The conflict between Irish Catholics and British Protestants in Northern Ireland officially ended in 1998 with the Good Friday Agreement. Even if the conflict’s amplitude has significantly weakened, it does continue to take a hard toll on the residents of the region. According to the Northern Ireland Peace Monitoring Report of 2016, manifestations of paramilitary activity over the 3 years (2014-2016) encompass: 109 incidents with the use of firearms; over 1,000 shootings and bombings; 88 attempted bombings; 1,100 bomb alarms; 50 persons injured as a result of firearm attacks, 116 victims of paramilitary beatings, 22 paramilitary murders; nearly 800 punishment-style attacks; and 4,000 cases of sectarian forced eviction. Confiscated were 124 firearms; 8,988 pieces of ammunition; and 25kg of bomb-making materials.
With time, Belfast city center has taken on the look of most developing European capitals in which new office or university buildings lift the skyline and the urban horizon thickens with cranes reaching for the clouds. Yet at the same time, annually and for many a decade now, in the months leading up to July 11, colossal towers of wooden pallets arise amidst the modern towers of steel. These are the Loyalist bonfire structures of the working class, erected to commemorate a British victory over the Irish in 1690. The date is a crucial element in Protestant identity. The turrets, often surpassing 40 meters in height, are set alight during a portentous celebration culminating at midnight on July 11. This often leads to additional tensions between the Protestants and Catholics. For this reason, the towers are often torn down by Irish Republicans as part of a perpetual war without end.
