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Eleventh night bonfires lit across Northern Ireland

Luke Sproule
BBC News NI
Pacemaker A bonfire goes up in flames, silhouetted against a black night's sky. In the foreground silhouetted figures can be seen watching it burn.Pacemaker
Bonfires, including this one in Mount Vernon in north Belfast, were lit on Friday night

Eleventh night bonfires have been lit across Northern Ireland, including at a controversial site in south Belfast.

The fires are lit every year as part of celebrations in some unionist areas, ahead of the Orange Order's 12 July parades on Saturday.

While most pass off without any controversy, some are contentious.

Concerns were raised about a bonfire off the Donegall Road in south Belfast due to the presence of asbestos on the site, as well as fears over the power supply to two major hospitals because the bonfire is near an electricity substation.

The bonfire was lit just after midnight.

Northern Ireland's Environment Minister Andrew Muir had urged people not to light or attend it.

Rev Mervyn Gibson, grand secretary of the Orange Order, said the bonfire should go ahead, saying concerns about the presence of asbestos on the site were "clearly political".

PA Media Effigies of three figures wearing balaclavas in the style of the green, white and orange Irish tricolour flag. The figure on the left is wearing a beige fleece and blue jeans, the one in the middle an orang boiler suit and the one on the right a Celtic top of green and white hoops and dark blue tracksuit bottoms. They are standing on the side of a bonfire made up of wooden pallets.PA Media
The Kneecap effigies were placed on a bonfire before it was lit on Friday night

Effigies of rap trio Kneecap were placed on another bonfire in south Belfast. They appeared along with a placard referencing the group.

A banner about the band was placed on a bonfire in Dungannon, County Tyrone.

The band's manager, Daniel Lambert, shared a quote from Kneecap on X, saying that young working-class people in Belfast were "facing the same issues whether they're from the Falls Road or the Shankill".

An image of the Dongeall Road bonfire, in the middle distance, beginning to catch light. Flames can be seen rising from the top of it. A metal fence is in the foreground
The Donegall Road bonfire was lit just after midnight