Cost of a United Ireland and the GFA

'Look over there at themuns', isn't going to cut it downcow.

I am trying to imagine 'working class kids' out and about 'gathering up' 17/18,000 pallets that are exactly the same, while their boss is scooting around in a McLaren.

The tradition always was that a union flag was on top of the bonfires until it was time to light it and then it was swapped with this flag - hardly a great surprise from communities under attack. Chill out. To suggest it is changed late to avoid the cameras is ludicrous

And now francie you are flipping to the 200 foot fire built by a team of engineers, to try a get your story to stick. Look again at black paddy. What is happening at that fire? The kids have their own fire that they are collecting for and have their den and all - just as with tradition. So wise up flipping about. I didn’t hear anyone claim that kids sourced the pallets and built the 200 footer

It was you who was trying to sanitise by claiming this 'is just working class kids gathering wood' for benign reasons. This is your stock answer to any criticism..to indulge your peculiar victimhood. It doesn't wash.

The questions being asked about regulation are entirely valid and will only get louder when you see these appalling incidents.

Thanks for confirming they add a tricolour just before it's lit. Who is claiming photos are banned?

I did say traditionally. In this new pc world that tradition is massively decreasing

Sorry don’t know why paisley ending up on an English bonfire for proselytising folk - and we’ll he deserved it.

I thought this was an interesting wee tweet to help you guys from a different culture understand why most unionists are not too excited about the odd flag burnt.

His effigy was burned on the Lewes bonfire in 1982 because he had turned up at the Lewes bonfire in 1981 to hand out anti-Catholic pamphlets. His timing was unfortunate since the Lewes Bonfire Council was actively trying to distance the festival from its own long tradition of explicit anti-Catholic bigotry. What better way to demonstrate this by burning an effigy of an explicit anti-Catholic bigot? So Paisley kind of put himself in the frame for that. The Lewes bonfire organisers have for a couple of decades now attempted to move away from anti-Catholic symbolism and instead to burn effigies of those who are unpopular for contemporary reasons.

(Which suggests a certain course of action that might be considered by bonfire organisers in NI who wish to distance themselves from the more unfortunate aspects of their own tradition. If they are steamed up about the NI Protocol and the damage it does to NI's place in the Union perhaps they could burn Boris Johnson, David Frost, Ben Habib and Kate Hoey in effigy?)

The lady doth protest too much.

"Burning effigies is part of many rituals to mark the change of the seasons, performed all over Europe in locally distinct traditions."

"Hanging or burning the effigy of a political enemy to ridicule and dishonour them is a very old and very widespread practice. It is reported that in 1328, the troops of Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV, on their campaign in Italy to unseat Pope John XXII, burned a straw puppet of the pope."

I suppose some of you will want to ban Guy Fawkes Night in the UK as well.

Can’t disagree with much there. That’s the point I was making which you fire back at me “Paisley kind of put himself in the frame for that.” Do you not think that when Michelle says there was no alternative to murdering those 11 men that that lodge is remembering that ‘she kinda puts herself in the frame’

i am interested that you think it’s somehow more acceptable to burn Kate Hoey effigy that MoN effigy. Maybe you want to think about that one. You seem to have made idea what sf symbolise to the unionist community

Again, all we get is 'look over there'.

Not remotely acceptable.

Haha.

It should be noted at this point that properly regulated parades are passing off right now and nobody has an issue with them.

The issues are non regulated parades where they are not wanted and hate displays at unregulated and toxic bonfires..

Were you not whinging about people living in the past for making references to partition happening a hundred years ago and the GFA happening 25 years ago?

And now you're landing in with a 700 year old event to support something happening today?!

I'd differentiate quite heavily between burning the effigy of someone who is alive right now and someone who died over 400 years ago. Entirely facetious of you to compare the two, but unsurprising that once more the self-professed moderate lands down on the same side as the most hardline of Loyalists.