“UVF” on a red-white-and blue-painted electrical box, the only thing standing in the razed ground where Soudan Street used to be.
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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Boundary Stone Of The Temenos
PUL
Dhabihah
The images above and below show a new UDA mural in memory of John Gregg, “The Reaper”, who waged a campaign of terror against Catholics in south-east Antrim and was reputedly associated with British neo-Nazi groups. Gregg was gunned down in 2003, while returning from a Rangers match, as part of the power struggle with Johnny Adair. Watta-Chip (from the previous mural) has been replaced by Turkish Kebabs (Fb).
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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02724 X02725 south east antrim brigade in proud memory of brigadier john gregg 1st batt rathfern b coy grugg Carrickfergus Larne Rathcoole cloughfern young conquerors
Eddie Lives
Here is an update to a mural featured previously in Londonderry’s Waterside: The Trooper. British WWI Field-Marshall Douglas Haig’s “backs to the wall” quote originally stood above the image of Iron Maiden’s “Eddie” but this was replaced (when the mural was repainted in 2013 – see M10234) by the red fist and six-pointed star of the UFF on a black border.
See also the Visual History page for Eddie.
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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02857 ebrington tce ulster freedom fighters
UDU – IRA
UDU (Ulster Defence Union) mural in Pine Street, Londonderry, vandalised with “IRA” graffiti. The mural has since been repaired. For the original, see Union Shield.
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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Waterside, Cityside, Quayside
The Peace Bridge is shown spanning the Foyle between (the former) Ebrington barracks and the Guildhall, with a film-strip of images, many depicting naval and military scenes, above and below. The detail below shows a gap in the walls of Derry, a poster encouraging people to “Join the Wrens [and free a man for the fleet]” (the Women’s Royal Naval Service; see the poster at IWM), soldiers playing ping-pong in their barracks, and the ship’s bell of the HMS Londonderry (which served as a training ship during the Falkland War (WP)).
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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02872 X02873 project funded reimaging communities programme supported by shared communities consortium lottery housing executive social development first minister deputy international fund for ireland derry londonderry doire
Ulster Is Not For Sale
Quiz: The UDA are called “Wombles” because they resemble the stop-motion characters of the BBC children’s show in (a) their fur-lined parkas, (b) their parading, or (c) their ability to acquire anything? You can find all three explanations on-line. Originally the name seems to have been a derogatory one, used by their UVF rivals, but it was adopted by the group itself. A close-up of the text on the right is below.
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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02748 X02747 when our forefather fought and died they led the way that we should go as loyalists united we should stand to send our message across the land that all our enemies would know ulster is not for sale nor will we let it go no surrender quis separabit nelson drive auglish court
In A Foreign Land
The [Sergeant] Lindsay Mooney Memorial Flute Band was formed in 1973 after the St. Patrick’s day death of Lindsay Mooney, a UDA member killed by the premature explosion of a bomb near Lifford, County Donegal (Sutton). The band dissolved in 1993 but commemorative nights are still held (NI World).
The board above is in the Lincoln Court area of Londonderry, from where Mooney and the band both hailed. “To those of us who criticise, to those who cannot see, just remember in a foreign land fell a better man than me.”
The Ballad Of Lindsay Mooney: youtube | lyrics
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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02865 sergeant
Like The Foam From The Fountain, Like The Mist From The Mountain
Twenty-year-old William Frederick McFadzean from Lurgan won the Victoria Cross for throwing himself on top of a crate of hand grenades that fell into his trench on July 1st (WP), the first day of the battle of the Somme; July 1st and 2nd would see 5,000 of his comrades from the 36th (Ulster) Division killed or wounded. The portrait on which the image is based can be seen at CultureNI.
Here’s a recording of the song composed in his honour:
Kinsale Park, Caw, Londonderry
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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02867 36th Ulster Division (109 Brigade) 9th October 1895 – 1st July 1916 for valour for god and ulster UVF YCV ulster volunteer force young citizen volunteers
We’re Still Here
The red hand (which we saw in 2013’s WBLY) might be faded but the West Bank Loyalist (Youth) want us to know that they are still here (i.e. The Fountain area of Londonderry).
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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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The Trenches Have Vanished Under The Ploughs
This WWI mural is fading somewhat after at least eight years on a wall in Strule Gardens, Londonderry. It shows soldiers going over the top, as depicted in JP Beadle’s Attack Of The Ulster Division (belfastsomme.com).
The title comes from the Eric Bogle song No Man’s Land (better known as “The Green Fields Of France” or “Willie McBride”. Here (youtube) is the recording by Tommy Makem and Liam Clancy.)
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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Seosamh Mac Coille Collection 