“Welcome To The Shankill Road. We are Proud, Defiant, Welcoming” with images of Belfast in the blitz, the Orange Order and bonfires on July 12th, boxing and soccer, and contemporary murals in the local area. The mural is above the security gates on Northumberland Street.
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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A UVF (and previously UFF – there’s an “F” under the middle “V”) mural in Carlow Street, a few blocks above the “peace” line.
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Mural in Disraeli Street to Trevor King, to the left of the old Brian Robinson mural and two gables to the right of the new Brian Robinson mural. Having been shot by the INLA and paralysed from the neck down, King took the decision to remove his own life-support (WP).
The words on the left are from Suicide In The Trenches by WWI poet Siegfried Sassoon:
You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads pass by
Sneak home and pray you’ll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go
The poem refers to a soldier whose naturally cheerful disposition has been overwhelmed by the horrors of war.
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01014 lt. col. Trevor king y.c.v. for gold and ulster u.v.f. 1912 1st Belfast battalion ‘b’ company; in proud and loving memory of james ulster volunteer force died 9th july 1994 at the going down of the sun and in the morning we shall remember 14th battalion royal irish rifles somme ypres arras thiepval young citizen volunteers st, quentin grandcourt messines fricourt
“Defenders of the Woodvale from 1969 B Coy”. The Woodvale Defence Association (WDA) was the largest of the local associations which merged together in 1971 to form the Ulster Defence Association (UDA).
Disraeli Street, Woodvale, west Belfast
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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This is the second mural to Brian Robinson in Disraeli Street. This is a much older one than the one in Shankill Star; versions of this mural on this gable go back to at least 1993. Note that the artist has included a transmitter or surveillance tower on the skyline.
See the previous post for more details of his death.
A close-up of the plaque is below. As the plaque notes, his mother died at the same time –she reportedly had a heart-attack when she heard of his death.
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01012 X01013 In proud and loving memory of Vol. brian robinson “b” coy. 1st belfast battalion ulster volunteer force killed in action 2nd september 1989 also his loving mother margaret robinson died 3rd september 1989, for god and ulster p.a.f. protestant action U.v.f. for his country and people he took up the gun a volunteer to the end and a true ulster son robbed of his life’s-blood sept. ’89 but his name will live for all time, y.c.v. royal irish rifles st. quentin grand court messines
A brand new piece (unveiled March 2, 2013) to Brian Robinson and/sponsored by the Shankill Star Flute Band, in Disraeli Street – where Robinson grew up – replete with images from the first World War such as soldiers (both British and German), trenches and poppies. Robinson was killed on 2 Sept., 1989 by an army undercover unit moments after he had shot and killed a Catholic named Patrick McKenna (WP). This is the second mural on the street to Robinson. The piece is not paint, but printed boards, and the image has been generated by computer.
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01011 for god and ulster in memory of u.v.f. ulster volunteer force 1912 est. 1968
The remains of a union flag on a wall in Londonderry’s Waterside.
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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“Londonderry West Bank Loyalists Still Under Siege. No Surrender.”
Two images of a mural/lettering in the Fountain area on London-/Derry/Doire’s west bank of the Foyle – the larger Unionist population is in the Waterside on the east side of the river – taken through a hole in the walls of old city of Derry.
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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A “North Antrim and Londonderry” Ulster Defence Union shield on a black oval, in Pine Street in the loyalist Waterside area of Londonderry.
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01005 quis separabit
A picture from the courtyard of the Times Bar, on York Street, with both Northern Irish and Union flags, and the crest of the IFA, the association overseeing soccer in Northern Ireland. (Previously from the Times Bar.)
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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Seosamh Mac Coille Collection 