Eleventh Night in Northern Ireland
Eleventh Night in Northern Ireland is held on July 11. This event in the second decade of the month July is annual.
Help us

In Northern Ireland, the Eleventh Night or 11th Night, also known as "bonfire night", is the night before the Twelfth of July, an Ulster Protestant celebration. On this night, large towering bonfires are lit in Protestant loyalist neighbourhoods, and are often accompanied by street parties and loyalist marching bands.
During the Troubles, loyalist paramilitary groups like the Ulster Defence Association and Ulster Volunteer Force used Eleventh Night bonfires to hold "shows of strength", which involved masked gunmen firing volleys of shots into the air.
It is a tradition that dates back centuries; in 1690 bonfires were lit by Protestants to guide William of Orange to Ireland's shores. The Dutch King went on to defeat the Catholic King James at the Battle of the Boyne on 12th July and the date has been commemorated fondly ever since.
Similar holidays and events, festivals and interesting facts





