Driving through Greenisland the other day I came across the beginnings of what is clearly the 11th Night bonfire. A small smattering of wooden pallets strewn around with metal fencing protecting that which is most precious to some it seems. The area covered, at least for now, was no more than around five metres squared but these meagre offerings were protected by linked fence sections the likes of which one would see around a building site. I see a lot of this in my working days around this time of year. I’m lucky enough to be in a job where I travel the length and breadth of East Antrim, Newtownabbey, and up onto the North Coast and see these small beginnings of many a bonfire all over.
With the consternation bonfires cause on both sides of this troubled little state in mind, I got to thinking – can Unionism change its cultural spots? The short answer is yes. However, there are many variables in that short answer which leave much to be mulled over. The culture of 11th-Night bonfires is one of supremacy: that is a fact. The victory of William of Orange over King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 has been used not ironically as a rallying cry for Unionism and Loyalism throughout the years to deride and at times vilify not only Nationalists and Republicans but also Catholics.
The meaning of bonfires on both sides is lost on some, content to simply defile the names and images of dead police officers and politicians, effigies, and national flags. However, the origins of the 11th-Night pyres rest in the age-old Irish tradition of lighting bonfires in times of celebration. Ironically, these bonfires were used to mark the pagan holidays of Midsummer, Bealtaine, and Samhain, which were celebrated by Catholics and Protestants alike (Don’t tell the blowhards). Carrickfergus took the lead in lighting bonfires in 1690 to help William land in the town. This has led to the theory that bonfires commemorate the lighting of beacons and pyres in the high hills of Down and Antrim to allow for King William’s warships to navigate Belfast Lough in the evening. Thus, when Williamite victory was achieved, every year on the Eleventh Night of July, a bonfire is lit to commemorate the act. In time both sides in this divided little state of ours have sought to use this pagan tradition to divide us even further.
Anyway, back to our spots. I’ll take Larne as an example of why change is so difficult within the culture of bonfires, especially within Loyalism and Unionism. Politically, Unionists use the time around the building of bonfires, usually from May to July to harden their support, using this time almost like electioneering to gain support politically. They allow the situation to spiral out of control only to come riding in on the proverbial big white horse to calm things down and show ‘the people’ they are in control. Politically, they also use it as a way to fan the flames of division by suggesting that opposition to Loyalist bonfires is the oppression of Loyalist culture. Lest we forget William of Orange’s defeat of King James II also marks the historical religious revolution that later saw penal laws enacted on the Catholic population. Laws that would see Catholics murdered for being present at a Mass and priests exiled for the same.
In Larne last year, beacons, pyramid-shaped metal structures with wood chippings, and, ironically, pallets were provided at much cost to the taxpayer to assist Loyalists in moving away from massive bonfires. I live very close to a bonfire site and pride myself in knowing every word of The Billy Boys and The Sash My Father Wore, not through choice. One of the requirements for getting funding for one of these beacons is there should be no emblems on the structure, an attempt to move away from provocation surrounding these pyres. While no emblems are seen on many throughout the day, I can say with certainty that there are most certainly flags and emblems placed on them just before lighting. Additionally, the past two years, unhappy at their culture being threatened by a beacon and I assume the lack of provocative emblems and effigies, some Loyalists from the same areas in Larne decided to build bonfires too in a different location but in the same community.
Straight away, there is a split in a community simply because there wasn’t a ‘bonfire’ but a beacon…which is in essence, and in all but size, a bonfire inside a metal cage, controlled and safe. On the bonfire 500 yards away, however, there were flags, emblems, election posters, Gaelic t-shirts…tyres, sofas, playpens, gas canisters, and a myriad of other items which give off toxic fumes (and explosions) when burned. So was this bonfire built because Loyalist culture includes, of all things ‘hatred’ of anyone, not Loyalist or Protestant? Hatred of one’s neighbour for no other reason than they have a different political viewpoint or practice a different religion? (Don’t bother answering that religion question). To an outsider, it would seem so. How can a culture, based on the celebration of oppression and suppression of other people and cultures within the same society be acceptable in a shared society coming out of what was one of the longest wars in history?
When I think of Irish culture, I think of Gaelic games, Irish dancing, music, literature, and festivals, standing with the underdog, and to be absolutely honest, happiness. Then my mind is drawn to Bloody Sunday, Croke Park on the 21st of November 1920, and how the Black and Tans entered the ground and killed or fatally wounded 14 civilians and wounded at least sixty others during a football match. What Loyalism needs to realise, and it is something they seem to conveniently forget, is that the 11th and indeed the 12th of July are a celebration of the condemnation and oppression of not only their neighbour’s religious freedom (oh the irony) but in later years their democratic vote and human rights. These days are a celebration of the removal of rights, a celebration of supremacy over one’s neighbour. How can a celebration of supremacy be a healthy foundation for a shared society? These are questions Loyalism needs to ask itself before shouting “They’re eroding our culture.”
So yes, I do think Loyalism can change its cultural spots but it will take more than simply saying ‘We’re going to use beacons now’. There are clearly elements within Loyalism and Unionism, political and societal who are content to use toxic elements of their culture to lead Loyalism en masse. It will take the quieter voices to start shouting about how unhappy they are with toxic Loyalism and the toxic cultural practices they promote and espouse. Elements within Loyalist culture and society will have to be dealt with this before change can happen; bonfires and emblems are simply too deeply ingrained within their culture not to do so.
To have a peaceful six counties, Loyalism needs to deal with the toxic elements within itself, within its own culture, and not surprisingly political Unionism needs to lead the way on this and show actual leadership, something at this point it seems incapable of doing due to its reliance on stirring the memories of working-class Loyalists of the heady days of Unionist rule and Ulster’s fight against ‘Republican terrorists’ (freedom fighters, fighting against British rule in Ireland) to be re-elected. Coming galloping in on a shining white horse to quiet the seething crowd isn’t enough anymore for this society. We need real change, the problem being everyone has changed and evolved politically and culturally but Loyalism. It is an indictment and a failure of political Unionism that hazy dreams of bygone days of a Unionist government for a Unionist Ulster is all that gets Unionist politicians re-elected. One only has to look at the current DUP and TUV election strategies to realise this. The issue being…this fails everyone else in the North by falsely allowing Loyalists to feel superior to everyone else in the North instead of helping them realise they are no longer an overall majority.
Never again!
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