cultural

The Dead We Honour Here

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“The dead we honour here made the noble sacrifice for a cause that should never be forgotten.” A new board has been added to the memorial to the Ulster Volunteers on the Newtownards Road at St Leonard’s Crescent (the old Newcastle Street) over the bricked-up windows of the Belvoir Bar (see previously Not For Sale). The annual parade of the Belvoir Somme Association took place at the end of September (youtube)

There is also a portrait of Carson (see the Paddy Duffy collection), moved up from its previous location on the corner of Welland Street. The UVF Band mural is to the right of the memorial: see The Great War and They Said We’d Never Last.

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Ulster’s VC Heroes david nelson ernest wright alexander william mcfadzean edmund de win richard annesley west hugh colvin james somers jams duffy robert morrow edward barry stewart bingham thomas hughes robert hill hanna robert quigg john spencer dunville eric norman frankland bell james crichton geoffrey st. george shillington cather james anson otho brooke john alexander sinton dedicated to the women of east belfast that served in wwi and wwii

Moving In Marches Upon The Heavenly Plain

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The stencil is in Mount Vernon, which is also home to a series of metalworks – see They Sleep Beyond Ulster’s Foam. That title, as well as the title of today’s post, comes from Binyon’s poem For The Fallen, the fourth stanza of which is often cited in memorial for the dead of the Great War: “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.”

The stencil is perhaps not only a memorial to the dead of WWI – the planes appear to be WWII models such as the Hurricane or Spitfire on the electrical box (and in A Miracle of Deliverance); most WWI planes were biplanes.

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Seymour Hill In The Wars

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The Seymour Hill WWII mural will be 14 years old this coming July (2023) but it is hanging on fairly well. It is quite faded – especially the parachutes at the top – but there is no graffiti on the wall itself, only on the wall below it. For the mural when new and information about the US camp and portrait of Colditz prisoner William Harbinson, see M04776.

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Those Lives Changed Forever

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“The Woodvale Blitz occurred when German air raids took place during the spring of 1941. The first raid took place on April 7th/8th, the next raid came at Easter on April 15th/16th, the 3rd air raid would come on the May 4th/5th and the final air raid would take place May 5th/6th. These attacks on the city would result in over 1,000 civilians being killed and 1,5000 injured. This was the highest casualty rate of any air raids outside London during the Second World War. It was in these streets that the Woodvale area was indiscriminately attacked resulting in the total devastation of Heather Street, Ohio Street, Palmer Street and Disraeli Street resulting in the loss of many lives injuring 100’s more, most of those lives lost were families who had lived in the area for generations. The effects of the air raids and the devastation caused would last for many years to come.” The names of 79 victims are given on the right (see close-up below).

“The Woodvale Blitz April-May 1941. ‘But for the loyalty of Northern Ireland we should have been confronted with slavery and death and the light which now shines so strongly throughout the world would have been quenched’ – Prime Minister Winston Churchill 1945. We remember those who were killed, those who survived and those lives changed forever.”

Enfield Street, Woodvale, west Belfast. The Women Through The Ages mural has disappeared from the adjacent wall.

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Fáılte Go ACT

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The Irish “Fáılte” is included among the many languages at the entrance to the ACT (Action For Community Transformation) visitor centre on the Shankill.

See previously the signage at Boyd’s in the lower Shankill (which does not have a “Fáılte”) and the Coıste claim that All Flags Are Welcome (which does not have a Union Flag).

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Remembrance Day

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For November 11th – Armistice Day/Veterans Day/Remembrance Day – this giant tarp showing light pouring through the Thiepval Memorial was placed on the Shore Road, surrounded by 12 white crosses.

For the memorial to the right, which includes the 10th and 16th Divisions along with the 36th (Ulster) Division, see In Defence Of The Citizens Of Belfast.

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Belfast Blues

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The career of Belfast blues/rock guitarist Rab McCullough spanned more than five decades, beginning with the formation of Baraka back in the 1970s, and included opening for Jimi Hendrix and a 20-year residency in the Empire. McCullough died in May (of 2021) after suffering a heart attack while swimming in Andersonstown leisure centre (BBC | BelTel | Belfast Media | Love Belfast). McCullough’s family is maintaining his Facebook page.

The mural was painted in Owenvarragh Park/Páırc Abhaınn Bhearach near his former home by Glen Molloy (ig). (Belfast Media)

Also painted with blue eyes: Samuel Beckett (No Matter, Try Again)

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Fallen Not Forgotten

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What’s most unusual here is the tree cross-section (or “tree disk”) (on the left) that has been decorated with a hooded gunman and the insignia of the (east Belfast) UVF and YCV – the final image shows a close-up.

“The uniform may have changed but the cause remains the same. Ulster Volunteer Force. Fallen, not forgotten.” There is a very close variant of this wording on a mural in Bowtown (Newtownards).

For the Tom Moore mural to the side, see You’ll Never Walk Alone.

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Hurricane Higgins

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“Higgy – simply the best.” 2022 is the 50th anniversary of Alex “Hurricane” Higgins’s first World snooker title as a 22-year-old qualifier, and the 40th anniversary of his second World title in 1982, watched by a television audience of almost 11 million people (WP). You can relive the 1982 world championship on youtube.

This mural is outside the Royal Bar on Donegall Road in Sandy Row, where Higgins grew up. “A true legend of Belfast.”

Seen previously in 2010.

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Welcome To Our Homeland

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Here are two Sons Of Kai tarps in “the C-double-O” (Rathcoole), celebrating fifty years of the flute band. For the controversy over the name (and date of formation) see The Famous.

In the background of one of the wide shots can be seen (the latest version of) the Marky Quail mural.

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