Put out the bonfire and chip in for the barbecue
Not only are the toxic fumes from these highly flammable substances extremely dangerous to those who involved in their burning but they also pose a grievous danger to residents in the immediate vicinity and far beyond.
Also, the very act of burning these substances in a public place not only constitutes criminal negligence but it is also a very serious environmental infringement.
Incidentally, I believe it is totally irresponsible of the authorities to permit or “condone by silence” this serious and unnecessary violation of pollution laws.
The practice is also in total breach of EU environmental protocols and may, in the short term, cost the Irish taxpayer untold millions in penalties if (or should I rather say when) the EU decides to implement sanctions on this behaviour.
These massive emissions are likely to be added to the annual national carbon emission quota which could incur even further penalties.
There is, however, a simple solution. While working in the community movements on the northside of Cork city some years ago we tackled this problem by organising a “community barbecue” every year for the children of the area on bonfire night.
We first organised a door-to-door collection to cover the cost and, while doing so, requested that all parents explain to their children that chopping down trees was no longer allowed.
Having publicised the events well in advance we explained to the children that we were going to celebrate the occasion in a more organised and enjoyable manner in future years.
They readily accepted this and in order to maintain their interest we asked them to design and make their own outfits for a fancy dress competition. On the night itself we provided music, refreshments and soft drinks and generally made a festive children’s street party of the occasion. While we set up a controlled and well-monitored barbecue, we didn’t actually cook on it. Instead, in the interests of public safety, we bought chips, etc, from the local chipper and distributed them to the children from around the barbecue area.
Various games were also organised and later a street disco was held.
The “replacement” celebration took place annually for several years and each and every one was a resounding success with, surprisingly enough, both parents and children joining in and enjoying themselves in a family and indeed neighbourly way.
These nights became known as barbecue nights and while the basic ethos of “fire and festivity” was retained no environmental damage or pollution was created. Why this was never emulated citywide – or indeed countrywide – is beyond me, but one thing is for sure: if we are to succeed in ousting an outdated destructive tradition such as bonfire night, it would need to be replaced with something more attractive to the youngsters and organised countrywide in a highly sustained manner during the first few years.
What is needed next is the political will to get the job done. I am not saying that our particular format is exactly right for altering public perception/opinion of bonfire/halloween nights but rather what I am suggesting is that viable alternatives be introduced to replace them. As to be expected in our case, the first few years were difficult and each year took renewed energy to reinforce the changed concept of bonfire night, but we eventually succeeded and from then on it became barbecue night and no damage was caused in our neighbourhood on these nights.
To this day I regularly have these same children (who are now, of course, adults and parents themselves) thank me for their very happy memories of these occasions. More often than not they will say it’s a pity these things aren’t being organised anymore.
This, I believe, speaks for itself.
Mike Kearney
Boyne Crescent
Mayfield
Cork
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