PUL

They Gave A Lifetime

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Here is another pair of combined UVF memorial stones – from both WWI and the modern conflict. Above, the fallen comrades of 2nd battalion South Belfast are remembered by their fellow officers and volunteers in the Village’s B Company; below, the garden is dedicated to the “glory of God” in memory of the “sons of Ulster” by “all of their comrades in arms who, by divine grace, were spared to testify to their glorious deeds.” (BelTel and Irish News articles on the unplanned inclusion of modern-day UVF.)

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2017 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X04162 X04160 frenchpark st how nobly they fight and die in their final moments

Storm Drain All Pain

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“Storm drain – all pain, no gain for residents”. This is perhaps a reference to the major construction project needed to provide drainage for Windsor Park and the Olympia leisure centre – see Water Projects for images of Donegall Avenue and Olympia Avenue during the work.

Tates Avenue, south Belfast

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2017 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X04157

Luminaries And Legends

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Famous faces and landmarks from east Belfast, including, in the foreground, guitarists Gary Moore and Eric Bell (from Thin Lizzy). Included in the bottom right is the artist himself, Dee Craig. For a complete list, see the info board, below.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2017 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X04102 X04103 connswater st urban village NI executive communities belfast mural arts van morrison CS lewis george best david holmes danny blanchflower lucy caldwell marie jones james ellis

To Keep Our Ulster Free

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“We have slain him but we fear him/As we stand in silence now/For the hero light still lingers/Like a lantern on his brow. And the wiles of witchcraft jeer him/With the phantoms of our dead/As they moil like may mosquitoes/Round his torn and bleeding head.” Cuchulainn is invoked as a “defender of Ulster” on the UDA memorial stone in the Kilcooley estate. The Red Hand Commando and UVF stones are shown below. The three paramilitary stones were added independently of the WWI garden (BelTel).

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2017 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X04095 X04093 X04096 owernroe drive the death call of cuchulainn champion of ulster the sons of ulster’s best who have stood the test? would you take the oath with hand held high are you prepared to die to keep our ulster free it is up to you and me god save ulster is our cry would you weep if i should die remember me when poppies fall for our ulster i gave all tell me i have lived my life well and it has not all been in vain

Shared Space

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Here are two final images from the memorial garden in Kilcooley. It seems that the combination of WWI imagery (compare this entry and Across The Wire) and paramilitary memorials (To Keep Our Ulster Free), was not the plan approved by the Department of Social Development, which contributed funds to the project (Belfast Telegraph). A wide shot of the whole is included below.

According to an article in the Tele last Friday (2017-04-21), the Housing Executive has a list of over 100 memorial on Executive-owned land that it considers illegal. The list itself does not seem to be available and so it is not not known if the Kilcooley garden is one of these.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2017 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X04091 X04092

North Down Battalion

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Recruiting for the Ulster Volunteers in Down was so successful that it was divided into four areas (North, South, East, and West), each with a battalion, and the North down battalion comprised 15 companies (History Ireland). The Down battalions became the 13th battalion of the (108th Brigade) Royal Irish Rifles in WWI. The YCV (Young Citizen Volunteers) was formed separately (in 1912) but joined the Volunteers in May 1914, before becoming the (109th Brigade) 14th battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles when the war broke out (WP). Both began their campaigns at Boulogne-Sur-Mer in October, 1915 (WP).

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2017 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X04089 owenroe dr somme thiepval beaumont hamel st quentin ypres messines arras passchendaele cambrai

Ulster Volunteers

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

This is another part of a long ‘Bangor Protestant Boys Flute Band’ wall in Kilcooley: the shield of the 36th (Ulster) Division – the Union flag and Irish harp above a red hand on a field of shamrocks – on a garland of orange poppies and WWI battlefields on a purple ribbon – orange and purple being the colours of the Ulster Volunteers.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2017 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X04088 somme theipval messines fricourt passchendaele st. quentin ypres flanders