Cultúr, Teanga, Comhphobaıl

“By night and by day, I ever, ever pray/While lonely my life flows on/To see our flag unfurled/And my true love [to] enfold/In the valley of Slievenamon.” The lyrics are the final lines of The Valley Of Slievenamon, written by Charles J Kickham “fenian, IRB, poet, novelist, author” and much loved in Tipperary. The heroic hurler, however, is Cú Chulainn (rather than the midlands’ Fıonn Mac Cumhaıll). Ardoyne Gaelic games club Cıceam Ard Eoın (tw | Fb) was founded in 1907, 25 years after Kickham’s death.

See previously: (2008) Ard Eoın Kickhams | (2015) The Heart Of Our Community one | two. Also Stronger Together.

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Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Uniting Our Community

“Uniting our community to support our community. Thank you NHS & essential workers”. The ‘Lower North Belfast Action Group’ was formed in April this year in response to the pandemic. Based on the “Groups/Areas” involved, ‘lower’ means the area along the lough up as far the White City and Loughview.

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Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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A Hunger For Knowledge

This is the Noah Donohoe mural at the bottom of New Lodge Road. Murals looking for answers in the Donohoe case have appeared in all the prominent CNR spaces: #RememberMyNoah (International Wall) | The Wide Blue Yonder (Slıabh Dubh) | Justice For Noah (Free Derry Corner) | A Heart In A Heart (mostly N Belfast)

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Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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A Pension For All Victims

The pension plan for the injured of the Troubles was scheduled to open at the end of August, rather than the end of June, because of a dispute over the eligibility of those who suffered at their own hand. The Tar Anall boards shown here (in N Queen St and the Antrim Rd) recommend “a pension for all victims” but in the end, they were considered not to be eligible. Another source of the delay was the dispute over how the scheme would be funded (Irish Times | BelTel).

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Copyright © 2020 Sabine Troendle (web | Fb)
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A Heart In A Heart

Here is a final selection of images from north (N Queen St, Yorkgate, New Lodge) and west Belfast (Kennedy Way) in support of the Noah Donohoe campaign. (Previously: #RememberMyNoah | Justice For Noah | The Wide Blue Yonder | Gloria Ab Intus)

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Ní Saoırse Go Saoırse Na mBan

Ní saoırse go saoırse na mban [“There is no freedom without the freedom of women”] with images of Countess Markievicz, Colman Doyle’s famous ?1974? image of a (staged) female IRA volunteer with AR-18, Máıre Drumm, and Maıréad Farrell. Lasaır Dhearg (web) sticker in north Belfast.

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The Old IRA

Cú Chulaınn stands dying; the raven on his shoulder will signal his death. “This memorial is dedicated to all the brave and gallant men and women of the Old IRA (Óglaıgh na hÉıreann) and Cumann Na mBán who fought in all of the campaigns from the 1920s War of Independence onwards.”

The Irish tricolour with crossed rifles was the flag of the Irish Volunteers (Óglaıgh na hÉıreann), the splits in which gave rise all the subsequent IRAs.

For a roll of honour 1916-1966, including some profiles, see Treason Felony.

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Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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England, The Never-Failing Source Of All Our Political Evils

“‘To unite Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter under the common name of Irishmen in order to break the connection with England, the never failing source of all our political evils, that was my aim’ (Theobald Wolfe Tone, 1763-1798)”. As the dates suggest, Tone was captured and sentenced to death; his exact cause of death is uncertain – perhaps a self-inflicted knife to the throat, or a bullet to the throat. The other portraits are of Michael Dywer [should be “Dwyer”], Lord Edward Fitzgerald, Anne Devlin, Mary Anne McCracken, Betsy Gray, Fr. John Murphy, William Orr, Robert Emmet, Henry-Joy McCracken, and Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa.

Ard An Lao/Ardilea, Machaıre Botháın/the Bone, Ard Eoın/Ardoyne

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