Here is a board from outside the Ulster Rangers Supporters Club (Fb) on the Shankill Road. It highlights the roles played by women during WWI as nurses and welders and in the Land Army. “She hasn’t a sword and she hasn’t a gun. But she’s doing her duty now fighting’s begun.”
The forces are shown gathered outside the West Belfast Orange Hall, on the Shankill at Brookmount Street.
The north and west sides of the substation at Boundary Way in the Lower Shankill estate have been repainted, restoring the Union flag (M02467) and “UYM” (M02469) lettering in vibrant red, white, and blue.
The other two sides, which previously featured “UFF” (X00249) and a C Coy. mural (M02466) are now blank and walled in.
The memorial garden in Mount Vernon, which previously had and Ulster Volunteers mural and UVF stone has undergone a major redevelopment this year with a new “cut-out” mural to the 36th (Ulster) Division and memorial plaques to six UVF members who died between 1974 and 2000, including (in the second image) Joe Shaw, who was shot by the UDA during the 1974-1975 feud. (For details of the killings and its aftermath, see this Balaclava Street article.) See the final image, below, for the plaque on the outside wall of the garden listing all six members.
In this modified ‘School’ safety sign in the lower Shankill estate, a mother and child with collarettes go to school, under the watchful eye of UFF, UYM, and UDA boards on the gable wall behind it. (In 2000, a board reading “Drumcree” was placed over “School”. See J0585)
Sınn Féın leader Gerry Adams said of the (Provisional) IRA in 1995 “They haven’t gone away, you know” (youtube). The dove of peace is shot down (presumably by IRA weapons) at the junction of Northumberland and Beverly Streets in PUL west Belfast.
The South Belfast UDA this week issued a statement that they “won’t be leaving any stage whilst republicans of any faction still exist”. As the Newsletter article notes, the South Belfast branch of the UDA does not speak for the whole organization. Until confirmed, then, the new mural above – “Welcome to the loyalist Lower Shankill – UDA 2nd Batt. C. Coy” – provides only circumstantial evidence …
The quote on this new board in the Lower Shankill estate – “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has” – is attributed to “Margaret Mead, American Author 1901-1978”. Mead in fact was best known as an anthropologist and in particular for her study of adolescent coming-of-age in the islands of Samoa which concluded that adolescence there was not at all the stressful and confused period that it was Western teens.
The lower Shankill estate has been re-imaged (again). The history of re-imaging in the lower Shankill is told by the new piece at Boundary Way: the wall first sported a mural critiquing Sinn Féin’s role in the peace process (see this 2004 image) before being replaced around 2007 by a mural celebrating Andrew Jackson’s Ulster-Scots heritage (see X00285). The new work sends a mixed message: the word “resilient” is in large letters and is the title of the piece, but the quote reads “Stop calling me “resilient”. Because every time you say “Oh, they’re resilient,” that means you can do something else to me. I am not resilient.” The quote would seem to be by Tracie Washington (not: Tracie Jackson) of the Louisiana Justice Institute. The left-hand side wall, which read “UDA Est. 1971” was painted over. For a description of the launch, see this Housing Executive report. Five printed pieces (four of them new this year) have replaced various murals in the area.
Seosamh Mac Coille Collection 