As you walk along Conway Street from the Shankill Road, these three boards recalling the Balmoral Review are to be seen on either side of the road. On April 9th (Easter Tuesday), 1912, 100,000 unionists rallied in Balmoral show grounds for review by Bonar Law, the head of the Conservative party – here is a postcard of the Wicklow contingent. The 2012 commemoration drew about 10,000 people to Ormeau Park (Slugger). A gable-sized tarp was mounted on Lawnbrook Street on the Shankill Road – see M08226.
From the old Shankill Graveyard. The statue of Queen Victoria was carved by John Cassidy from Slane, Co. Meath in 1897 to mark Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee – she was 78 years of age at the time. She is depicted wearing Nottingham lace. Victoria was Queen Of Ireland 1837 – 1901 and Empress of India 1876 – 1901.
Wide shot below, with the antenna on Tennent St. police station in view …
Summer 2012 saw a number of major events, including Euro2012, the Olympics, Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee, and planning by the Unionist Centenary Committee – all featured on a promotional board over the Cambrai Street courtyard of the Mountainview Tavern.
An Ulster-Scots-American president and a Turkish-Northern-Irish kebab shop. On Ainsworth St. and Shankill Rd. Here is a straight-on shot of the mural from 2004.
This board is on the end of the Hubb Community Resources Centre and Bowling Club in St. Vincent Street; across the street is Crusaders football ground.
From the Tele: “The building was once the home for local Civil Defence during World War II’s ‘Blitz’. This building is now the one of the last remaining Civil Defence structures in Northern Ireland and has also played home to the local Senior Bowls Club for many years.” The mural also shows bombed-out homes and children going off to the countryside. Here is a short documentary about the 1941 Belfast Blitz (youtube).
The wide shot immediately below explains one meaning of the word “Alternatives”. The Hubb has cross-border financial support — note the (Irish Republic) Dept. of Foreign Affairs sponsorship in the information plaque.
(Part of) A crusader mural from the wall of Crusaders football ground, in St Vincent Street (site of the titanic mural and blitz board from last week). Crusaders are known as ‘The Hatchet Men’ within the soccer world.
This image replaced a hooded gunman image. This space rises to a height of about 6 feet – so when you were driving out along Shore Road the gun appeared aimed at about driver head height – quite intimidating!
The mural features “North Belfast dockers, millworkers, shipyard workers [from] Titanic town 1912”.
Along the bottom are the names of various Belfast pubs and other businesses: The Waterloo, The Terminus, The Sportsman’s Arms, The White Hart, The Bowling Green, The City Arms, The Orpheus – York Street, Railway Bar – Canning Street [image from 1970], The Edinburgh Castle [the boat of the Union-Castle line, launched 1910, built at H&W?], York Street Mill, The Gibralter [sic] Bar [whose then-owner was killed in 1972], Ye Old Castle [a bar (and restaurant?) bombed in 1971], The White Lion. Please leave a comment if you can add any information about these place-names.
A close-up of the info plaque at the top right can be found below. The piece was painted by Jim Russell from Glasgow.
The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI)’s collection of photographs of Belfast, 1912-1914 (some actually from 1911 and 1915) contains various shots of the area.
There are always cars parked in front of the mural, which is at the blind end of St. Vincent Street, next to Crusaders’ football ground. But finally we have captured it entire, automobile-free, in an extra-large (3854 pixels wide) image.
Seosamh Mac Coille Collection 