Belfast

Up On The Roof

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2014-09-17 TowerMcCreesh+

Six of the seven New Lodge tower blocks each feature two hunger strikers, on the narrow sides of the building. Those featured are the ten who died in 1981 along with Frank Stagg and Michael Gaughan. Here are images of five of them. Above is Raymond McCreesh, below is Kieran Doherty with a tricolour and ‘Justice for the Craigavon 2’, third is Martin Hurson and a Palestinian flag, fourth is Francis Hughes, and fifth is Frank Stagg.

An annotated Google map and a table give the Irish, English and former names of the flats (“houses”) as well as their locations and the hunger strikers on each.

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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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The Last Post

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2014-09-15 GreatWar+

Here are two new boards in the courtyard of the Rex Bar on the Shankill Road, describing the formation of the Ulster Volunteers (‘A Force For Ulster’) and commemorating the losses suffered by the 36th (Ulster) Division of the British Army, which the Volunteers became, at the Somme and in other battles, mowed down by “the Hun machine guns” (‘The Great War’).

‘A Force For Ulster’ includes photographs of the recent centenary re-enactments of the Balmoral Review, the Ulster Covenant, the formation of the Volunteers (“east” and “west”) and “Operation Lion” – more commonly known as the Larne Gun-Running.

According to the ‘The Great War’ board, 32,186 men from west Belfast were killed, wounded, or missing. “To them bravery was without limit, to us memory is without end”. The board shows the Thiepval Memorial To The Missing Of The Somme against a background of portraits.

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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02189 X02197 X02188 last post great war society their name liveth forevermore the brigade moved off as if on parade but alas the slow tat-tat of the hun machine guns caught their advance under a deadly cross fire but nothing could stop this advance and on they went 1914 1918 balmoral ulster covenant fernhill donaghadee operation lion for god and ulster across a century of conflict decades slip past pay tribute to you crawford cunningham glencairn moscow street

Comrades In Resistance

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2014-09-15 NLodgeComradesLeft+

A Che Guevara quote – “I don’t care if I fall as long as someone else picks up my gun and keeps on shooting” – unifies two panels bearing masked men firing funeral volleys, Irish and Palestinian shields, and “Our day will come” in both Irish and Arabic.

Previously: Someone Else

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Summer In The City

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2014-09-15 SpiersPlaceClose+

Above and below is the scene at the end of summer in the courtyard of the Rex Bar – bunting and bouquets join the flags of the home nations and various boards celebrating the queen’s diamond jubilee and commemorating the 36th Ulster division “who selflessly gave their lives for King and county at the battle of the Somme”. The new boards (on the left hand side of the wide shot) were featured previously in The Last Post, along with the Union flag of The People’s Army. For the same scene ten years previously, see Betting Office.

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X02194 X02195 no carry outs in seating area no surrender 1952 2012 royal irish rifles no greater love the great war 1914 1918 officers ncos volunteers

Unbowed, Unbroken

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2014-09-12 NLodgeUnbowedFull+

Above is a recent mural by Damian Walker in the New Lodge, in support of republican prisoners in Maghaberry, showing a single shirtless prisoner with a flower (? – see the close-up below) surrounded by three baton-wielding officers. Sponsored the 32-County Sovereignty Movement (web).

Replaces: Damn Your Concessions, England

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We Were Young

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2014-09-10 CCoyPoppies+

A. E. Housman’s 1919 short poem “Here dead we lie” is featured, together with the poppies that grew on the Western Front in WWI, in this UVF commemorative mural. The 36th (Ulster) Division is not mentioned specifically; the plaque on the right-hand side (which pre-dates the mural) lists the names of five UVF members killed in the 70s who are depicted in the mural just out of picture but seen below in a wide shot of both murals (and by itself in C Coy Street). For a similar connecting of the two Ulster Volunteer Forces, see 100 Years Apart, Armed & Ready, Years Of Sacrifice, and others. Another wide shot is given in C Coy Street, taken from the main road and shows that the fish-and-chip shop on the Shankill is called “A Salt And Battered”.

“Here dead we lie, because we did not choose,
to live and shame the land, from which we sprung.
Life, to be sure, is nothing much to lose,
but young men think it is, and we were young.”

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X02177 X02178 recognition appreciation remembrance  for god and ulster 1st battalion belfast brigade “c” company ulster volunteer force killed in action mcintyre 19-5-73 wadsworth 11-4-75 chapman 12-6-75 mcgregor 12-6-75 hannah 21-6-78 they shall not grow old as we that are left grow old age shall not weary them nor the years condemn at the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them in our hearts forever

Loyalist Prisoners & Widow’s Welfare

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2014-09-10 PeoplesArmyNew+

A second plaque has been added to “The People’s Army” wall on the Shankill Road (at Moscow Street) by the LPWWA Scotland: “In everlasting memory of Volunteer Alastair Von (Ziff) 19th October 2009”. It joins a plaque to “A true soldier – Big Bill Campbell”, leader of the UVF’s 1st Scottich battalion. Campbell and Von were imprisoned for bombing Glasgow pubs in 1979 and Campbell is suspected of involvement of the McGurk’s Bar bombing in 1971. (See also: The Economist gives a brief history of Glasgow sectarianism.) 

Below are a close-up of the plaques and a shot of the wall last year. There is a song in honour of Bill Campbell. The Campbell plaque was originally on the Northland St mural of the Shankill West Belfast 1st Batt A Coy 5th Plat before it was re-imaged as a Thiepval memorial mural.

See previously: Shankill Reflections

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X02180 X02182 X02181 west belfast regiment uvf 1st battalion belfast died 8th january 1997 lest we forget no. 5 platoon no. 1 ‘a’ company for god and ulster

C. Coy Street

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2014-09-10 CCoyFive+

UVF volunteers (l-r) Thomas Chapman, James McGregor, Robert McIntyre, William Hannah, and Robert Wadsworth, who were killed between 1973 and 1978, are commemorated in a new mural in Carnan (or “C. Coy”) Street. The mural is unusual in that it shows bare-faced full figures; loyalist murals sometimes include head-shots (at the top of the mural, in the apex of a gable wall, e.g. Standing Guard) but only masked men appear as full figures. There is a similarity in composition and style (and perhaps even palette) to existing Republican murals such as this one of five B. Coy IRA volunteers in Ballymurphy.

The wide shot (below) is taken from the main road: the fish-and-chip shop on the Shankill is called “A Salt And Battered”. For a straight-on image of the red-and-black mural to the left, see We Were Young. Still shots of the mural in progress are included in this video of the bands parading at the launch.

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Copyright © 2014 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Yes Scotland/Viva Ireland

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2014-09-08 YesScotlandBarracks+

Black Mountain/Slıabh Dubh’s ‘Viva Palestine‘ became ‘Viva Ireland’ – shown below – which in turn was quickly replaced with ‘Yes Scotland’, shown above as seen over the wall of the Springfield PSNI barracks from the (Protestant) Springmartin Road: a union flag and a St. Andrew’s (Scottish) saltire fly from houses in the foreground. These two flags are being used in the media to represent the opposing sides: the Saltire for ‘Yes’ and the Union flag for ‘No’. Scots go to the polls on Thursday the 18th; the two polls of the past week (You-Gov | TNS) suggest that the sides are running neck-and-neck.

Previously: A message To The People Of Scotland

See also: the Slıabh Dubh Visual History page.

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