18-05-2025
Work starts on Northern Ireland's largest bonfire ahead of Twelfth celebrations
The site at Craigyhill in Larne has earned a reputation for being the tallest and most spectacular celebration on the night.
Watch: Northern Ireland's tallest bonfire at Craigyhill collapses
Last year organisers claimed they had broken the world record again, with the bonfire rising to just over 205ft.
However, the claim remains unofficial — the Guinness Book of World Records still lists the Hofstalder Funkenzunft in Lustenau, Austria on March 16, 2019 at 198ft, 11ins as the record holder.
Nevertheless, the Co Antrim organisers are claiming theirs as the world's tallest, and insist the bonfire is built in accordance with health and safety rules, and after taking advice from authorities.
The bonfire at Craigyhill will rise over the next two months, helped by hundreds of volunteers who descend on Larne from across Northern Ireland to assist in stacking wooden pallets.
Last year the Craigyhill bonfire organisers gained even more publicity after allowing a parachute jump from the construction.
The stunt was performed by professional base jumper Stephen Magennis.
In 2022, local man John Steele died after falling 50ft from a bonfire in nearby Antiville with the site at Craigyhill serving as a gathering point for a vigil in his memory.
