Bonfires lit across Northern Ireland as people welcome in Twelfth of July

Bonfires have been lit in loyalist areas across Northern Ireland on Tuesday evening.

Some of the pyres, mainly constructed by stacking wooden pallets, have already been torched in recent nights – but the vast majority are set alight on the 11th.

The 'Eleventh Night' fires are traditionally lit on the eve of the Twelfth of July – a day when members of Protestant loyal orders parade to commemorate the Battle of Boyne in 1690.

Most of the hundreds of bonfires pass off without incident, but several continue to be the source of controversy.

This year a bonfire in Moygashel gained condemnation for burning a picture of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, while a bonfire in Co Tyrone was the source of controversy over an effigy of Sinn Fein Vice President Michelle O'Neill.

In Newtownards one man was taken to hospital after a fall from a bonfire.

It is the busiest date for the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service which usually deals with hundreds of calls related to the towering pyres.

On-lookers at a fire in Conway Street Belfast. Credit: Pacemaker
A man watches on as a bonfire burns in ballysillan. Credit: Pacemaker
The Ballymacash bonfire in Lisburn.
The Craighill bonfire in Larne is lit. Credit: PA Media
The Craigyhill Bonfire in Larne burns low on the 11th night. Credit: PA Media
A bonfire in Larne produces a large flame. Credit: Press Eye
People watch on as a Larne bonfire burns. Credit: Press Eye
Two people, one with an umbrella, watch on as a Larne bonfire burns.

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