Playing with Fire
‘Isn’t it brilliant’ a mother says, photographing her kids in front of the giant Moygashel pyre
Seanín Graham, Irish Times, July 11th, 2025
Plumes of black smoke billow across blue skies over Moygashel village in Co Tyrone, hours before a loyalist bonfire is lit on Thursday evening.
Teenage boys are burning rubble at lunchtime to clear the bonfire site; towering over them, an effigy of a migrants’ boat, placed on top of the pyre, containing more than a dozen life-size mannequins wearing life jackets.
The structure has sparked outrage since its appearance 24 hours earlier.
Despite calls for its removal – Protestant church leaders (including John McDowell, Archbishop of Armagh) branded the effigy racist and threatening – a newly erected Tricolour is placed beside the boat.
“Isn’t it brilliant,” one woman shouts across the street, before ordering her two children to stand in front of the unlit pyre for a photograph.
Red, white and blue bunting lines the main village street where Union Jack and Ulster flags are attached to every lamp-post.
One of the teenagers guarding the bonfire entrance moves to the centre of the road, shaking a bucket at passing motorists for donations.
On the pavement beside the site, a freshly painted wooden sign is daubed with the words, “PSNI lift at own risk”.
A “massive crowd” will gather at the Moygashel bonfire before it is lit at 10.30pm, according to one resident who marvels at its builders and dismisses condemnation of the effigy.
“Police haven’t removed it so it’s not racist and it’s not a hate crime,” he says (On Thursday night, police said they had received a number of reports about the bonfire material and were “investigating this hate incident”).
‘Deeply depressed’ says UDA veteran who helped deliver 1998 ‘peace’ agreement
“I was deeply depressed when I saw it. I think it is horrendous,” says former loyalist paramilitary David Adams.
“It’s just racism, pure and simple; I hate to drag religion into it ... but it goes against everything that Protestantism is supposed to be about.”
Adams, a former UDA member, helped deliver the loyalist ceasefire of 1994 and was part of the negotiating team in the lead up to the 1998 Belfast Agreement.
He also worked for the charity Goal based in Dún Laoghaire, and travelled to more than 10 countries before his retirement in 2018.
Racism has become a “major problem across the jurisdiction, North and South”, according to Adams, who expressed concerns about the shift within elements of loyalism to the far right.
Earlier this week, a report by a counter-extremism organisation found there was an increasing cross-Border co-operation between anti-immigrant figures in the Republic and loyalist groups in Northern Ireland.
“All those overt symbols of racism, such as Moygashel, are horrifying but we have to consider it has spread far, far deeper than that; there’s all the casual stuff too,” he says.
“It’s a deep concern and we tend to consider it as a far smaller problem than it actually is – but I think it’s getting worse.”
Only 3.5% of NI population from ethnic minorities
Latest figures show that just 3.5 per cent (65,600 people) of the North’s population are from a minority ethnic group; that compares with 18.3 per cent in England and Wales, and 12.9 per cent in Scotland.
Yet British right-wing political parties such as Reform UK and its leader, Nigel Farage, are appealing to some within loyalism, according to Adams, who believe the “imaginary problems” on immigration.
“There’s plenty of fertile ground out there for the likes of a Farage,” he adds.
“There is an idea in some parts, to make this place as unattractive as possible. It is a tactic, in a broad sense, to thwart reconciliation so that no Irish government would touch it with a barge pole.
“It’s self-defeating in the extreme, I think.”
In Moygashel, the villagers are preparing for the evening ahead on a hot July day. Teenage girls sit on footpaths while a woman in a wheelchair is looking forward to the events over the Twelfth.
“We’ve a Scottish [Orange Order] lodge arriving here tomorrow, they’ll parade here, it’ll be a great week,” says one man.
“There’ll always be people who’ll complain about the Moygashel bonfire ... but we love our village. This is all part of our culture.”
‘Unthinkable that contentious pyres could be allowed to go ahead’
Jonathan McCambridge, and Rebecca Black, Irish News, July 11th, 2025
IT IS “unthinkable” that a contentious loyalist bonfire in Belfast should be allowed to go ahead, Sinn Féin has said.
Party MLA Pat Sheehan called for “firm, immediate action” from the PSNI over the pyre in the south of the city which is on a site which contains asbestos and is close to an electricity substation which powers two hospitals.
Meanwhile, a Church of Ireland archbishop has described an effigy of migrants in a boat on a separate bonfire in Co Tyrone as “inhuman and deeply sub-Christian”.
Tensions are continuing to smoulder around both of the bonfires which have attracted significant controversy.
In Belfast, a city council committee voted on Wednesday to send contractors to remove the towering pyre on Meridi Street off the Donegall Road.
The PSNI declared it a “major incident” as the force considers a request from the council to help contractors remove it.
The DUP leader on Belfast City Council Sarah Bunting said the council decision was “foolhardy” and risked increasing tensions with the local community.
In a social media post she said: “The decision to remove the bonfire was made without adequate consultation or consideration of community impact, and we believe it requires further scrutiny.
“This decision is political not a health and safety one.
“It is foolhardy and has ramped tensions up in an area which has suffered considerably from interface problems.”
A PSNI spokesperson said on Wednesday that a Tactical Coordination Group had been established with multi-agency partners to ensure joint understanding and to comprehensively assess all of the risks associated with the request to assist contractors on the site.
“No decision has been taken at this stage and we continue to work with our partner agencies and community representatives on this matter,” the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, there have been calls to remove effigies of migrants in a boat that have been placed on a loyalist bonfire in Moygashel on the outskirts of Dungannon in Co Tyrone.
The boat containing more than a dozen life-sized mannequins wearing life jackets was unveiled on top of the bonfire. Below the boat are several placards, one stating: “stop the boats”, and another: “veterans before refugees”.
Overnight, an Irish tricolour was also placed on top of the bonfire, which was to be lit last night.
Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland John McDowell described the effigy as “racist, threatening and offensive” adding: “It certainly has nothing whatsoever to do with Christianity or with Protestant culture.”
From peaceful affairs to burning issues — how bonfires have evolved
Andrew Madden, Belfast Telegraph, July 11th, 2025
Once upon a time bonfires in loyalist areas of Northern Ireland were relatively small piles of wood on street corners or waste ground, with the Eleventh Night and its build-up going off with little controversy.
In recent years, however, the scenes couldn't be more different.
Towering infernos frequently reaching heights of more than 100m (or, in the case of the 'record-breaking' Craigyhill pyre in Larne, over 200m) are now commonplace.
Competing bonfire builders have gone to extreme lengths in their one-upmanship, with cranes and cherry-pickers being deployed.
With these heights — and the inherent fact of burning massive piles of material in an unprotected environment is risky — comes danger. One man lost his life after falling from a bonfire in Larne in 2022, while the previous year a teenager was hospitalised in a critical condition after suffering severe burns at a pyre in north Belfast.
Firefighters are now responding to upwards of 200 bonfire 'mobilisations' each year on the Eleventh Night, occasionally having to hose down homes close to pyres for fear of them going up in flames.
Such an effort was unsuccessful in 2016 in the Shankill area of Belfast, when two terraced houses were destroyed after being set alight by burning embers from a bonfire situated just yards away. In the days previous, windows of these properties had to be boarded up.
Political rows, effigies, court action and environmental and safety concerns are now the order of the day, with several contentious pyres having to be forcibly removed in recent years.
Paramilitary involvement in some cases has seen the police having to back down and contractors having to withdraw from removals due to fears of violence and rioting.
So what has changed? Well, in the past couple of decades, communities which would have held individual bonfires have been pooling their resources together to form larger pyres.
Combined with a lack of space in many areas, natural competitiveness and a yearning for spectacle, 'monster' bonfires now seem to be the preference. Social media, of course, has also played a role.
‘Convenient canvas’ for protest
Political instability and culture wars have found convenient canvasses in bonfires for loyalism to express its frustrations, whether that be related to the Irish Sea border or general 'orange/green' issues.
In many cases, that's been in the form of effigies of politicians on pyres or, in the case of one bonfire in Co Tyrone in 2023, a boat adorned with a tricolour, an image of the Taoiseach and the slogan 'Good Friday Agreement — that ship has sailed'.
The actual forcible removal of contentious bonfires — or legal action to prevent them from getting too large — has been a relatively new phenomenon.
Back in 2017, Belfast City Council was granted a court injunction preventing additional material being added to four bonfires — a move that sparked a row between the DUP and Sinn Fein at City Hall.
The same year, there was a bizarre episode that saw Belfast City Council storing thousands of pallets, many of which were stolen, for use on two contentious loyalist bonfires in the city.
After this came to light, the stolen pallets were again stolen from a council-owned yard, reportedly by the UDA.
An investigation was soon launched following outrage over the fiasco.
Perhaps one of the most fractious and decisive chapters in recent bonfire history was in 2019 at the site of a pyre at Avoniel Leisure Centre in east Belfast.
Three days before the bonfire on council land — for which no permission was given — was due to be lit, the council decided to remove it.
The decision sparked protests at the site, with graffiti threatening contractors who were asked to remove the bonfire appearing nearby and the UVF becoming involved in the dispute.
The council called on the PSNI to investigate how details of the contractor — who pulled out of the removal — leaked.
Emergency council meetings ensued and, with all avenues exhausted, City Hall relented. The bonfire was later lit on the Eleventh Night to celebrations of defiance from the gathered crowd.
Three years later, two nationalist Stormont ministers — Sinn Fein's Deirdre Hargey and the SDLP's Nichola Mallon — took legal action in a bid to force the PSNI to assist in the removal of a bonfire close to an interface in the Tiger's Bay area of north Belfast.
Police had previously refused to help, stating that to do so would risk disorder. The legal bid by the ministers failed, with Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill accusing the PSNI of being “more interested in facilitating the bonfire than going into the site and doing their job to remove it”.
The de-facto unofficial policy of authorities refusing to remove contentious bonfires because of the threat of disorder is a dangerous precedent — but one that was set long before the events of this week.
More Asbestos found on bonfire site near hospital power unit
Andrew Madden, Belfast Telegraph, July 11th, 2025
MORE ASBESTOS FOUND AT SITE AS PSNI WASHES HANDS OF DISPUTE
Further loose asbestos has been discovered at a controversial loyalist bonfire which now looks set to go ahead after police said they wouldn't help remove it.
It is understood Belfast City Council was informed the NI Environment Agency (NIEA) had identified further hazardous material during a partial inspection of the site in the Village area of Belfast yesterday afternoon.
City Hall sources said the loose asbestos weighed an estimated 20 kilos, and described it as “extremely worrying” and a “major public health risk”.
Belfast SDLP councillor Séamas de Faoite said: “If the NI Environment Agency has found more asbestos on the Broadway site, as I've feared all along, then it is totally reckless for anyone to encourage people to go to that location or participate in any activity there.”
It comes after the PSNI confirmed it would not be assisting in the removal of material from the site.
It is understood there were plans for contractors to move in overnight following a majority vote on the council .
However, this was deemed “unviable” due to tensions on the ground.
Sinn Féin, Alliance, SDLP and Green Party councillors backed the plan, while the DUP did not.
The current assessment is that the bonfire will go ahead tonight.
It's understood bonfire builders have voluntarily removed tiers of pallets from the top of it as an “olive branch”.
The PSNI had previously declared a major incident over the removal of the bonfire.
After yesterday's decision, it said: “Following comprehensive engagement with all relevant stakeholders, an evidence based assessment, and taking into consideration all of the risks associated with the removal, we have determined that police should not assist the proposed actions of Belfast City Council.
“After receiving a formal request for assistance from Belfast City Council, the PSNI chaired a multi-agency tactical coordination group meeting on Wednesday evening.
“During this... meeting all partners considered the environmental risks associated with the asbestos on the site, the risks related to the electricity substation as well as the risks to public safety on a site occupied by members of the public, including children.
Less risk in letting bonfire go ahead
“The consensus was the risk of the bonfire proceeding as planned was lower and more manageable than the intervention of contractors and the proposed methodology of dismantling the bonfire.”
Belfast City Council said: “Party group leaders have been made aware of the PSNI's position. The council remains concerned about the presence of asbestos on the site and has continued to raise these concerns with NIEA.
“We have asked NIEA for information on their next steps, and we are seeking assurances in relation to the protection of public health.”
Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said: “I am working with the range of local agencies and with our local DUP reps on the ground in relation to expressed concerns on the south Belfast bonfire near Broadway.
“The aim is a community celebration that can take place with absolutely minimised risks and in a safe way. I pay tribute to all those working on the ground to achieve this.
“Those using this issue as a political football should step back and allow the space for discussions and work to continue.”
The towering structure sparked concerns it could put the power supply to the City Hospital and the Royal Victoria Hospital at risk due to its proximity to an electricity substation.
In addition, hazardous asbestos material on the site is a risk to human health.
Within hours of the council's vote, police declared a major incident over the bonfire and crowds gathered at the site, with entrances to the site blocked.
A joint statement from local paramilitaries said: “PSNI have been advised of the risk of widespread disorder, with loyalists in other areas across NI staging interface riots to stretch the PSNI.
Serious and sustained disorder
“The police have been told there is a very real prospect of serious and sustained disorder should there be any effort to remove the bonfire.”
Meanwhile, a legal challenge by loyalist activist Jamie Bryson over the council's suspension of the call-in mechanism following the bonfire vote was adjourned by the High Court until September.
The case was one of two before the judge, with the other challenging the siting of the pyre.
In Mr Bryson's case, Mr Justice O'Hara queried why DUP councillors had not taken the action. Both cases were adjourned following news of the yesterday's police decision.
Sinn Féin MLA Pat Sheehan earlier demanded leadership from unionists to ensure “the hazardous bonfire” does not go ahead.
“The silence from political unionism is deafening,” the West Belfast representative said.
“They must step up and make it clear they do not support the burning of materials that threaten hospital power supplies and risk releasing asbestos into the air.”
PSNI will not dismantle south Belfast bonfire but is investigating Co Tyrone pyre as ‘hate incident’
Police believe removal brings more risks than allowing bonfire to proceed
Irish Times, July 11th, 2025
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) will not assist council contractors with removing material from a south Belfast bonfire site, but it will investigate a Co Tyrone pyre bearing an Irish flag and effigies of migrants in a boat.
The force said it received reports about the bonfire in Moygashel, Co Tyrone, and is investigating “this hate incident”.
The PSNI’s decision not to help disassemble the Belfast bonfire material follows “comprehensive engagement” with stakeholders and consideration of risks associated with removal, a PSNI spokeswoman said.
A Belfast City Council committee voted on Wednesday to send contractors to remove the towering pyre in the south of the city which is on a site that contains asbestos and is close to an electricity substation that powers two hospitals.
The PSNI declared the bonfire on Meridi Street off the Donegall Road a “major incident” while it considered the council’s formal request for it to help remove it.
The consensus at a multi-agency meeting was that the “risk of the bonfire proceeding as planned was lower and more manageable than the intervention of contractors and the proposed methodology of dismantling the bonfire”, the PSNI spokeswoman said on Thursday evening.
‘Managing risk’
The police service will “continue to work with partners and communities to manage the remaining risks surrounding this bonfire”, she added.
She said the force had examined the legality, necessity and proportionality of police involvement in deciding whether or not to assist.
“This involved carefully balancing potentially competing statutory and human rights obligations,” she said.
A multi-agency meeting to consider the request involved the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Northern Ireland Electricity, Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service and Belfast City Council, she said.
Tensions are continuing to smoulder around this and a bonfire in Co Tyrone that is topped with an effigy of migrants in a boat.
Earlier, Sinn Féin said it was “unthinkable” that a contentious loyalist bonfire in Belfast would be allowed to go ahead. Party MLA Pat Sheehan called for “firm, immediate action” from the PSNI and said the silence from political unionism over the controversy has been “deafening”.
He added: “They must step up and make it clear they do not support the burning of materials that threaten hospital power supplies and risk releasing asbestos into the air.”
The Sinn Féin MLA added: “It is unthinkable that this bonfire could go ahead, endangering lives, damaging property and putting critical infrastructure at risk.”
The DUP leader on Belfast City Council, Sarah Bunting, said the council’s decision was “foolhardy” and risked increasing tensions with the local community.
In a social media post she said: “The decision to remove the bonfire was made without adequate consultation or consideration of community impact, and we believe it requires further scrutiny.
She said the decision is “political not a health and safety one”.
“It is foolhardy and has ramped tensions up in an area which has suffered considerably from interface problems,” she said.
Meanwhile, there have been calls to remove the effigies of migrants in a boat placed on the bonfire in Moygashel on the outskirts of Dungannon in Co Tyrone.
The boat containing more than a dozen life-sized mannequins wearing life jackets was unveiled on top of the bonfire. Below the boat are several placards, one stating: “stop the boats”, and another: “veterans before refugees”.
A model of a small boat with several figures depicting migrants inside can be seen on top of a loyalist bonfire on Thursday in Moygashel, United Kingdom. Photograph Charles McQuillan/ Getty Images
A model of a small boat with several figures depicting migrants inside can be seen on top of a loyalist bonfire on Thursday in Moygashel, United Kingdom. Photograph Charles McQuillan/ Getty Images
Overnight, an Irish tricolour flag was also placed on top of the bonfire, which is scheduled to be lit on Thursday night.
‘Racist, threatening and offensive’ - CofI Primate
Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland John McDowell described the effigy as “racist, threatening and offensive”.
He added: “It certainly has nothing whatsoever to do with Christianity or with Protestant culture and is in fact inhuman and deeply sub-Christian.”
There are around 300 bonfires set to be lit across Thursday and Friday night ahead of the Orange Order’s July 12th parades on Saturday.
The traditional fires are lit ahead of the main date in the parading calendar of Protestant loyal orders, the Twelfth Of July.
While most of the bonfires pass off without incident, several have become the focus of contention due to the placing of flags, effigies and election posters on the structures before they are ignited. —Additional reporting PA
Deputy first minister hits out at those playing ‘political football’
Allan Preston, Irish News, July 11th, 2025
THE DUP’s deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly has warned against using bonfires as “a political football” as concerns grow over a controversial site in south Belfast.
Posting on social media, Ms Little-Pengelly said: “Health and safety must always be central to considerations.
“Community celebrations are a time to bring people together, for fun and in a context of safety and enjoyment. No-one wants anyone to be hurt or for there to be any risks to health or wellbeing. Everyone is united on that.”
Stating she was working with local agencies and DUP representatives on the ground over the bonfire, she said: “I know those involved in the bonfire have been engaging for some time on size and other mitigations. I have no doubt this will continue.
“The aim is a community celebration that can take place with absolutely minimised risks and in a safe way.
“I pay tribute to all those working on the ground to achieve this, and for their hard work thus far. I am continuing to support also.
“Those using this issue as a political football should step back and allow the space for discussions and work to continue.”
Earlier, Sinn Féin’s West Belfast MLA Pat Sheehan said it was time political unionism “gets up off its backside and shows a bit of leadership”.
“The silence from political unionism is deafening,” he said.
“They must step up and make it clear they do not support the burning of materials that threaten hospital power supplies and risk releasing asbestos into the air.
“The PSNI must act now to prevent this from escalating. Waiting until it’s too late is not an option. We need firm, immediate action.
“This bonfire poses a serious threat to the local community.
“Two nearby hospitals risk losing electricity, putting patients’ lives in danger.
“It is unthinkable that this bonfire could go ahead, endangering lives, damaging property and putting critical infrastructure at risk.”
1,755 arrests made in first two years of non-fatal strangulation offence becoming law
Rebecca Black, Belfast Telegraph and Irish News, July 11th, 2025
VICTIM URGES OTHERS TO COME FORWARD AFTER ESCAPE FROM ABUSIVE EX-PARTNER
More than 1,750 arrests have been made for non-fatal strangulation in Northern Ireland since it became a specific criminal offence.
One survivor of the crime, Sarah, has urged anyone who has suffered it to report it to police and not to risk their life.
Non-fatal strangulation or asphyxiation was made a specific criminal offence here two years ago last month, and those found guilty can face up to 14 years in prison.
Non-fatal strangulation includes: any part of your body or another object, such as a ligature like a scarf or belt, chokeholds or headlocks, hanging, drowning or smothering.
From June 26, 2023 to May 31, 2025, police received 1,893 reports of non-fatal strangulation, and officers made 1,755 arrests resulting in 765 charges.
Detective Superintendent Lindsay Fisher said police figures indicate that between 10-12% of reporting domestic abuse victims have experienced non-fatal strangulation, placing them at the highest risk.
“In fact, studies have shown that in domestic abuse settings, victims are eight times more likely to be murdered by their partner if they have previously strangled them,” she said.
“We have made a significant amount of arrests and hit the ground running with this new legislation in just the first two years, and 2,092 officers and staff have received specific training.
“We hope that this gives victims the confidence to come forward and continue reporting knowing that our officers are recognising and responding to the seriousness of this violent act.”
Sarah, who has been a victim of non-fatal strangulation twice at the hands of her abusive ex-partner, said it was the most terrifying thing she had ever experienced.
She reported it to police, and as a result the perpetrator pleaded guilty to both incidents.
“I remember the first time it happened, I couldn't quite believe that this violent man had my life in his hands. Although the strangling only lasted a matter of seconds, it felt longer to me,” she said.
“You almost exit your body and feel everything slipping away as you struggle to breathe and lose control of your bladder.
‘Terrifying experience’
“It is the most terrifying thing I've ever experienced.
“Feeling another person's hand on your throat and looking into their eyes as they squeeze is surreal.
“I am pleased that the police have hit the ground running with this legislation over the last couple of years and helped women like me get justice.
“To be listened to, believed and supported is all someone needs who has been through what I have.
“In any abusive relationship, the victim always feels guilt about the burden the trauma places on others around them. I am no different.
“Phoning the police that night as I sat broken on the top of my stairs was the best thing I ever did for me and my children. I have created distance between me and my abuser and we are finally safe.
“My message to others out there is — don't risk your life by staying.”
Ms Fisher said the health consequences are often delayed.
“It is common for strangulation to leave no visible signs of injury and consequences can be delayed by days or weeks,” she said.
“These include stroke, cardiac arrest, miscarriage, incontinence, seizures, memory loss and long-term brain injury.
“Consciousness can be lost after as little as four seconds. Blocking the jugular vein can take less pressure than opening a can of Coke. Loss of consciousness indicates, at the very least, a mild brain injury, and many victims lose control of their bladder and bowels.
“Often, strangulation is glorified as a gratifying act for both parties in pornography and young people in particular are susceptible to thinking this could be a fun, 'consensual' act to spice things up.
“However, the reality is far from the case. Consent to rough sex is not a defence.”
'Futures just snatched away': Tributes to pregnant mum killed in her home
Niamh Campbell, Belfast Telegraph, July 11th, 2025
MOURNERS ARE TOLD DEATHS OF SARAH AND HER UNBORN BABY GO AGAINST NATURAL ORDER
“A grandmother and grandfather shouldn't be burying their granddaughter and her baby; that is not how it should be.”
Those were the powerful words shared by Rev Kathy Couchman as she addressed hundreds at Sarah Montgomery's funeral yesterday.
She added: “Sarah should be with her family, with her little girls, getting ready for the arrival of her baby boy.
“Sarah and Liam Arthur and his sisters should have a future ahead of them, but that future has been brutally and unjustly snatched away from them, and from their family and friends.”
The sun was shining down on the coastal town of Donaghadee, as Rev Couchman addressed people from near and far, who gathered inside and outside the town's Anglican Parish Church.
Large speakers were placed in the adjoining cemetery, and seats were also placed alongside the adjacent parish hall, as the crowds who attended to pay their respects to the 27-year-old pregnant mum-of-two were too large to fit inside the building itself.
The majority of people were gathered outside the church more than half an hour before the service began at 3pm.
Ms Montgomery's body had been committed earlier that day by Rev Ian Gamble and Rev Kathy Couchman.
Mourners were told that the young mum, killed in her Donaghadee home last month, was a “born carer”.
A man appeared in court last week charged with her murder and the destruction of her child.
Zak Hughes (28), of Ardglen Place, north Belfast, has been remanded in custody.
Many mourners wore sunglasses as temperatures hit 20C in the Co Down town yesterday afternoon.
One said they were glad of the good weather, as it meant they could all cover their eyes to hide their tears.
Many women attending said that they did not know the deceased or her family personally, but felt the need to attend because Ms Montgomery's death had struck such a chord with them.
A relative of Ms Montgomery visibly broke down when Rev Couchman described how much the young woman had cared for brothers when they were born, and then for her two own daughters not long after.
Ms Montgomery's own parents died within a few years of each other within the last decade.
“Sarah was just a born carer,” said the cleric.
“Her friends and family have all spoken of how she had a 'heart of gold', of how caring she was, not only towards people she knew, but to anyone who needed help, and Arthur and Edie (Sarah's grandparents) have told me just how much love and kindness she has shown them throughout her life and how much she has done to help them.
‘Just the best Mummy’
“When Sarah's brothers were born, she would help her Mummy, Linda, and Daddy, Andrew, look after them.
“Sadly, both Linda and Andrew died at far too early an age, within a few short years of each other.
“Sarah, then just a very young woman, took over the care for her brothers and she continued to care for them, alongside her Granda and Granny, until the day she died, all through the time since her own two little girls arrived; and, oh, how she loved being Mummy to those little girls.”
Friends of Sarah described the young woman as being “just the best Mummy”.
They said her young daughters were the centre of Sarah's world and “were always looked after so beautifully”.
She was due to give birth to Liam Arthur around the beginning of August, and Rev Couchman explained that “thoughtful as ever”, she already had clothes prepared for him, embroidered with his name.
“It is an utter tragedy that none of us has had, or ever will have, the chance to know him, to see him as a little boy or grown into a young man, but his was a life, a very precious life, that we must recognise and give thanks for,” added the cleric.
“His was a life that was so dearly loved and cherished by Sarah, who would have been the best, most loving Mummy to him, too. She had everything ready to welcome him to this world, to her family and to her girls.”
Ms Montgomery was also remembered as being a proud fundraiser and volunteer for the RNLI's Donaghadee Lifeboat branch.
She was “so immensely proud especially to be Arthur and Edie Arbuckle's granddaughter and to have a Granda who was, 'Arthur Arbuckle, the lifeboatman'”.
Volunteers and officials from the RNLI, dressed in uniform, were amongst mourners in the church for Ms Montgomery's service.
They formed a makeshift guard of honour for her grandparents as they left the front of the church after the service.
People have been asked to make donations to the local RNLI division in lieu of flowers, as a tribute to Ms Montgomery.
Rev Couchman stressed that “none of this (the death of Sarah and her unborn baby) was the will, or work, of God”. “This isn't right; this isn't how it should be, and we must not lose sight of the fact that it is neither right, nor is it in any way excusable,” she added.
“We must not allow the cruelty that has stolen away those precious lives to steal away all our hope as well.”
One theme the celebrant emphasised, which echoed the sentiments of Ms Montgomery's grandparents, was the power of community in Donaghadee and the strength that has been derived from that since Ms Montgomery's passing.
“There is hope in this life, there is, there must be, great hope for the future of Sarah's two little girls, for ourselves, and there is hope, too, that is born of love — the love that has brought you here today, that has led so many to reach out to the family in great kindness, the love that shows just how much goodness actually surrounds us in this life in the hearts of so many.”
Council's deal to buy the historic Assembly Rooms worth £2.85m
Andrew Madden, Belfast Telegraph, July 11th, 2025
OLD BANK BUILDING IN BELFAST'S NORTH STREET HAS BEEN DERELICT SINCE 2000
The deal for Belfast City Council to buy the historic Assembly Rooms is worth £2.85m, it can be revealed.
Dating back to the 18th century and located in the commercial and geographical hub of what was then a town, the former bank is one of Belfast's most historic buildings.
It is currently owned by Castlebrooke Investments which is behind the controversial Tribeca project and owns many of the surrounding sites.
On Wednesday, councillors at City Hall voted in favour of purchasing the building which has been derelict since 2000 and fallen into a state of disrepair.
While details of the bid are confidential, this newspaper understands the price tag is £2.85m. Green Party councillor Brian Smyth said he is “delighted” to get to the point of being able to make an offer.
“Yet I still believe we can't rest up and pat ourselves on the back,” he added.
“The rest of the site around North Street and Lower North Street needs to be resolved.
“We want Castlebrooke to now work with the council on this and that we finally deliver the regeneration that this part of the city centre has been crying out for many years.”
Castlebrooke has come under fire over the lack of progress on its Tribeca regeneration scheme which was intended to transform a large part of the city centre.
The company received planning permission for the project in 2000, but there has been no sign of work getting underway.
Where slave trading was condemned… and Henry Joy McCracken
Situated at the intersection between Bridge Street, North Street and Waring Street, it was the scene of many significant events, including when a proposal to establish a slave-trading company in Belfast was shot down in 1786.
The Grade B1 listed building was also where United Irishman Henry Joy McCracken was also sentenced to death.
The site includes part of the North Street car park, 5-9 North Street (former Laffin Travel building) and Braddell's Building.
Earlier this year, this newspaper revealed that Tribeca has not had to pay rates on the car park for some seven years — thought to amount to around £175,000 — because Land and Property Services understood “it was being excavated prior to scheduled redevelopment”.
At the time, Castlebrooke said where rates were due “all due payments have been made in full”. It added: “We have continued to invest in Belfast over the last seven years and have completed over 120 transactions to conclude our site assembly.
“We remain committed to bringing forward a major regeneration scheme on our site in Belfast as soon as possible.”
Mr Smyth said his party will “continue to fight” to ensure the city centre is rejuvenated.
In February, the Assembly Rooms was selected for the World Monuments Fund's prestigious 2025 watchlist, which is aimed at raising awareness of the restoration and protection efforts of heritage sites around the globe.
The building was nominated for the 2025 watchlist by the Assembly Rooms Alliance, which was established in 2023 with the objective of preserving the property and bringing it back into use for heritage and arts purposes.
Concerns over one of the north’s costliest bonfires
Paul Ainsworth, Irish News, July 11th, 2025
THERE has been a call for an “agreed outcome” to one of the north’s costliest bonfires, ahead of the pyre being lit in Co Antrim.
The bonfire site on Prince Andrew Way in Carrickfergus has a history of sparking concern, from the costs of repairing the road, to fears that the structure could topple over even before being lit.
Since 2017, the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) – which owns the land on which it is located – has spent £32,743 on repairing the damage caused by the fire at the site, which is close to a petrol station.
The construction of the bonfire itself also prompted safety fears in 2017 when it was built with flaws in the structure that left it looking unstable, just yards from where vehicles pass by.
The total costs of the road repair at Prince Andrew Way over an eight year period were revealed through an assembly written question by Alliance East Antrim MLA Stewart Dickson.
Meanwhile, an Irish News Freedom of Information request further drilled into the costs associated with bonfires including the Carrick pyre, revealing that in 2021, the Prince Andrew Way site repair bill alone was £8,326 – over half of the total £15,001 spent on repairing sites across all of greater Belfast, and almost 30% of the total repair bill for sites across the north that year.
Costly repairs
Mr Dickson told The Irish News the bonfire will once again leave DfI facing costly repairs.
“There is a perceptible lean, this time away from the road – but the reality is it’s too close to the road, and so will ultimately collapse and cause damage.
“I’m not opposed to safe bonfire celebrations, including through beacons, but some of these are being built without safety concerns.”
Boards have been erected at a fence surrounding a nearby former community centre building – beside the petrol station – in an apparent bid to protect it from the bonfire.
Mid and East Antrim Sinn Féin councillor James McKeown said the bonfire “obviously is a very dangerous risk to public health and safety”.
“I would call on those responsible for it and all the agencies involved including the council to work towards a agreed outcome,” he said.
“The safety of all in the community should be our paramount concern.”
The Irish News approached DfI for comment.
A Mid and East Antrim Borough Council spokesperson said the local authority will “continue to work with statutory partners and other landowners to ensure any concerns relating to bonfires are managed appropriately”.
The council does not own the land on which the bonfire site is located, but in previous years has said it would work with partner agencies “to ensure the safety of the public”.
A fire and rescue spokesperson said: NIFRS is prepared and ready to respond to incidents to protect life and property. We encourage people to act responsibly and stay safe. In the event of an emergency, dial 999 and ask for Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service. Remember, if we are tasked to a bonfire related incident, it is because someone from the local community has a concern and requires assistance.
UPDATES
McDowell condemns as ‘Racist, threatening and offensive’ the migrant effigy burned at Moygashel
By David Thompson, Belfast News Letter, July 11th, 2025
Church of Ireland Archbishop John McDowell said the display in the County Tyrone village has nothing to do with Protestant or Christian culture.
A large crowd attended the event on Thursday night, despite widespread criticism over recent days.
A boat, filled with mannequins in life vests – representing migrants crossing the English Channel – was placed on top of the pyre, and was then torched.
The structure had also been adorned with the messages “stop the boats” and “veterans before refugees”.
The DUP has said the burning of the effigy “should not take place” while the UUP leader Mike Nesbitt called it “sickening, deplorable and entirely out of step with what is supposed to be a cultural celebration”.
In a statement before the burning of the effigy, Archbishop McDowell said: “The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt (Leviticus 19:34).
“These are the words from the Law of God to his people. He is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. If we compare them with the effigy of a boat of migrants which sits, to our humiliation and lasting shame, on top of a bonfire in Moygashel, it exposes that effigy for what it is – racist, threatening and offensive.
“It certainly has nothing whatsoever to do with Christianity or with Protestant culture and is in fact inhuman and deeply sub-Christian.
“I hope that the many people from other countries, who live in that area, and who contribute so much to the economy and to the diversity of Dungannon, can be reassured that it does not in any way represent the feeling of the vast majority of their neighbours.”
Moygashel Bonfire Committee has defended the effigy, saying it should not be seen as “racist, threatening or offensive” – and has argued that it is there to express “disgust at the ongoing crisis that is illegal immigration”.
Neither of the two unionist MLAs for the area, the DUP’s Deborah Erskine or the UUP’s Diana Armstrong, have spoken directly about the issue, with their parties referring to other statements issued.
‘Twelfth isn't for BBC and others to define, but ours to celebrate’
By Samuel Morrison, Belfast News Letter, July 11th, 2025
Thursday’s News Letter editorial rightly reminded us that the Twelfth is a vibrant, family-friendly celebration enjoyed by tens of thousands.
Family, history, identity and Protestantism – this is the reality of Orange culture
It was a welcome corrective (The Twelfth is a colourful event enjoyed by many across Northern Ireland, July 10th) to the relentlessly negative framing that the BBC continues to push.
Consider this: the same BBC that grants artistic merit to a republican rap group mocking IRA victims – a group that unveiled a mural of a PSNI Land Rover engulfed in flames – dedicates hours every year to every perceived misstep by working-class loyalists, with a tone of moral superiority.
A visit to Lewes on Bonfire Night – which I have attended several times – reveals that burning effigies is not only an accepted cultural expression elsewhere in the UK but is positively promoted as a tourist attraction. [Lewes Bonfire Night is largest celebration of Guy Fawkes in the UK, every November 5th.] Yet this context is never acknowledged by those with a predetermined narrative about the Twelfth.
The lectures are predictable and condescending, rightly ignored by a community increasingly seeing through the hypocrisy of a publicly funded broadcaster whose output often goes unwatched.
PUL communities concerns ignored
Concern for the loyalist community of the Donegall Road area might be taken seriously if the BBC bothered to report the fact that Sandy Row has been effectively shut to passing trade because of the work on Grand Central – an act that would provoke outrage if it happened anywhere other than a working-class loyalist area.
If they refuse to cover the concerns of loyalism in Sandy Row or reflect the many positive aspects of the marching season, I increasingly wonder if engagement is worthwhile, given that it is only used to legitimise their skewed coverage.
Take Kilkeel’s Eleventh Night celebrations. For years I have encouraged the BBC to report this event – a respectful, well-organised, family-oriented occasion – but they have never shown up. Why? Because it doesn’t fit their narrative.
This year’s Twelfth season again demonstrated the strength of our cultural life.
Celebrations began early with the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Banbridge District No 7 hosted the largest commemoration in NI, with tens of thousands attending in glorious sunshine.
Other districts held smaller but no less meaningful events. Annahoe No 6 and Fivemiletown No 15 hosted a fantastic VE Day celebration featuring free inflatables for children, a barbecue, a World War Two display with vehicles from as far as County Cork, and music showcasing the community’s well-earned reputation for talent.
Orangeism’s role in defeat of Fascism
My own district, Lower Iveagh No 1, is hosting this year’s local Twelfth demonstration. The build-up has been full of community engagement – from a standing-room-only talk on Orangeism’s role in defeating fascism to an exhibition of SEFF (South East Fermanagh Foundation) quilts commemorating innocent victims of terrorism, including the Herron family burnt to death by the IRA in Dromore.
The arch opening on the first Saturday of July brought out crowds once again. Family picnics, a duck race, a trek up Slieve Croob with a Lambeg drum, and the biggest pre-Twelfth BBQ in years hosted by my lodge, LOL 616 – attended by everyone from toddlers to those well beyond the three-score-years-and-ten – all speak to the vibrant life of our culture.
This is the reality of Orange culture: family, history, identity, and (whisper it) Protestantism. It is not the caricature broadcast by those who neither understand nor wish to.
Yes, there have been isolated controversies over the years – as there are in every large-scale cultural tradition – but they are the exception, not the rule, and they certainly do not define who we are.
So don’t buy the propaganda. You are not alone. You are one of tens of thousands who continue to celebrate our culture with joy and dignity.
The truth about the BBC? The issue isn’t a bonfire. The problem they have with the Twelfth is the Twelfth.
Everything it represents – Protestantism, loyalty, unapologetic cultural identity – is the antithesis of what some in media and politics believe we should be. The real offence, in their eyes, is that Protestant unionists dare not only to exist but to celebrate one day a year with a display of music and art which nationalism has nothing to match.
That is what really troubles them.
The Twelfth is not for our opponents to define. It is ours to celebrate.
Samuel Morrison is the TUV press officer
Preparations near completion for 11th night bonfires
By Philip Bradfield, Belfast News Letter, July 10th, 2025
Preparations for the 11th July night across Northern Ireland have been an opportunity to educate children about their culture, build community cohesion and celebrate history and heritage in a family friendly environment.
Around 300 bonfires are set to be lit across Thursday and Friday night ahead of the Orange Order’s July 12 parades on Saturday.
Craigyhill bonfire in Larne has become an international news story in its own right.
Weighing in at around 190 feet tall - plus a 30 foot becon on top, a bus load of German visitors have arrived this week to admire it and organisers have forged links with other bonfire builders in Holland and Norway.
‘Winston Churchill and his wife Clementine’ are a regular feature of the Kilkeel paegent.
A fairground has been operating at the site all week with a fun day planned for Thursday, live music, fire breathers and local DJs. The bonfire ignites at midnight amid a fireworks display.
Last year some 40,000 people with nationalist visitors wearing GAA and Celtic tops among those made welcome.
Larne DUP Councillor Andrew Wilson said: “Like many bonfires, those in Larne stretch back many generations. Old and young are brought together, communities are strengthened and heritage is celebrated.
"Craigyhill bonfire also looks forward, with live music and family entertainment, and crowds gather for several days around the traditional 11th night lighting.
Winston Churchill is part of the annual paegent in Kilkeel
"The organisers are to be commended for ensuring there that no offensive slogans are present, and also for the international links they have established with other bonfire celebrations around Europe."
Gareth Crozier, chairperson of the Schomberg Society in Kilkeel, organises a two week festival each year building up to the Twelfth and their bonfire on the 11th night.
"Our aim is to give the whole thing a family orientated feel and a celebration of our culture and heritage," he said.
The event takes place at Elizabeth II Park from 11am along with a Living History Military Campsite.
Water from the Rover Boyne is gathered each year to be poured on the main street of Kilkeel.
The traditional ‘Boyne Water’ from the River Boyne will be poured across the road in the town centre just before the pageant parade at 7:30pm - this year led by ‘King William III’ and ‘Queen Mary II’ for the first time. Winston Churchill and his wife Clementine are also making an appearance in their vintage car.
‘William and Mary’ to launch concert
William and Mary will then officially launch the open air concert from 8:30pm in Queen Elizabeth II Park.
This year it features a live cannon firing display with Living History Re-Enactors as well as Glasgow Rangers Singer Robyn Keen.
George Dawson helps organise the bonfire in Kilcooley estate in Bangor.
Bonfire builders have worked hard to make the bonfire in Kilcooley, Bangor a welcoming family event.
He is part of a team which maintains safety and helps primary children learn how to gather materials and build their own bonfire.
"While they're working they are asking loads of questions about history and culture and what happened in 1688," he said.
"We explain that the bonfires were lit to guide King William down to the Battle of the Boyne and we also explain the dark years of Northern Ireland."
The process keeps children constructively engaged for much of the summer, he says.
"For me it is about keeping our Britishness alive.
"Few people understand the months of hard work involved. Band practice and building the bonfire takes a couple of nights a week after work for many people.
“It is now a community based family event, but many people don't see it."
