Signs in upper west Belfast (Glen Road at the Monagh roundabout, and Shaws Road at the top of Lenadoon): “Not our king”, in protest at the coronation of Charles III (see The Settlement Of The True Protestant Religion and England’s Bloody Empire).
“Ag obair do chách” [working for all] is a Sınn Féın electoral slogan for the upcoming local elections.
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Copyright © 2023 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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“God save the King.” When Charles acceded to the monarchy last September upon the death of Elizabeth II, he also became head of the Church Of England. Among the first oaths he took as king was one to preserve the Church Of Scotland, which is Presbyerian rather than Anglican. There does not appear to be any oath relating specifically to any denomination in Ireland, and so the Shankill mural above borrows from the Church Of Scotland oath. It stops short of the references to Scotland:
“I, Charles the Third, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of my other Realms and Territories, King, Defender of the Faith, do faithfully promise and swear that I should inviolably maintain and preserve the Settlement of the true Protestant religion …” [… as established by the Laws made in Scotland in prosecution of the Claim of Right and particularly by an Act intituled “An Act for securing the Protestant Religion and Presbyterian Church Government” and by the Acts passed in the Parliament of both Kingdoms for Union of the two Kingdoms, together with the Government, Worship, Discipline, Rights and Privileges of the Church of Scotland.] (Royal UK)
For more on the UK monarch’s roles as head of the various churches, see Gentle Reformation and Constitution Unit.
At the coronation, Charles swore an oath similar to the above, but referring to the Church Of England, and swore that he was a faithful Protestant (Country Life).
“King’s corner” because across the Shankill from the QEII mural in Crimea Street and in imitation of Conor’s Corner.
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Copyright © 2023 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Art by Danny Rumbl (ig), HMConstance (ig), KMG (ig), Zippy (ig), Codo (ig), and various writers on the Cupar Way “peace” line, on top of pieces from last year by Bust, Lobster, and others – New Levels, Same Devils.
For a history of the wall, see State Art Vs Graffiti On The West Belfast “Peace” Line.
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Here is a Leo Boyd (ig) print of an x-wing police land rover – one in a series of land rovers: see previously: ice-cream-van land rover | wind-up land rover | surveillance land rover.
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Copyright © 2023 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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This is a gallery of the new Hit The North pieces on Union Street south of Kent Street. There is a separate post for the new pieces on Union Street north of Kent Street.
From north to south (top to bottom in this post) the works are by:
Conor McClure (ig)
All The Doodz (ig)
Wee Nuls (ig)
Glen Molloy x2 (ig)
Hixxy (ig)
Ed Hicks (ig) – on the Sunflower side of the street
Danny Rumbl (ig)
NOL (ig)
Andrey Palval (ig)
[Nol faces] see the Paddy Duffy collection
[Owl] see the Paddy Duffy collection
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Copyright © 2023 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Here is a gallery of the new pieces from Hit The North 2023 on the north side of Kent Street (there is a separate post for the south side and there is a separate post at Paddy Duffy’s site for Kent Street above Union Street).
From left to right (top to bottom in this post), the artists are:
Zippy (ig)
Alana McDowell (ig)
Asbestos (ig)
Angry Dan (ig)
?TMN krew?
Sufek West
Hallion – “Цe нaшe поле до біса” [this is our hell on earth] – a common description of the battle for Bakhmut by Ukranian soldiers (AP | France24 | CNN); this was the last of several slogans painted by Hallion throughout the festival (tw)
RASK (ig) + STER (ig) + SUMS (ig)
[writing]
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Davd J McMillan (ig) returned to Belfast from Bristol for HTN2023, which this year used the interior walls of the wasteground opposite the Sunflower. The writing appears to read “Ce nas pas une pint” but based on the pipe in the other hand, presumably should be “Ceci n’est pas une pint” in homage to Magritte’s famous non-pipe “Treachery Of Images” (or perhaps, based on the sketch, “Je n’ai pas une pint”).
Also included are various pieces of graffiti art, including a tiger-cat by PENS (ig) and a red-nosed boy by KVLR (ig).
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Copyright © 2023/2025 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Annatomix (web) painted a giant fox for HTN23 over DanLeo’s 2016 Palm Cockatoo and (as the wide shot below shows) next to BUST’s Dry Gin.
Union Street, Belfast.
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Copyright © 2023 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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“India, Jamaica, Palestine, Aden, Malaysia, Kenya, Derry, Ballymurphy, Shankill, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq … England’s bloody empire.”
A new UK monarch, Charles III, formerly the Prince Of Wales, will be crowned today. Charles has been colonel-in-chief of the Parachute Regiment since 1977 (BBC). He is shown above with General Mike Jackson – see From The Top Down | Jail Jackson.
The list of areas listed above as sites of British Army atrocities includes the (Protestant) Shankill in Belfast where, on the same night of September 1972, two local men – Richie McKinney and Robert Johnston – were shot and killed by the parachute regiment (Eamon McCann | Irish News | AP video of the public protests and UDA statement on the killings).
The killings resurfaced recently when flyers in support of the regiment’s “Soldier F” – accused in connection with Bloody Sunday in Derry in January that same year – that had been posted on the Shankill were torn down – see Stop The Witch Hunt.
In the middle image: an “anti-monarchy rally” organised by the 1916 Societies (Fb) takes place at noon in Lifford. “We serve neither king nor kaiser but Ireland.“
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Copyright © 2023 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
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“Brits out” and “Wear an Easter lily”. The CNR population in Glengormley has been increasing, especially to the west (home of Naomh Éanna CLG in Hightown) and south (see Fáılte Go Dtí Glengormley and, on the same Elmfield wall as shown below, INLA/Stop Internment) – Belfast North, which includes Glengormley, returned a nationalist (Sınn Féın’s John Finucane) for the first time in the 2019 general election. The broader Newtownabbey area is still predominantly Protestant, however, and there is an Orange arch right in the middle of Glengormley each year.
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Copyright © 2023 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Seosamh Mac Coille Collection 