cultural

Free State Post

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Letter boxes in the UK (including Ireland) were green until 1874, when they were changed to red. After independence, the Irish (Free State) boxes were painted green and new boxes were cast without mention of the British monarch (Roaring Water).

Royal Mail letter boxes in CNR areas of Northern Ireland have occasionally been painted in green-white-and-orange (Republican Mail | Tricoloured Post Box) as a political statement.

The letter box shown above (which is not an original) stands on the Ballymoney Road in Armoy.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07444

The Burning Bush

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“To commemorate the establishment of Presbyterianism in Ireland through the formation of the first presbytery which met in Carrickfergus on 10th June 1642.” Presbyterianism began in Scotland circa 1560 under John Knox and spread to Ireland with the colonising settlers of the 1600s. (For more on the first presbytery, see Ancestry Ireland.) Although Presbyterians supported the Williamite campaign they were subsequently discriminated against as “dissenters” from Anglicanism.

The sculpture is at Joymount Presbyterian in Carrickfergus.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07402 X07403 X07404

Rock Of Ages

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Carrickfergus castle was founded by the Anglo-Norman knight John de Courcy in 1177 and it became the stronghold of power in the north of Ireland, leading to its besiegement over time by a litany of Scots, Irish, English – including under Schomberg in 1689 – and French forces (WP). In the present day, the flag of a Kingdom uniting England, Scotland, and (Northern) Ireland currently flies on Marine Highway next to the sculpture showing three Anglo-Norman knights defending the castle (unsuccessfully) against the forces of Edward Bruce of Scotland in 1315 (info plaque). The sculptor is unknown.

See also The Carrickfergus Knights, a painting of the statues on a shop’s shutters in the town.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07412 X07411 [X07413] [X07414]

Below The Castle Walls

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Carrickfergus castle was built in 1177 and has seen multiple battles in the intervening years, including the Battle Of Carrickfergus in 1597 in which the MacDonnells and O’Neills defeated the forces of Elizabeth I (WP). Its military history makes it a fitting spot for a remembrance of the dead of WWI from the 36th Division.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07381 [X07380] X07382 [X07383] [X07379] [X07378]

On Foreign Fields

Extramural Activity1 Comment

“This plaque is dedicated to those men and women of the Orange Institution who volunteered to fight in the Great War for king and empire and who made the ultimate sacrifice on foreign fields.” A WWI commemorative plaque has been added to the Orange hall in Carrickfergus (seen previously in M05249).

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07374 X07373

#SafeShankill

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Social distancing was hard to maintain in some areas (BelTel) but many people celebrated the 12th from home this year, thank in part to messages such as appear on this pair of paste-ups in Olive Street and Glenvale Street off the Woodvale Road. “This year the bands are coming to you!” “This year’s 12th is about the battle with the [coronavirus] bug.”

X07786 2020-12-11 Prot Flute+

X07785 2020-12-11 Prot Boy+

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07356 [X07357] X07358 X07786 X07785

This Year’s Twelfth

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Here are seven posters from the wall of the Shankill Leisure Centre and the Shankill Road Mission building urging people not to congregate when watching the parades. “This year the bands are coming to you!” “This year’s 12th is about the battle with the bug”. See previously: #SafeShankill | Battle Of The Bug

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07325 X07327 X07326 X07331 X07328 X07330 X07329

Politics & Prayer

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The New Lodge grotto in honour of Mary, adjacent to various murals in support of republican POWs, has been repainted (see previously) with images of the Immaculate Heart Of Mary, Our Lady Of Fatima, and the trio above, showing St. Joseph the carpenter, Mary, and St Patrick(?).

St Thérèse is the figure next to “New” in “New Lodge Grotto” and Our Lady Of Medjugorje is on the right.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07315 X07313 X07316 X07314

Stay Apart

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Here is the bonfire in Pitt Park (east Belfast) that was set alight yesterday evening for “Eleventh Night” (for some images see this Kevin Scott gallery). This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, there is a banner advising people to “Stay 1m apart! Thank you”, in addition to nationalist symbols such as the Irish Tricolour.

For the mural in the background, see Culture Threatens No One.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2020 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X07293