The flyers above (on an electrical box in east Belfast) have been damaged not by time and the weather but by deliberate human efforts to remove them, one by scoring and the other by peeling. The sentiment expressed – that adapting oneself and the community to the influx of foreign nationals — or at least its public expression, is thus controversial in the area.
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Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Connolly House – Belfast headquarters of Sınn Féın – for the centenary of the Easter Rising bears the same banner as flew on the ITGWU’s Liberty Hall (in Dublin) during the first world war (see image below) until the building was destroyed during the Rising: We serve neither king nor kaiser, but Ireland! The house was purchased by Sınn Féın in 1983 and brought to its current condition in 2007 (Irish Times).
For a previous appearance of the slogan, on the shirts of a Glasgow flute band, see Business As Usual.
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Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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A mural of HMS Belfast “Built in Belfast” being launched on March 17, 1938, next to a fake storefront for “B&M Electricals”, with a Billy Graham hoarding above: “What if you got everything you wanted and it wasn’t enough?”, echoing the mural’s Latin inscription, the motto of Belfast city: What shall we give in return for so much?
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Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03357 psalm 116:12
The long wall on Newtownards Road, “Freedom Corner”, has been repainted over the past nine months — apparently the protective coating that had been applied to the murals in fact caused the paint to peel; alternatively, police water cannon caused the peeling (Tele) — and the murals were launched with a parade on Easter Saturday (March 26th, 2016). Above is shown the Young Newton UYM mural at the extreme right-hand side of the wall.
From left to right: For Freedom Alone | As Long As 100 Of Us Remain Alive | Loyalist East Belfast | The Strangest Victory In All History | Ulster’s Past Defenders | Nationality is included in Loyalist East Belfast | Ulster’s Present Defenders | Freedom Corner
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Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03359 [X04878] terrae filius ulster young militants est. 1974
Here’s the left-hand end of the repainted ‘Freedom Corner’ on the Newtownards Road. It celebrates the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF), formed in 1973 as a cover-name for the UDA’s paramilitary activities. The mural features the red fist on a six-pointed star, a balaclava’ed volunteer with an assault rifle and (on the right) a pistol above a scroll which reads: “For as long as one hundred of us remain alive we shall never in anyway consent to submit to the Irish for it’s not for glory, honour or riches we fight but for freedom alone which no man loses but with his life – U.D.A./U.F.F”
From left to right: For Freedom Alone | As Long As 100 Of Us Remain Alive | Loyalist East Belfast | The Strangest Victory In All History | Ulster’s Past Defenders | Nationality is included in Loyalist East Belfast | Ulster’s Present Defenders | Freedom Corner
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Copyright © 2018 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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The saying “You’re never too old to set another goal or dream another dream” is attributed to east-Belfast-bred C.S. Lewis — shown here on the right — though we are unable to find any record of him saying or writing these words; instead it might be be a motivational speaker called Les Brown. In the rest of the piece, young people play in the grounds of Queen’s University and Belfast City Hall.
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Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03356 newtownards rd
A 1916 centenary mural on Divis Street with the red star of socialism and the Easter lily of Irish nationalism: “Republican Socialist movement — IRSP INLA — remembers and salutes all those who gave their lives and liberty in the struggle for national liberation and socialism in Ireland.”
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Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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A line from James Connolly’s 1897 piece “Socialism And Nationalism” is adapted by the IRSP for the current post-partition situation: “England will still rule you, she would rule you through her bankers, landlords and Stormont”.
Connolly’s original thought is that – even in a self-governing republic – nationalism is not enough to establish an authentically Irish state: “If you remove the English army tomorrow and hoist the green flag over Dublin Castle, unless you set about the organization of the Socialist Republic your efforts would be in vain. England would still rule you. She would rule you through her capitalists, through her landlords, through her financiers, through the whole array of commercial and individualist institutions she has planted in this country and watered with the tears of our mothers and the blood of our martyrs.”
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Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03353 glen rd irish republican socialist party
A history of nationalism/republicanism from left to right: a pair of Easter lilies, four generations of rifles, and then a switch to a ballot paper with a check in favour of “unity” and a road named “Unity Way”: “From bullet to ballot: the evolution of our revolution. 1916 – 2016”
This mural is on the north side of Hugo Street – the south side remains exclusively éırígí.
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Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Verz‘s doberman has its ears fully erect and paying attention to the passers-by in Union Street. This is one of his ‘Dogs On The Street’ series – see previously: Full-Bodied | Psychedelic Dog
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Copyright © 2016 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Seosamh Mac Coille Collection 