London-/Derry

Vita, Veritas, Victoria

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2013-02-07 VVV+

“Life, Truth, Victory.” A new (within the last 12 months) board just outside the walls of Londonderry, in the Fountain area. (The Fountain area is a small Unionist area on the west  bank of the Foyle river; the larger unionist population is in the Waterside on the east side of the river.)

The city’s coat of arms is featured in the centre – there are various interpretations of its elements, including the skeleton (WP). St. Columb’s cathedral (WP) is top left and a map of the wall bottom right. In the top right is the coat of arms of the city of London (whose flag is the top part of the coat of arms) – “Lord, Direct Us.”

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00939 [X05219] domine dirige nos, ano do 1633 cap regis 9, if stones could speake then londons prayse should sounde, who built this church and cittie from the grounde vaughan – see If Stones Could Speak.

True Blue

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2013-02-07 RWBKerb+

A pedestrian’s gutties (sneakers) and jacket match the red, white and blue of the kerbstones on The Fountain, a street at the heart of the Fountain, a Protestant enclave on the west side of the Foyle in Londonderry

Kerb painting has largely ceased in Belfast (there might have been some kind of unofficial agreement circa the Good Friday agreement (WP) to phase it out through non-renewal of existing painted kerbs – please dis/confirm in the comments if you can) but the ancient practice is still alive and well in The Fountain.

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00935

The Scotch-Irish Of My Native Virginia

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“If defeated everywhere else I will make my final stand for liberty with the Scotch-Irish (Ulster-Scots) of my native Virginia.”

George Washington commanded the Continental Army during the revolution and served as the first president of the United States, beginning in 1789. His ancestry was English and the quote is undocumented, the closest being this statement from McKinley.

The note in the corner reads, “History records that almost half of Washington’s army were Ulster-Scots”; the basis for this claim might be General (Charles?) Lee’s report that “half the rebel Continental Army were from Ireland.” (See Chapter 2 of Bagenal, The American Irish And Their Influence on Irish Politics.)

Ebrington Street Lower, Waterside, Londonderry

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X01548