Belfast

We May Encounter Many Defeats

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“… but we must not be defeated.” Racists graffiti was added to the Maya Angelou mural in Dundela Avenue shortly after it was painted last July (Belfast Live). The repairs got rid of the graffiti and restored the lettering but the face was not restored to its original condition. The mural has remained intact since then and the yellow background provides an ideal surface for the Ukrainian flag and words of support: “We stand with you, Ukraine!” and “Slava Ukraïni – heroyam slava! [Glory to Ukraine – to the heroes, glory!]”

The quote is attributed solely to Angelou and appears to come from her personal writings (Order Out Of Chaos); she died in 2014 (Independent).

Commissioned by David Holmes, designed by Jody Hackett and painted by Glenn Molloy in 2021.

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Twelve Brave Young Men From Gertrude Street

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The twelve “Gertrude Street Great War Fatalities” are: Robert Harvey; William Duff; James Fagan; Alexander Leckey; George McCune; Hugh Nabney; William Nabney; Matthew Scott; Robert C. Skillen; James Watson; Samuel Wright; James Burns.

This board was originally next to the To France And Flanders mural on the adjacent wall; the mural also named these twelve but which only lasted a year. That mural depicted the damaged basilica tower in the village of Albert and there is a similar mural in the village itself – a photograph of the mural and the rebuilt tower can be seen in the top right of the board; the mural can be seen in full here.

As the map in the top left shows, Gertrude Street was where Wolff Close now is, running north from the Newtownards Road; the original Gertrude Star mural (circa 1989) was on the first gable of what is now called “Freedom Corner” – see D00388.

The emblem of the Gertrude Star flute band serves as a background. The band’s 60th anniversary mural is across the street.

“‘The Legacy Of Gertrude Street. Twelve brave young men from Gertrude Street,/Bravely fought in world war one./They tried their best as legends do./But never returned back home.//They dragged through muddy trenches,/In the darkness of the night./But never once would they give up,/As they bravely continued to fight.//Each year these men will be honoured,/As we stand together taking time to reflect./It’s vital to show these heroes the uttermost respect.//For now they lie in Flanders fields,/Between crosses row by row./They lived, they fought for our country,/And gave their lives many years ago.//Forever we will speak of these men,/Who came from Gertrude Street./Their legacy will always live on,/When we think of their marching feet.’ By Angela McCully”

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The Oasis

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According to a history of Brown’s Square, the area was known as “the oasis” during WWII on account of its 3 dance-halls and 22 pubs (Religion, Riots And Rebels). As with so much publicly-funded art (though we cannot find any provenance for this art) it depicts Belfast in the “good old days” – that is, before the Troubles, which produced the so-called “peace line” dividing west Belfast.

In this case of Brown’s Square, the area was further desolated in anticipation of a planned ring road (formally to be known as the Belfast Urban Motorway). the plan produced only the subterranean “Westlink” that cut Brown’s Square in half. The images in today’s post are in Townsend Street, (these are from below the security gates; there are others above it). Before the construction of the Westlink, which opened in 1981, Townsend Street was considered the western border, and part of Brown’s Square. John Gilbert’s photographs at the Belfast Archive Project show the area in the mid-seventies, when much of it had been abandoned but prior to construction.

The Boys Brigade are shown parading in front of Townsend Presbyterian which held its last service in September and is being handed over to the Ulster Orchestra (Belfast Media) (see previously On The Other Side for stained glass windows inside the church). The Brown’s Square school was at the junction of Brown’s Square (the street) and Melbourne Street.

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Still No Inquest, Still No Justice

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A march took place this past Saturday (July 9th, 2022) to mark the 50th anniversary of the Springhill-Westrock massacre, in which five people were killed by the British Army. A new inquest was directed by the AG in 2014 but has been repeatedly delayed; it is scheduled to begin next year (Belfast Live).

The march was organised by the Springhill-Westrock Campaign (Fb); it began at the memorial plaque in Springhill and ended at the memorial garden in Westrock (Irish News). See also Keep On Praying.

The mural shows the pre-fab aluminium bungalows built in Westrock in 1949.

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The Human Race

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“Be proud of your race – the human race.” Local school-children from the Divis area worked with artist Fra Maher to produce this anti-racism mural – including quotes from Nelson Mandela (“No one is born hating another person”) and Martin Luther King, Jr (“Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that”) – that was unveiled on St Patrick’s Day at Divis Tower (Belfast Live has a gallery from the launch.)

With support from Belfast City Council and the Divis Youth Project – Frank Gillen Centre.

Replaces the One World mural – see Accomplishments Have No Colour.

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Cool

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The Royal Victoria Hospital was the first public building in the world to have air conditioning, developed by Sirocco Works. Fans drew in outside air and passed it over mats of wetted coir (Cooling Post | images at HEVAC-Heritage). The qualifier “public” is necessary perhaps because Carrier invented the general process for a printing factory in New York (ASME) in 1902 and the New York Stock Exchange installed a system in 1902 (6sqft)

The image above is only one of many panels in College Street Mews by Ed Hicks (ig) on the general theme of Belfast and its industry.

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Belfast Deco

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Here is a final selection of pieces from HTN2022, with work by Kitsune (ig) in Queen St (official title When You Weren’t Looking), Andy Council (ig) in Patterson’s Place, Asbestos (ig), Iota (ig) (who also did a piece in Larne – Shaped By Sea And Stone) and KMG (ig) in North St/Union St, and Sophie Mess (ig) in Linenhall St (official title “Shaping Ideas” (Linen Quarter BID)).

For the other HTN 2022 pieces see:

Union St (w) Love, Loss, And Beyond
Union St (e) A Burning World
Kent St (w) Vagabonds Of The Western World | Red Heads
Kent St (e) Evoke
Kent St (n) The Children Of Gear

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Be Prepared

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For this year’s Twelfth, the famous UVF “Prepared for peace, ready for war” mural that has stood over the entrance to Mount Vernon for twenty years was retouched. The most obvious change is in the apex, as a different UVF symbol – with flags – has been included, along with the words “3rd Battalion” which had been in the much earlier version of this mural on another wall.

The image above has been photoshopped to remove the lettering on the left.

For the previous version (and a link to the original wall), see Prepared For Peace, Ready For War.

Update 2024-12: The wall was damaged by Storm Darragh.

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