CNR

Bap McGreevy

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IRA volunteer Frank “Bap” McGreevy spent 15 (Irish Times) or 17 (An Phoblacht) years in Long Kesh (for a crime of which he was innocent, says Anthony McIntyre; possibly the car bombing of the Klondyke Bar in Sandy Row). He was attacked by two assailants at his home in (the old) Ross Street, near this memorial board, in March 2008 and died of his wounds after three days in hospital.

As the wide shots below show, there are now a dozen pieces along this stretch of the Falls Road. The other pieces have all been seen in previous posts. For close-ups, see
Kieran Abram with Charlie Hughes
plaque and map of The Falls Road Massacre
Unrepentant Republicans Billy McKee, Alec Murphy, and Brendan Hughes; the Falls Curfew
Web Of Corruption: Drop The Rents; PSNI Not Supported; Divis 81 in Defund The Police
For A Socialist Republic

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Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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105 Years Of Balfour

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“Britain in Palestine & Ireland” The Balfour Declaration of November 1917 is seen as a pivotal moment in the history leading to the what is formally known as the State Of Israel, as it made the UK the first major government to endorse the idea of a homeland for Jews (WP).

The poster (for a talk in Cultúrlann) is in Allworthy Avenue; the board is on Northumberland Street. The latter draws parallels between Ireland and Palestine: homelands partitioned for British imperialist interests, struggles for freedom met with British barbarism … forbidden from speaking their native tongue, faiths outlawed … . About 650 former RIC members were recruited to the “British Gendarmarie” that would police what was called “Mandatory Palestine” (Palestine Studies | Irish History) after WWI.

The League Of Nations mandate putting the UK in change of the Palestinian territory was replaced (in 1947) by a UN plan for partition, which triggered an internal war between Jews and Arabs, and when the UK ended the mandate and evacuated from Palestine in May 1948, Israel declared independence and neighbouring Arab states entered the conflict. About 700,000 Arabs were displaced during the fighting. Key48 (tw) advocates for the right of return and uses as a symbol the keys that householders took with them when they fled.

Update: a sticker from the same campaign

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Copyright © 2023 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X11793 X11794 X11838 X11839 X11840 X11841 His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.

Belfast Blues

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The career of Belfast blues/rock guitarist Rab McCullough spanned more than five decades, beginning with the formation of Baraka back in the 1970s, and included opening for Jimi Hendrix and a 20-year residency in the Empire. McCullough died in May (of 2021) after suffering a heart attack while swimming in Andersonstown leisure centre (BBC | BelTel | Belfast Media | Love Belfast). McCullough’s family is maintaining his Facebook page.

The mural was painted in Owenvarragh Park/Páırc Abhaınn Bhearach near his former home by Glen Molloy (ig). (Belfast Media)

Also painted with blue eyes: Samuel Beckett (No Matter, Try Again)

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The Stolen Child

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The re-painted mural to plastic-bullet victim Julie Livingstone was rededicated this past Saturday (October 15th). For the previous mural, see 2010. “The Stolen Child – Come away, O human child/To the waters and the wild/With a faery hand in hand/For the world’s more full of weeping/Than you can understand… – WB Yeats.”

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A Letter To The 22

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“I gcuımhne na nÓglach a fuaır bás ar son saoırse [in memory of the volunteers who died for freedom].” The “22” are the familiar 12 deceased Troubles-era hunger-strikers, plus 10 from 1917 to 1946: Thomas Ashe, Terence McSwiney, Michael Fitzgerald, Joseph Murphy, Joe Witty, Dennis Barry, Andy O’Sullivan, Tony Darcy, Jack McNeela, Sean McCaughey.

“‘A Letter To The 22: You have not gone away. You are in the hearts/and on the lips of your people./The old speak of you with knowing tongue. The middle/aged, as those who walked beside you./The young men and women with a passion not unlike your own./Your names can be heard on the wind taken from the mouths/of men who tend their flocks on Slieve Gullion, Cnoc Phádraıg, Glenshane./They echo in small graveyards in/Cork, Kerry, Galway, Mayo, Tyrone, Antrim, Derry and Armagh./They are heard among your people at the mass gate on/Sunday, in the crowd at the hurling game, around the hearth when/the bottle is cracked and song in sung. Your image can be seen/on the faces of happy smiling children for whose freedom you gave your all./You are in our prayers, you have not gone away, you never will’ – Colum Mac Gıolla Bhéın“

For the same 22, see Staılc Ocraıs. Replaces a painted mural to Joe McDonnell.

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Costs Are Rising. And So Must We!

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“It’s not a cost of living crisis, it’s capitalism – Join the fight for a socialist republic.” Here are images of the Lasaır Dhearg (web) “We Can’t Afford …” campaign in Derry’s Bogside. “We can’t afford … heat, electricity, to eat, a home.” “Ireland: 1.1 million living in poverty, 312,000 of them are children.” “Waiting on a home: 103,218; empty homes: 188,000”

For the same campaign in Belfast, see We Can’t Afford. Free Derry Corner has its own Visual History page.

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Copyright © 2022 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
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Donncha Mac Nıallaıs

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“Óglach, gaeılgeoır, gníomhaí, Cara. Ár mbuíochas leat. [Volunteer (in the IRA), Irish-speaker, activist, friend. Our thanks to you]” Mac Nıallaıs was imprisoned in 1976 (Belfast Telegraph) and went on the blanket – here is his mother, Mary, protesting his treatment: Do You Care? Upon his release in 1986 he took up community work and political activism in Derry, including a prominent role the parade protests in the mid-90s (see No Sectarian Marches | No Consent No Parade). (Derry Journal) The mural is by local artists Razer and (Donncha’s brother) Paddy Nelis (BelTel).

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Copyright © 2022 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
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Bill Of Shame

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A rally against the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy And Reconciliation) Bill takes place later today, congregating at City Hall after marching from three locations around the city (the McGurks Bar memorial in north Belfast), Divis tower in west Belfast, and Cromac Square near the Markets. The Bill passed the House Of Commons in July despite criticism from all sides, including the DUP, Alliance, and the SDLP – Colm Eastwood called it “shameful” and a “whitewash” (Breaking News). One criticism of the bill is that the body it would establish (the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery) must not place at risk the national security of the UK, which is taken to mean protection for UK government officials (Irish Central). It is also thought not to be compliant with the Human Rights Act (ITV | BelTel).

The rally is organised by the Time For Truth campaign (web).

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We Can’t Afford

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“We can’t afford … heating … electricity … a home.” “Costs are rising and so must we!” “Cost of living crisis? You mean capitalism.” Lasaır Dhearg (web) seizes the means of propaganda to push for socialism as an alternative to capitalism’s current difficulties.

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