Belfast east

Past And Present

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The Castlereagh (4th battalion) UDA memorial garden behind the Bunch Of Grapes has changed over the years from painted murals (M | X) to spray-painted boards (We Forget Them Not) and now again to tarps within red frames. As far as content is concerned, the UFF, LPA (“We forget them not – past and present”) and UYM (“They shall not grow old etc”) remain but Tim Collins – a product of re-imaging – is out (see On That Journey) and Eddie The Trooper is in. The side wall of the pub has also been employed for the first time, with more hooded gunmen (see the third image, below). Two small plaques have been added to the outsides of the memorial wall.

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Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Soldier A-Z

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“Stop prosecuting Northern Ireland’s veterans to appease terrorists.” Danny Kinahan, former UUP politician and captain in the Blues & Royals, was appointed Veterans’ Commissioner For Northern Ireland by the SoS in August last year (2020). He described his first task as building a database of veterans and alerting each one to the services available (News Letter | BBC | Irish Times) but the position immediately puts him at the centre of the debate over “legacy” issues and a focal point of interest groups such as Veterans & Supporters United (Fb) who are responsible for the banner above. In October Kinahan was quoted as saying that the system is “very lopsided” against veterans (BelTel).

Holywood Road along Belmont Park, Belfast.

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Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Arlene Must Go

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Brexit has happened and people, particularly hauliers and smaller retailers, are having trouble adjusting to the fact that Northern Ireland remains within the EU customs union and single market for goods, which means additional paperwork for goods moving between NI and Britain (BBC | Belfast Live). The current disruptions will likely be overcome in due course but the presence of a border is symbolically powerful. This east Belfast graffitist is unhappy with the outcome: “No Irish sea border – [DUP leader] Arlene [Foster] must go.” George Osborne, former UK chancellor and now editor at the London Evening Standard, called the DUP’s decision to reject Theresa May’s deal “stupid” (BelTel) and the FT called the DUP nationalism’s “secret weapon” (ft.com). The Tele wonders if Gavin Robinson is angling for a crack at the leadership (BelTel).

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Copyright © 2021 Sabine Troendle (web | Fb)
X07836 Belmont Rd

The Glorious Dead

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Four of the 700 NHS staff in the UK to die of Covid during the pandemic have come Northern Ireland, the most recent being dementia specialist Alan Henry in Antrim hospital (Express | BelTel | iTV). In the south, Defence Forces have been deployed to three nursing homes while 6,400 health workers are off sick (Irish Times). The mural above shows a masked nurse and doctor among a field of poppies. For the black-and-white boards above, see Connswater Commemorates.

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Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07831 ACT Initiative East Belfast Connswater Community & Leisure

Godfather Of Legal Betting

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“Clark Groves was born on the 14th May 1889. A naval officer, in WW1, he fought at the Battle of Jutland. After the war he worked as a fitter in Harland & Wolff before using his de-mob money to establish a bookmaking business here in 14 Manderson Street (since demolished), at the back of the Old Clock Bar. The bookie’s ‘Pitch’ was very like the ones seen in the TV series ‘Peaky Blinders!’ At this time, running a betting business was illegal. Clark, and a number of other bookmakers, founded the Turf Guardians Association and led a successful campaign to have their businesses legalised. Years later, a local bookie told Clark’s grandson that he and his colleagues owed their livelihoods to ‘Old Godfathers’ like Clark. Clark was a generous, popular man. He helped out many local people over the years, lending money for funerals, weddings and education costs. It’s said that he ‘married and buried them on the Newtownards Road!’ He died on 28th May 1957, just two weeks after his 68th birthday. His funeral was the biggest seen before or since in the area. The trolley buses to Dundonald Cemetery were full of people and those who couldn’t get on walked the length of Newtownards Road to be there. A measure of the man for sure. Clark Groves was the annual summer football tournament that was played at ‘The Hen Run,’ the home of Dundela FC. It was known as the Clark Groves Cup. – Stephen Beggs”

Connswater Street, east Belfast

Part of the “East Side Lives Heritage Trail” which “celebrates the unsung people who built community in east Belfast. Other entries include Miss McMinn’s Girls’ Club | No Ordinary Woman | Two Smart Alecs | Desano’s. For a list of all fourteen, see the Trail’s pamphlet (pdf).

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Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07829 X07830 heritage fund unsung people who built community in east belfast eastside partnership