex, they have Bonfire Societies and a council which co-ordinates the festivities. Maybe there is something bonfire enthusiasts could learn from England.

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The traditional local bonfires in Northern Ireland are largely being replaced by massive fires, where the pyre itself is the focus of attention and not the tradition and celebration itself.

I think organisers need to look carefully at what has happened this year. These big fires pose a serious health and safety risk. Last year one young man was killed at a bonfire site and this year another was seriously injured as he fell to the ground after setting it alight. It is inevitable that more deaths or injuries will occur if this practice continues.

Politicians cannot dictate to people how they conduct these bonfire events, but we can encourage organisers to look at other ways of having enjoyable community celebrations on the 11th night. Maybe having bonfire societies like Sussex is one model which could be followed, to broaden the appeal of these events. In Lewes they have their own website and some events are even ticketed!

But, while the vast majority of bonfire events were enjoyable and safe, a small number were not. How anybody thinks they can advance unionism loyalism of Orangeism by attacking Ambulance staff escapes me. All of the pro Union community is the poorer as a result of such violence, and republicans have been quick to send this message around the world. Will some people ever learn?

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Lord (Reg) Empey, Ex Ulster Unionist Party leader, Westminster

Letter: The Irish Republic is not, and never has been, a friendly neighbour

Jamie Bryson: I see no moral or strategic case for the burning of effigies

Letter: Incitement to hatred has been allowed to become part of unionist culture

Letter: The bonfires in Lewes are even bigger than NI but it is peaceful protest

Related topics:Northern IrelandEast SussexLewesUnited KingdomPolice