Gaeilge

Sean McCaughey

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“I ndıl gcuımhne oglach [sic] Sean McCaughey, Gaelgoır [sic] agus muınteıor [sic] [Irish-speaker and teacher]. Fuaır sé bás ar son saoırse na hÉıreann.” “Formerly of Duneden Park, Ardoyne. Died on hunger and thirst strike after 23 days in Portlaoise gaol on May 11th 1946.” “For those who believe no explanation is necessary; for those who don’t believe no explanation is possible.”

McCaughey was convicted of kidnapping and torturing IRA chief of staff Sean Hayes, who was suspected of treason. His hunger and thirst strike was preceded by five years on the blanket.

“NBCS” = North Belfast Cultural Society.

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Copyright © 2008 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Ard Eoın Kickhams

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The close-up shows three generations of toddler hurlers, from barefoot and cloth-cap to boots and braces to baseball cap and tracksuit. Kickhams is the local Cumann Luthchleas Gael (GAA club) (Fb | tw), founded 1907, named for republican writer Charles Kickham. The mural shows football, hurling, and handball.

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Copyright © 2008 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Ceol Gan Teoraınn

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“Ceol gan teoraınn” – “unlimited music” or “music without boundaries”. Belfast’s Sean Maguire (also McGuire) (1927-2005) was an All-Ireland fiddle champion and world-wide ambassador for traditional music (WP). The Short Strand artist’s signature can be seen in the bottom corner.

Iveagh Parade, middle Falls, west Belfast

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Copyright © 2005 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Cláraıgh Anoıs

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This is the scene in Ardoyne Avenue, looking west towards Berwick Avenue and Divis mountain. In the middle ground, Sınn Féın urge people to get on the electoral rolls: “British government guilty of electoral fraud. 211,000 denied their vote [see also in Linden St]. Are you one of them? An bhfuıl tusa ına measc? Register now. Cláraıgh anoıs. Sınn Féın.”

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Copyright © 2004 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Hedge Row School

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“Labhaır an teanga Ghaeılge lıom.” Catholic (and Presbyterian) education was prohibited by the penal laws (WP) and particularly the Education Act of 1695 (WP) – this is probably what’s on the notice on the left-hand tree. Schooling by Catholics (in Irish) nonetheless took place, in covert houses and outhouses, as well as in fields and hedge-rows. The Act was repealed in 1782, provided the teacher took an oath of allegiance to the Crown.

The mural is in Ardoyne Avenue, alongside the Mass Rock mural. See also the Cromwell mural in the lower Shankill estate.

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Copyright © 2004 Cathal Woods
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The Mass Rock

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This mural commemorates the repression of Catholicism and use of mass rocks as secret locations in the days of Cromwellian conquest and the penal laws, c. 1650-1800. The 1652 Act Of Settlement banished Catholic priests from the island and services had to be held at short notice in remote locations, with sentries posted to keep watch against soldiers from the New Model Army. Laws against the practice of Catholicism in Ireland were not lifted until the 1782 Roman Catholic Relief Act (PCUG).

“Is í an charraıg seo ıonad adhartha ar náıthreacha, áıt ar cothaıodh an creıdeamh do na glúnta a bhí le teacht.” [“This rock is our ancestors’ place of worship, where religion was preserved for the generations that were to come.”]

Ardoyne Avenue, Ard Eoın/Ardoyne, north Belfast

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Copyright © 2004 Cathal Woods
X00067 ıs í an charraıg seo ıonad adhartha ar náıthreacha áıt ar cothaıodh an creıdeamh do na glúnta a bhí le teacht