Larne – Page 4 – Seosamh Mac Coille Collection

The Flax And The Lily

2022-02-152026-08-24Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The orange lily and the (pale blue) flax flower take their place around the Ulster Banner alongside the English rose and Scottish thistle, and the Irish shamrock is retained even in the presence of the lily. The flax is perhaps included because we are in the Factory area of Larne, near the site of a (former) linen mill. The Welsh daffodil is excluded. The detail above is part of a wider board “Boyne Square celebrates 100 years of Northern Ireland”; the flanking emblems of the Boyne Defenders (LOL 1297), Rangers Supporters club (Larne Branch) – which also uses the shamrock – Boyne Square Bonfire Forum, and Larne & District Great War Society and included below; the emblems of three flute bands can be seen in Norman Anderson and The Gunrunners.

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The Sleeping Giant Has Awoken

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Japan attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor (near Honolulu, Hawaii) on December 7th, 1941. In the movie adaptations of the events, Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) and Pearl Harbour (2001), the Japanese Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto wondered if the effect of the attack would be “to awaken the sleeping giant and to fill him with terrible resolve” (WP). In the case of today’s images, the sleeping giant is a lion, and the lion is the UVF 1st East Antrim, with units not just in Larne, Ballyduff, Ballyclare, Greenisland, Glengormley, Monkstown, Rathcoole, Carrickfergus, and Whitehead, but in Drumchapel (Glasgow, Scotland), Springburn (Glasgow, Scotland), Possilpark (Glasgow, Scotland), Paisley (Scotland), Falkirk (Scotland), Liverpool (England), Blackpool (England), Corby (England), and Blairgowrie (Scotland). Balaclava’d men with ArmaLites stand ready: “Our forefathers fought for our freedom & rights/No border in the sea or we continue the fight.”

The combination of a free-floating Northern Ireland with Britain (in the first image, above) is rare in muraling, but necessitated by Brexit and the Protocol.

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Friendship Across The Water

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Walker Clubs – one of the associated clubs of the Apprentice Boys – are named for George Walker, joint Governor of Derry (with Lundy) during the siege, who died at the Boyne, on July 1st/12th, 1690 while going to the aid of the Duke Of Schomberg. In the centre is the crest of Londonderry: “Vita, veritas, victoria“.

This board in Larne’s ‘Factory’ districts shows, (clockwise from bottom left): the apprentice boys shutting the gates, the breaking of the boom to relieve the siege, Walker (who was also an Anglican priest) inciting the apprentice boys to shut the gates with a cry of “No surrender”, and, clasped hands signifying the connection between Larne Walker Club (Fb) and Maybole Walker Club in South Ayrshire, Scotland. A list of all the Walker Clubs can be found at ABOD.

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Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines

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Hotelier Henry McNeill, it is reported, brought the horseless carriage to Larne in 1899, in the form of a Daimler Wagonette that he used to ferry guests up and down the coast and in to scenic spots in the Glens Of Antrim – the mechanical future combined with of the timeless beauty of the natural world. Here is a photo of McNeill aloft in 1899; emic (ig) recasts the image as though he were at the helm of a flying machine.

For more emic hands, see: Nothing Is Lost, Everything Is Transformed | 35 | A Lifeboat From Despair | In Bloom

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The Earth Writes Upon The Sky

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Two Larne trees: above, the tree mosaic at the Town Hall steps created by artist Janet Crymble (see previously Sports We Love), with support from Larne Renovation Regeneration, Larne Trader’s Forum, and Mid & East Antrim Borough Council (NIWorld); below, the “Armada Tree” that is purported to have sprung from a chestnut or chestnut seeds in the pocket of a dead sailor in the Spanish Armada – the tree fell over after 432 years in 2020, a victim of root disease (anglican.org), but is remembered by the board depicting it in Upper Main Street, Larne.

“Local legend has it that when the Spanish Armada was passing these shores in 1588, a sailor was washed up at Ballygally village, no doubt from one of the ships blown off course by gales. Locals were said to have taken the body and buried it in the graveyard of the picturesque St Patrick’s Church at Cairncastle. The ancient tree beside the chuch grew from one of the chestnut seeds that the sailor had in his pocket when he was buried. The tree has been analysed and found to date back to the sixteenth century, adding credence to the story.”

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This Is Ireland

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Richard Hayward was born in England but spent his childhood in Larne in a time Henry McNeill was developing the tourist industry (see previously Larne – The Original Tourist Resort and Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines) – the Black Arch on the Coast Road is shown over Hayward’s right shoulder.

He collected songs, both Orange and traditional Irish, and played the harp. He went on to record 156 records, act in at least eight movies and write 11 travel books, the most popular of which was In Praise Of Ulster, with drawings by the landscape artist James Humbert Craig – some images from the book can be seen here.

(Ulster Biography | IMDb | Atlas Obscura)

The mural, in Larne’s Main Street, was designed by emic (ig) and painted by Dee Craig (Fb). Since 2021 you can also follow a trail around Richard Hayward’s East Antrim .

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Pets Corner

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Another boarded-up building in Larne town centre: Pets Corner at the junction of Dunluce Street and Lower Cross Street, which perhaps became BMK Pet Supplies across the street.

Previously: Potential

Potential

2021-11-182026-08-24Extramural Activity1 Comment

The old Poundstretcher in Larne was in Lower Cross Street, in a building once home to the Savoy cinema, but the site has been vacant since 2016 (Cinema Treasures) as are many other properties in the town. Mid & East Antrim council promises to “realise our potential” and has tried to brighten up an abandoned site in Dunluce Street with images of the canopy of colourful umbrellas installed in the two streets ahead of the Spring Festival in 2019 (Larne Times).

Taigs Of All Stripes

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“Taigs” of course are Catholics but targets apparently also include Muslim women and LGBTQ supporters (the skeleton on the right is wearing a “rainbow” gansey).

The images are from Larne (attempting to reach its potential) but the stickers appear to originate in Scotland (e.g. Daily Record).

Update: a shot of the sticker in better condition

Islamophobia is a distraction. The far right has always weaponised fear and scapegoating to divide communities while escaping accountability for…

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I doubt very much the old man is meant to represent King Charles, what does he care about the war…

Sr. Clare, please ask God to help me with my current difficulties, mental, financial, relationship wise and physical. Also, please…

The Ulaid werw Not Gaels. They were pre-Gaelic.