Belfast

Lay Them Away On The Hill Side

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“Lay them away on the hill side/along with the brave and the bold/Inscribe their names on the role [sic] of fame/in letters of purest gold.” The Ulster Tower at Thiepval commemorates the WWI dead of the 36th (Ulster) Division. The words, however, come from a song about James Daly, who was executed by firing squad for taking part in a 1920 mutiny of the Connacht Rangers in India in protest of the activities of the Black and Tans. Above (and below – not shown) are the insignia and names of UVF volunteers from UVF South Belfast 2nd battalion – see Lay Them Away On The Hill Side.

On the side of The Hideout, Pine Street, Donegall Pass, south Belfast

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Copyright © 2011 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Rev Robert Bradford

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South Belfast MP Robert Bradford was assassinated by the Provisional IRA in Finaghy at a meeting with constituents; the caretaker of the community centre, Ken Campbell, was also killed by the fleeing attackers. In late 1981, with the hunger strikes having ended only a month before, the killing was noted around the world and raised fears of broad civil unrest (BBC | NYTimes).

“Vita, veritas, victoria” [life, truth, victory] is the motto of Londonderry. Here we have “vita, veritas, victa” [life, truth, conquered; perhaps the intended meaning was “conquering” rather than the passive]. The crest is also not quite the crest of the Apprentice Boys, with a ship in the bottom right rather than a skeleton. Get in touch if you can resolve either discrepancy.

Oak Street, Donegall Pass, south Belfast

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Copyright © 2011 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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South Belfast UVF

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South Belfast Ulster Volunteer Force 2nd Battalion “A” Company Donegall Pass, with the flag of England (St. George’s Cross) in one corner and in the other an orange star with “1912” written below, the year the Ulster Volunteers were founded. The colour-scheme is the reverse of the Orange Order’s: its flag has the purple star of the Williamites on an orange field.

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Copyright © 2011 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Their Name Liveth For Evermore

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The apocryphal book of the Bible ‘Ecclesiasticus’ reads, “their bodies are buried in peace, but their name liveth for evermore” (44:14). The last clause is here applied to 910,000 “British empire casualties” from the Great War, including the Ulster Volunteers and Young Citizen Volunteers raised by “Sir Edward Carson” (here looking like Al Capone) which became the 36th (Ulster) Division and particularly the Royal Irish Rifles and fought at the Somme 1916.

Apsley Street, Donegall Pass, south Belfast

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Copyright © 2011 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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