Loyalists burning effigies of asylum seekers is not as bad as anything Kneecap has said, Jamie Bryson has claimed.

In the village of Moygashel, County Tyrone, locals have erected a tower of pallets ahead of the Eleventh Night to commemorate those bonfires that welcomed King William III to Ireland during the Glorious Revolution. 

This year, they have placed an effigy of a migrant vessel with asylum seekers in it, along with placards stating ‘Stop The Boats’ and ‘Veterans Before Refugees’ in reference to the migrant boats crisis in the English Channel. 

The effigy has been widely condemned by nationalist politicians in Northern Ireland, with First Minister Michelle O’Neill tweeting she was opposed to “openly racist displays that are sickening and deplorable.”

On Newstalk Breakfast, loyalist activist Jamie Bryson said he found it interesting to compare people’s reaction to the bonfire with their reaction to Kneecap’s call for the death of Conservative MPs. 

“The first thing I would say is that most of the people leading the choirs of condemnation in Northern Ireland are the same people who spent the last number of months defending Kneecap,” he said. 

“Goodness me, look at the hypocrisy of these people. 

“It’s controversial, clearly; the people there, each year, they combine their cultural celebration with an act of political protest. 

“Quite often, political protest is edgy, it is controversial and that certainly is what this is. 

“It’s a long standing tradition in that particular bonfire that they do something type of artistic, controversial expression in order to make a political protest.” 

People watch the burning of a bonfire in Portadown, Co Armagh in 2023. Picture by: Alamy.com.

Mr Bryson added loyalists in Tyrone are “perfectly entitled” to make that a political point with their bonfire, asking whether it could be construed as ‘hateful’ when they burnt effigies of politicians. 

“Was it a statement of hatred when people were burning effigies of Donald Trump or Boris Johnson or other figures?” he asked. 

“Is it a statement of hatred there as well?”

Between January and June, nearly 20,000 people crossed the English Channel from France to claim asylum - a figure nearly 50% higher than in the same period last year. 

In March, Afghans were the largest group of nationals arriving in Britain in a small boat, followed by people from Syria, then Iraq. 

People thought to be migrants wade through the sea to board a small boat leaving the beach at Gravelines, France, in an attempt to reach the Britain by crossing the English Channel. Picture by : Alamy.com.

“Even the British Government has accepted, many of the people coming on the boats are coming here for criminal purposes and for other reasons,” Mr Byrson claimed. 

“So, it’s incorrect to say that anybody coming on these boats is vulnerable. 

“It’s also correct to say that everyone coming has some type of nefarious purpose; there are people coming who are vulnerable.” 

He added that he accepts that people will take “different views” with regards to the bonfire, but that it was ultimately a question of free speech. 

“I think if we get to the point where we tell people, when we start to regulate what’s acceptable political protest and what isn’t, then we’re entering a very dangerous place for the whole of society,” he said. 

“So, there’ll be questions of taste, there’ll be legitimate debates around that. 

“But I think people need to calm the jets a little bit - we’ve seen far worse which hasn’t been condemned i.e. Kneecap.” 

The 12th of July falls on Saturday this year. 

Main image: The bonfire in Tyrone. Picture by: Alamy.com.