Rising Sons Flute Band mural at the Newtownards Road junction with Dee Street.
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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00759 east belfast their name liveth forever more 36th ulster division 1985, for god and ulster
Rising Sons
Union Flag
Summer 2012 @ Mountainview Tavern
Summer 2012 saw a number of major events, including Euro2012, the Olympics, Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee, and planning by the Unionist Centenary Committee – all featured on a promotional board over the Cambrai Street courtyard of the Mountainview Tavern.
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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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We Perish If We Yield
Northern Ireland is anticipating the centenary of the 1912 Ulster Covenant (WP | Slugger) next weekend (September 29th). The board above marks the occasion, featuring, in the middle third, a reproduction of a famous photograph of Edward Carson making the first signature. The full text of the Covenant is included in a mural on Thorndyke St.
This board is on N Howard St, facing the ‘Lest We Forget’ mural (and in summer 2012, the Families Against Supergrass Trials banner) on Spier’s Place. There was a similar board, celebrating the covenant, across the street in the previous decade. This new board takes the place of Rita Duffy’s photography-based piece for International Women’s Day, which has moved to the Cupar Way “peace” line.
The plaque (below) was added after the main picture was taken (perhaps at the same time as a sequence of plaques – see Say It With Guinness): “This mural was dedicated by Alderman Hugh Smyth OBE on Friday the 21st September 2012 to commemorate the centenary of the signing of Ulster’s Solemn League and Covenant”.
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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00622 X05200 100 years of solemn league and covenant, edward carson, saturday 28th september 1912, we will not have home rule, the lions of ulster, 2012
Ulster Girl
This is another piece from the Crimea Street celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s diamond jubilee. This panel with its old-style artwork (a reproduction of a postcard from during the Home Rule debate) is next to the much larger composite board to Queen Elizabeth (featured in For Those About To March).
“Ulster to England – Thou mayest find another daughter/With a fairer face than mine/With a gayer voice and sweeter/And a softer eye than mine;/But thou canst not find another/That will love thee half so well!” This same girl and poem are also in one of the panels on Thorndyke Street.
Not shown is a collection of flags on the low wall to the left – see M08637.
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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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For Those About To March
Here are two details of a large board on the Shankill celebrating the Queen’s diamond jubilee. There are still no firm rules for the main Covenant march this coming Saturday … (BBC | Slugger)
For the whole thing, see the Peter Moloney Collection.
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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00619 X00624 Belfast, Shankill Road the heart of the empire salutes her majesty on 60 glorious years, dirige deus gressus meos, may god guide my steps, je maintiendrai, to commemorate her majesty the queen’s diamond jubilee, elizabeth r, ERII, 1952 2012
For God And Ulster, For King And Country
A board to slain UVF members John Hanna (died 1991-09-10), Stevie McCrea (1989-02-18) and Sammy Mehaffy (1991-11-13), with poppies and image from WWI, and a shrine below also commemorating the service of the 36th Ulster Division in WWI. Frenchpark Street, Village area, south Belfast.
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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00608 sammy mehaffy 1972-1991, john hanna 1971-1991, stevie mccrea 1952-1989, remembering our brother’s lost lives and the human cost of conflict, the legacy of lost hopes and dreams. we come not to mourn but to praise their memory. we keep the memory of the brave, the faithful and the few, some lie far off beyond the waves, some sleep in ulster too. all are gone but still live on the names of those who died and true men like you, remember them with pride, 36th ulster division, for they shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old, age shall not weary them nor the years condemn, at the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them,
Flags Flying
A view of the outside of the Orange Hall on Albertbridge Road (from three weeks ago), with flags and banners of the Queen and today’s Covenant celebrations. Here’s a piece from the Tele on Covenant celebrations in 1962, at the 50 year mark.
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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00617 ulster unionist party, east belfast advice centre, junior l.o.l. queen elizabeth diamond jubilee, 1952-2012 sponsored by royal arch purple district chapter no. 6, east belfast celebrates ulster covenant 100th anniversary, 28th september 1912-2012, sonia copeland, w.d.m., w.l.o.l. district no. 2
Free The Shankill Six
Graffiti in lower Shankill: “Free the Lower Shankill Six!! Send our prisoners home.”
According to this blog post, this is not political, but refers instead to six fellas done for stealing pallets. (Which perhaps means we can safely enjoy the old joke about the journalist asking the politician, “And what do you think about the Renault 5?”. To which the politician replied, “I think they should be released immediately.”)
To the right is a C-18 swastika.
Previously the “Play” mural and before that the “Can it change? We believe!” mural.
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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00599 enda C-18 ?? swastika
Always British
Cluan Place is a single street in east Belfast separated from (nationalist) Short Strand by a “peace” line. For a history of Cluan Place, see Out Of The Ashes. “5 people shot – houses burnt – houses bombed. 20 families intimidated out by Sinn Fein/IRA. Still loyalist. No surrender.”
The mural – to make the point that Northern Ireland is British – features an unusual combination of Union Flag and Ulster Banner.
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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Her Majesty’s Forces In Afghanistan
This is a recent mural to British forces in Linn Road, Larne. The larger piece of writing on the board above reads, “We wish to pay tribute to the young men and women from this area, who are currently serving or have served with Her Majesty’s Forces in Afghanistan and to those from Northern Ireland who have paid the Surpreme Sacrifice. Lest we forget”.
The smaller one has part of the Ode of Remembrance from Laurence Binyon’s poem For The Fallen: “They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old, Age shall not weary them, Nor the years condemn, At the going down of the sun, And in the morning, We will Remember them.”
Replaces the Oliver Cromwell mural on Linn Road, Larne.
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Copyright © 2012 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00833 X00832
Seosamh Mac Coille Collection 