Firefighters take two hours to extinguish controversial bonfire topped with ‘migrant boat’ and Irish flag in Co Tyrone

The pyre in Moygashel, which was topped with a boat containing effigies of migrants, has been condemned by politicians and church leaders.

One campaigner said today it was wrong that the authorities allowed what he branded a "despicable display of hate” to go ahead.

It drew large crowds when it was set alight.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) confirmed it received a call at 10.46pm.

Three appliances, two from Dungannon and one from Clogher, attended the scene along with one water tanker.

The fire was extinguished at 12.33am using one jet and four hose reels.

Meanwhile, firefighters attended a separate incident in the Corcrain area of Portadown.

It took over two and a half hours to extinguish as four appliances attended the scene – two from Portadown, one from Banbridge and one from Lurgan.

They used six jets and two hose reels to extinguish the blaze.

The Moygashel bonfire, which has caused controversy in recent years, had also been festooned with anti-immigration placards with one sign reading “stop the boats” while another read “veterans before refugees”.

Bands held a parade through the town prior to the bonfire being lit.

Controversial ‘migrant boat’ bonfire is lit in Moygashel

On Thursday, police confirmed they had received reports in relation to the pyre and were investigating the display as a “hate incident”.

"The PSNI has received a number of reports regarding the bonfire in Moygashel and the material that has been placed upon it,” said a spokesperson.

“Police are investigating this hate incident.

“Police are here to help those who are or who feel vulnerable, to keep people safe.

"We do this by working with local communities, partners, elected representatives and other stakeholders to deliver local solutions to local problems, building confidence in policing and supporting a safe environment for people to live, work, visit and invest in Northern Ireland, but we can only do so within the legislative framework that exists.”

Speaking today, Patrick Corrigan from Amnesty International said the bonfire in Moygashel should have been stopped.

“It is shameful that the authorities allowed this despicable display of hate to go ahead. What a shocking message to send to local migrant families,” he said.

“It is just weeks since migrant families were forced to flee for their lives when their homes were attacked and set on fire - a chilling pattern of escalating hostility.

“The authorities must treat this as a hate crime, conduct a full investigation, and ensure those responsible are held to account. Racism, xenophobia, and hate have no place here - and that must be made unmistakably clear.”

A senior Protestant church leader also condemned the effigy as “racist, threatening and offensive”.

Quoting words from scripture, he added: “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."

Meanwhile, a second bonfire was also lit ahead of the 11th night.

Watch: Firefighters battle to keep homes cool as thousands attend Corcrain bonfire

A few thousand were present at the Corcrain bonfire in Portadown, which was lit around 11.30pm.

Firefighters hosed down a block of flats and a number of homes that had been boarded up near the bonfire site.

An effigy of Robert Lundy was burned on top of the Corcrain fire. The army officer, who was Governor of Londonderry during the Siege of Derry, is viewed as a traitor within loyalism.

Scores of other Eleventh Night bonfires across Northern Ireland are set to be lit this evening.