cultural

Who Went To War And Never Returned

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It is usually the fourth verse from Laurence Binyon’s poem For The Fallen that is quoted on memorial stones to the fallen of the WWI but here we have the third verse: They went with songs to the battle, they were young/Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow/They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted/They fell with their faces to the foe. The stone commemorates “the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division who gave their lives for King and country at the Battle of the Somme 1st July – 18th November 1916”. It is in the garden adjacent to the West Kirk Presbyterian church (Fb) on the Shankill Road. As the image below shows, the garden is also host to many small boards to individual soldier (see previously Among The Fallen | XXXVI | The Sacrifice Remains The Same).

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South Belfast Volunteers

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Here are five more small boards from the Village. Above is a one to the memory of soldiers from the 36th (Ulster) Division lost in WWI; the remainder refer to the modern UVF, though all of them include poppies, suggesting that they are memorial in intent and so less menacing than the hooded gunman in Welcome To The Village.

Also, previously: Village UVF | A Hive Of Glass | For God And Ulster

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They Fought And Died Like Men

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Here are five more images of the WWI memorial mural (featured separately) in Drumahoe Gardens, Larne, including a plaque to Walter Brownlee and his brothers Edward and Harry, all of whom survived the war.

“There are lonely homes in Ulster/Some “light of life” has shed/There are many names of loved ones/Among the list of dead.//They fell for God and honour;/Why are ye lonely when/They answered soon as they were asked/And fought and died like men!”

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Larne Remembers Her Fallen

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History Hub Ulster and Larne Urban District Council are conducting a search for additional names of residents from the Larne area who died in WWI, to add to the 147 included on the war memorial in Inver. The dead are also remembered in this wrap-around mural in Milbrook. We will have close-ups of the different panels and plaques tomorrow. For images of the launch, see the Friends of the 36th – Cairncastle facebook page.

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Le Coq Sportif

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Glentoran FC’s emblem features a cock (similar to the rooster on Le Coq Sportif, which made the team’s strip from 1996-1999) and its slogan is “le jeu avant tout” (“the game before/above all). The sources of the French influence is unknown. In the mural above, from outside the Oval, he gives “East Belfast” the boot.

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Over The Bridge

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The large mural of H&W shipyard workers at the turn of the century has been restored by Dee Craig (Fb). The mural is on the footbridge linking Dee Street and Queen’s Island. Inspired by paintings of William Conor such as Shipyard Workers Crossing Queen’s Bridge and Over The Bridge. For images of the previous version, see Titanic Workers.

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The Strangest Victory In All History

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From Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, 1953: “The strangest victory in all history: Heremon [Érimón] O’Neill racing a rival chieftain for possession of Ireland became the first man to touch its soil by cutting off his own hand and hurling it ashore! His sacrifice made Heremon the first king of Ulster, 1015 B.C. The red hand of Ulster is still the provinces coat of arms thousands of years later.” Most people believe it not.

Newtownards Road, east Belfast

From left to right: For Freedom Alone | As Long As 100 Of Us Remain Alive | Loyalist East Belfast | The Strangest Victory In All History | Ulster’s Past Defenders | Nationality is included in Loyalist East Belfast | Ulster’s Present Defenders | Freedom Corner

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Metalwork

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Newcastle artist Alan Burke in 2015 produced four pieces for Eastside Partnership (with funding from the Arts Council) for the area between the Newtownards Road and (what is now) CS Lewis Square (Tele). The piece shown in this entry is a pair of metalworks depicting the heavy industry of Harland & Wolff. The works themselves are made from sheet metal, stainless steel, and weathering steel which is designed to “form a stable rust-like appearance” after a few years of exposure the elements.

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Tyred Of Your Culture

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There’s one month to go before 11th night bonfires (and parades on the 12th) and collection of pallets is well under way in loyalist areas. TLO (web) is back this year protesting the use of tyres on bonfires, with King Billy and horse crushed beneath a pile tyres. Under the ‘bonfire management programme’ communities receive funds only if their pyres do not contain tyres. The Irish News reports that 72 groups have signed up this year, down from 95 in 2015. 40% of Belfast fires are in the scheme (BelTel).

Below is one of last year’s posters – still visible – partly covered with a pride sticker (see Good Year For A Bonfire and below that Lost Duppy).

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