Loyalists in Moygashel complained about a heavy PSNI presence as a bonfire due to be lit on Friday night moved closer. The Moygashel Bonfire Association said the village had been the focus of an intense police operation in recent days.
The association’s Facebook page said an unprecedented number of PSNI vehicles had maintained a non-stop patrol through quiet residential estates over the last 48 hours. It said the operation continued through two nights and appeared heavily centred on the local bonfire area.
Moygashel Bonfire Association Facebook
The Facebook post said police had refused to leave the bonfire area unattended. It added that local youths felt deliberately targeted and criminalised by the constant surveillance, and that there were widespread fears the heavy-handed presence would continue right up until bonfire night.
The PSNI said local police were carrying out high visibility patrolling in Moygashel, across Mid Ulster, and in other districts to ensure public safety for all communities. That patrol pattern comes as the village has recently been the focus of race-hate displays, including anti-PSNI graffiti, a crosshair symbol, and a road sign that appeared to feature people in a boat with the message No illegal immigrants for 1 mile.
Friday night
Last year, a small boat filled with dark-coloured mannequins was placed on the village pyre and set alight. This year’s bonfire has already drawn speculation that it may again carry an anti-immigration theme when it is lit on Friday night.
For people living near the site, the immediate question is whether the bonfire will be limited to the pyre itself or used for another display. The police presence has turned the final days before Friday night into a visible stand-off around the bonfire area, with the association describing patrols as disruptive and the PSNI treating the site as part of a wider public safety operation.
