Pallet The Blue Sky

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The loyalist bonfire in Lanark Way in West Belfast with ‘Twin’ (above) a member of the construction team.

Stephen writes:

“The structure is 240 pallets high and is estimated to be 120 feet tall. A stolen religious icon from a memorial to a suicide victim was allegedly placed on top of the bonfire on Tuesday but has subsequently been removed. Loyalist bonfires will be lit across Northern Ireland on Friday night to mark the start of the annual 12th of July celebrations…”

(Stephen Kilkenny/Photocall Ireland)

Meanwhile…

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Ah here.

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119 thoughts on “Pallet The Blue Sky”

    1. ABM

      If it was Belfast Gay Pride weekend, you wouldn’t bat an eye-lid (incidentally, folk up north are quite a conservative bunch — at such “pride” events, the crowd is made up mostly of protesters and not gays).

      Anyway, working class men out expressing a love for their country, their heritage and their culture. How dare they.

      I do have a problem with the anti Catholic stuff they preach (though the Irish Times are actually worse and more damaging than our Northern Protestant brethren).

      2. Helen

        bigotry is not culture or heritage – bigotry is hate. There’s a tonne of culture they can celebrate (from the Weaver Poets to Ulster-Scots), but instead a certain section drown their brains in sectarian bigotry. They’re better than this, much better.

      3. Kevin

        Oh, don’t be disingenuous, you know well this isn’t just about expressing a love for their country. And if the Gay Pride folk decided to burn a religious symbol taken from a memorial to a suicide victim, I think there’d rightly be a reaction to that from most people.

        Comparing Gay Pride marches with Orange marches is a false equivalence too, before you start that.

        1. ABM

          Anti-catholic bigotry and anti-catholic imagery is par for the course at gay “pride” marches.

          1. Nigel

            It’s almost as of there’s history there whereby gays might feel some antipathy for the Catholic Church.

          2. ABM

            And they will continue to be reminded that one day, they will be judged for their actions. It would be unchristian to tell them that what they do is perfectly normal. If that’s a message that they don’t like hearing, then they should take steps to insulate themselves from all public spaces.

          4. Clampers Outside!

            Regarding your point on ‘bigotry’ – The vast majority of gays in Ireland could never be classed as bigots towards the Catholic church. Because most gays in Ireland were born, raised and indoctrinated Catholic. They are the furthest away you can get from bigotry as their knowledge of Catholicism and its problems have been LIVED by them.

            Regarding the imagery – When the Catholic Church’s position on homosexuality sees their orientation as an “objective disorder”, as “ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil” then yeah they are well within fairness to carry anti-Catholic imagery in their defence to show up the RCC for their limp wristed so called tolerance.

          5. Nigel

            And the Catholic Church should be continually reminded that one day they will be judged for their actions. It would be unchristian to tell the Catholic Church that what they do is perfectly normal. If that’s a message the Catholic Church does not like hearing then they should take steps to insulate themesleves from all public spaces.

          6. ABM

            The church does not discriminate against gays. All clergy are required to be celibate. (pretty much). This is not “discrimination”. Them’s the rules. If you don’t like the rules, go be a transvestite vicar at Dibley..

            There have even been popes (Leo X) with a penchant for young boys in the history of the church.

            What other myths do you folks have?

      5. jeremy kyle

        They’ve an effigy of Gerry Adams in a Celtic jersey hanging from it. But, you’re right it’s all about love.

    2. ahyeah

      The ubiquitous ‘stay classy’ comment. Bet you were caught between that and ‘bigoted much?’

  4. Davey T

    I remember as kids we used to build bonfires every so often, for the laugh.

    Then we grew up.

    1. ABM

      In Belfast the dole is very low. Unemployment is 7.2%. It’s 11.9% down here.

      If you’re work-shy up north, you cannot have the comfortable existence you have down here.

      If there’s one thing the Protestant folk do have, it’s a good work ethos.

      2. Cian

        In the North it was historically *ridiculously* easy to get Disability Living Allowance if your local UUP MP signed the forms; meaning that rather than being on the dole, they’re on DLA instead. 10% of the population are on DLA which is far higher than anywhere else.

      3. John Gallen

        @ABM…. unemployment is low because over 31% of the population is employed by the state (20% higher than ROI)… the UK average is 19%.

        Add to that that NI has the lowest economic activity rating in the whole of the UK, the lowest standards of living (on a par with Wales at best) and you’ll find an economy that is failing miserably and propped up by NI’s UK mainland taxpayers.

        Don’t delude yourself that their is a successful economy up north, they’ve a public sector pension bubble that is going to soak up taxes for years longer than our own.

    1. All the good ones fly south for winter

      Those flags are simply placeholders that are taken down and replaced on the night with live horses that shall be painted in green white and yellow.

    1. Mé Féin

      No, they burn Irish flags. But no harm, it’s their “culture.” We have to respect that or we’re bigoted.

  11. Optimus Grime

    Ah the twalfth! Northern Ireland’s annual celebration of diversity in the community. I’ll bring a few cans and a few sausies lads and we can sit around the camp fire and tell a few tales!

        1. ABM

          What makes you think the Vatican cares what you think?

          And by the way, the Catholic church is on of the most diverse organisation on the planet. If you ever see a big Mass at St Peters, you see priests and religious who have come from every corner of the planet.

          1. kurtz

            “the Catholic church is on of the most diverse organisation on the planet. ”

            unless you are gay or a woman.

            although maybe if you are a closeted gay.

          2. Formerly known as @ireland.com

            @ABM

            Diversity is more than have people from different countries. It is about respecting different ideas and beliefs. The RCC wants to maximise donations, that is why it has spread across the World.

            The RCC is one of the most bigoted organisations in the world.

          3. scottser

            i am under no illusions that the church gives a tuppeny damn what i or anyone else thinks of it. that’s why it’s a rotten, hypocritcal sham of an organisation.

        1. All the good ones fly south for winter

          Personally hoping for a “oh the humanity” moment myself. Zeppelin optional.

  12. andyourpointiswhatexactly

    HEY BUDDY! YER TOWER IS LISTING BADLY!
    Someone should just sneak up and burn it by daytime for the craic, like. Do they burn the flegs that are on it too???

    Dopes.

    1. Mister Mister

      Absolutely, whatever you think of their ideologies, their bonfires are pretty good.

    2. Chamos

      Considering the height, weight, wind and the structural instability of the crushed pallets in the middle, it’s impressive that there aren’t more injuries.

  17. scottser

    i think it looks great. i tells ya, our northern cousins sure know how to ignore planning and council by-laws – there’d be no garth brooks fiasco up there.

    1. All the good ones fly south for winter

      Relatively speaking it must be, but the bar is very low with this crowd.

  19. Sinabhfuil

    Not to be too hard-headed about this, but how much would you get if you sold all those pallets instead of burning them?
    (And do they not have clean air laws in Northern Ireland?)

      1. postmanpat

        That’s right the euro pallets will get you about 5 each , I sold a load to the creamers once in my warehousing days. they haggled me down to 25 old pounds for 8 pallets. couldn’t complain seeing as it was behind the bosses back. free nights drinking all the same…they robbed the warehouse later on though. ..just kidding, (I made sure to lock up the shop thoroughly that night , you cant be too careful with those types)

  20. HappyDub

    We sent our Northern correspondent to speak to some of the revellers, one man, who called himself ‘Twin’, said of the celebration : “dirdly dirdly dirdly dirdly dirdly, dirdly dirdly dirdly, dirdly dirdly dirdly dirdly dirdly dirdly dirdly dirdly dirdly dirdly, dirdly dirdly dirdly dirdly, dirdly dirdly dirdly dirdly dirdly, dirdly dirdly dirdly dirdly dirdly”.

    1. scottser

      aw dude, you be can’t be bigoted on a thread that criticises bigots, that’s just dumb.

  22. Fleming

    Humans strive for identity, individual or tribal.

    The universe is vast and we only live on a tiny blue dot.

    Our views and ideals mean nothing.

  25. Optimus Grime

    Can these lads be contracted for Halloween bonfires? No matter how much you disagree with the bigotry you have to admire the craftsmanship!

    1. All the good ones fly south for winter

      Yes, how difficult a construction job it must be to stack pallets in a circular shape with only 2 or 3 decades of experience to draw upon and a mere 2 dozen or so bodies to help out, truly this is magnificent.

    1. scottser

      ah dublooney, you have nailed it. the important thing here is the patio furniture. won’t someone think of the patio furniture!!??!!

      1. Dubloony

        Was thinking more about putting their obvious creative engineering skills to more constructive use!

  31. BelfastRed

    Yeah, Yeah…apart from the nonsense about the Pride Parade in Belfast – it was 50,000 taking part and watching last year and less than 100 religious protesting types. Look it up…

    Anyway, it’s the 11th July, like anyone with any sense in Belfast, I’m away to Donegal.

  32. Kolmo

    These pallet burning genocidal types are leveraged by the so-called middle class unionist politicians to get what they want from Westminister/Dublin, this feckless, simmering cauldron of hate is kept on the boil, any whiff of a drop in grants or funding, the laughably reactionary rabble are roused…same as 100 years ago…except more tattoos, method in the apparent madness….

    A cultural, environmental and social embarrassment.

    2. Jay

      We could always wall off the entire place and do a real life battle royale. Wouldn’t even need to give them weapons, id imagine they’d somehow “find” some lying about.

  34. scottser

    by my reckoning you’ll need a fork about 120 feet long if ya wanna toast an oul marshmellow on that yoke.

  35. jedi

    it’s not often I wish for torrential rain but if we could have some the next 24 hours that would be nice

  39. bobsyearauntie

    We all know that Protestant parades, bonfires and marches in the North have nothing to do with heritage but everything to do with provoking Catholics and causing trouble. They should ban all these events. Northern Ireland should be more concerned with attracting tourism and jobs. Primitive sectarian, bigoted – thuggery does nobody any favors…

  40. bobsyerauntie

    We all know that Protestant parades, bonfires and marches in the North have nothing to do with heritage but everything to do with provoking Catholics and causing trouble. They should ban all these events. Northern Ireland should be more concerned with attracting tourism and jobs. Primitive sectarian, bigoted – thuggery does nobody any favors…

    1. Caroline

      They are being treated like kids in a sweet shop. They were promised if they shut up they could have ONE thing, so they picked the most outrageous item possible. Now a deal’s a deal so they have to grit their teeth and let them away with it.

  42. RonnieTash

    Credit when due – Thats a genuinely impressive structure. True, it was built by fully grown men, who presumably took a few days off work to gather the pallets and build it, but it puts the pathetic Halloween efforts in this neck if the woods to shame. Children of Ireland – up your f***ing game.

    1. Formerly known as @ireland.com

      Those nutters are welcome to keep their over sized, dangerous, polluting, bigoted, bonfires.
      :)

  43. PTr

    Careful, Ruth Dudley Edwards or John A Murphy or some other of their “historian” defenders will be after all you people who do not appreciate this ‘kulchure’ and are therefore sectarian Sinn Fein supporters, who are fair game for loyalist assassins . . . Or for arrest by Special Branch experts like Rev Mervyn Gibson. ..

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