City/Town

Jimmy Ferris

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“1891-1949” are the dates of the operation of Belfast Celtic, not the dates of forward Jimmy Ferris, who lived from 1894 to 1932. Ferris played for the club for nine years, and for various British clubs during the pogroms. He quit playing in 1930 because of a heart condition and died two years later, at the age of 37. The Ferris family grave, shown in today’s images, is in Milltown Cemetery. (Belfast Celtic | WP)

“Jimmy Ferris, known as Belfast Celtic’s ‘brilliant schemer’, he was on the team, which won four Irish League titles in the 1920s, for the loss of only one match. Also played for Chelsea and Preston North End.” With funding from the “European Regional Development Fund”.

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Neither King Nor Nato

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“Est 1913 Irish Citizen Army / Irish National Liberation Army Est. 1974”. The Irish Citizen Army was founded in Dublin in 1913 to protect striking workers from police violence. After taking part in the Easter Rising of 1916, however, the ICA did not participate in the War Of Independence and the Civil War. In 1974, some founding members considered reviving the “ICA” name to reflect the organisation’s “allegiance to the working class” while Costello (pictured on the right) suggested “National Liberation Army”, which was then amended to include “Irish” (History Ireland | WP | WP). MNI includes an “ICA-INLA” Starry Plough on the stairs into the New Lodge from 1989 (C00105).

The banner raised over the Liberty Hall headquarters of the ICA read “We serve neither king nor kaiser but Ireland” – the famous photograph is included in the post of the same name – but this has been updated. The Belfast version of the board, above, reads “nor Nato”, while a Derry version, below, reads “nor quisling”.

The Derry mural in the background is The Runner, part of The People’s Gallery.

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The Spiritual And The Temporal

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Work by emic (ig) in Castle Lane, Belfast, perhaps picking up a theme from Friz’s Under The Cherry Blossoms in Castle Arcade which focused on the castle and grounds in the era of Arthur Chichester. Chichester’s castle burned down in 1708 and by 1800 the castle and its grounds were vanishing under buildings akin to the nearby corn market and Belfast entries (WP).

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COVID-19 Memorial

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“This memorial was unveiled by The Worshipful The Mayor, Councillor Jim Montgomery [tw], in memory of those from Antrim and Newtownabbey who list their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. May 2021. Always remembered.” According to the COVID dashboard for NI (NISRA), deaths did plateau in the spring and summer of 2021 – perhaps explaining the timing of the plaque above – before increasing again in the autumn. As of May 5th, 2023, 5,283 deaths in NI were attributable to COVID-19, including 463 in the Antrim & Newtownabbey borough area.

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Draíocht An tSléıbhe Duıbh

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“FNGG” stands for “Féıle Na gCloıgíní Gorma” [Festival Of The Bluebells]. Bluebells – cloıgíní gorma – typically grow in woodlands rather than on open hillsides (Belfast Hills Partnership) but Slıabh Dubh/Black Mountain (site of this latest message on the mountain in support of the festival) is also a blooming ground – images can be seen in the festival’s full programme (at Glór Na Móna). The festival includes plenty of outdoor activities, including a bluebell walk on Friday morning; Damien Dempsey headlines the concert at St Comgall’s on Thursday night.

The title of today’s post [The Magic/Spell/Charm Of Black Mountain] comes from a piece by Feargal Mac Ionnrachtaıgh, writing about his childhood experiences of the upper Springfield area, including the bluebells on the mountain, his father Terry’s love for the hill, and the killing of brother Terry Óg by the LVF.
See previously (at Peter Moloney’s site) Save The Black Mountain, and No Such Thing As Failure | Páırc Mhıc Ionnrachtaıgh.

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The Forgotten Lands

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“No more ‘promises’ … No more excuses … Fix it now! Wall of protest #FiftyYearsOfFailure It’s not subjective … it’s not debatable. The data doesn’t lie.”

The general concern of this campaign is persistent under-investment in Derry and the northwest. One of the placards reads carried by a protester reads, “Belfast’s economy has grown 14% since the [1998] Good Friday Agreement, Derry’s has shrunk 7%” but the complaint goes back “fifty years”, based on the approval in 1965 (BBC) and construction by 1968 of what was initially called the “New University Of Ulster” at a new site in Coleraine rather at Magee University College in Derry. The final panel of the long board includes the logo of the Derry University Group “fighting for a cross-border independent university for the north west” (tw). (1965 was also the year that Craigavon was created.)

For more on the campaign see Bel Tel | Derry Now.

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Gleann Ghormlaıthe Poblachtach

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Here is a gallery of ten images of republican graffiti (and some basic muraling) from Glengormley, particularly the Elmfield area (see previously Glengormley Republican Youth).

Above: “This is republican Glengormley – GGRY”/”Is é seo Gleann Ghormlaıthe [mis-spelled in the graffito as “Ghormlıath”, perhaps by attraction to the English “ley” – the Irish ending comes from “flaıth” rather than “lıath”] poblachtach [mis-spelled with a final “t”, perhaps by attraction to the Irish “poblacht”].

Among the various images below: “resist British rule” along with an exhortation to join the IRA and Fianna (the sunburst); attacks on the IRSP/INLA (though a hammer and sickle are included); politically, attacks on the PUP and a threat that the “fascists” in the National Party “will be crucified”.

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Strike Back

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Here are two more responses to the coronation of King Charles last weekend: (above and last) a Lasaır Dhearg (web) tarp in north Belfast reading “Fuck King Charles”; immediately below, an Éıstıgí (web) sheet/flag reading “Ní Mo Rí [Ní hé mo rí é/[he is] not my king]. Not our king.” in Strand Road, Derry.

Compare previously: England’s Bloody Empire and Not Our King with The Settlement Of The True Protestant Religion.

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Mol An Óıge

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“Mol an óıge agus tıocfaıdh sí [encourage youth and it will flourish, or less literally, youth responds to praise].” The emblems in the corners are of two local GAA clubs “Naomh Eoın” and “Caıırınéal [Caırdınéal] Uí Dhomhnaıll” – the “Joe Cahill Annual Tournament” was held at Easter at their two pitches.

Joe Cahill joined the Fianna in 1937 and was involved in the republican movement from then until his death in 2004, including being in Tom Williams’s company in 1942, and was later a founder member and Chief of Staff of the Provisional IRA.

The new board was launched on April 4th. This is the third Joe Cahill mural on this wall – see previously Joe, Tom, Frank (2005) and Perpetual Cup (2013). The long-time plaque on the wall has been removed.

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