DUP MP SAMMY Wilson has submitted a motion to the House of Commons to congratulate the people of Larne for building a 210ft tall bonfire.
The East Antrim MP shared the text of the ‘early day’ motion in a tweet, in which he called the bonfire “an amazing feat of engineering”.
“This House congratulates the people of Craigyhill in Larne on building the world’s tallest bonfire, reaching a height of 210ft,” the text reads.
It states that the motion “recognises that this has been a joint community effort involving Catholics and Protestants” and “is disappointed at the lack of support from officers at Mid and East Antrim Borough Council”.
Early day motions (EDMs) are motions submitted for debate in the House of Commons without a fixed date. They are often used to put the views of individual MPs on record, or to draw attention to specific events or campaigns.
However, as there is no specific time allocated to EDMs, very few are debated. Ministers, whips and parliamentary private secretaries do not normally sign EDMs.
The Early Day Motion I have submitted this morning to congratulate the people of Craigyhill on what is an amazing feat of engineering. pic.twitter.com/nxjFPZXOCm
— Sammy Wilson MP 🇺🇦🇬🇧 (@eastantrimmp) July 10, 2023
The bonfire is nearing completion and is one of many being built in loyalist areas across Northern Ireland ahead of the traditional 12th of July celebrations.
Twelfth commemorations in Northern Ireland mark the victory of Protestant King William of Orange over Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne, north of Dublin, in 1690 – a triumph that secured a Protestant line of succession to the British Crown.
While the majority of bonfires pass off without incident, some are the source of community tension, with authorities previously having intervened to remove towering pyres on health and safety grounds.
There has also been controversy around bonfires in previous years, with election posters and Irish flags hung from the stacks of wood, with some towering more than 100ft high.
Last year, effigies hanging from a bonfire in Carrickfergus featured photographs of Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill and Mary Lou McDonald as well as leader of the Alliance Party Naomi Long.
An Irish flag and a picture of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar were burned on a loyalist bonfire in Co Tyrone this weekend. The PSNI are currently investigating the incident as a “hate crime”.
The text of Wilson’s motion goes on to state that it “welcomes the thousands of people who have already visited Larne to see the bonfire and the spend they have generated locally”.
It also states that it believes “this amazing feat of engineering should be included in the Guinness World Records”.
A spokesperson for Guinness World Records told the Belfast Telegraph in June that it was not planning to send an adjudicator to see the bonfire this year.
The bonfire reached more than 200ft high last year, which was hailed by organisers as an unofficial world record.
This year, organisers said an attempt to have the record officiated by Guinness World Records was abandoned and that fundraising efforts are going towards a local toddler who is undergoing cancer treatment.
The Just Giving campaign for Pia Grace, posted by the Craigyhill Bonfire Committee, has raised more than £5,000 so far.
A banner on the giant bonfire reads “All donations to this bonfire will go to little Pia-Grace & her family”, above a link to the donation site.
Last year, a man died after falling from a separate bonfire in Larne, in the Antiville estate.
John Steele was helping to construct the towering pyre when the incident occurred. The bonfire was more than 50ft tall.
Contains reporting from the Press Association
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