The JFTC2 campaign (Justice for the Craigavon Two Fb | web) continues with this banner on Northumberland Street, demanding the release of John-Paul Wootton and Brendan McConville, convicted of killing of PSNI Constable Stephen Carroll in 2009. Sponsored by Cogús.
Previously: 2014 murals in Ligoniel and New Lodge | JFTC2 on the mountain | Justice in Hugo Street
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Towards the end of August the advertising hoarding at the corner of Divis and Northumberland Streets was covered with brown paint and a warning scrawled along the bottom rail: “D-Coy wall – Do not touch – Belfast D Coy wall” (though the two “D”s were painted over). (See the second image.)
A few weeks later, the banner above was added, showing the men of the northern IRA’s D Coy “active service unit” (“ASU”), between images of the (Troubles-era) D Coy mural and memorial garden (PMC | History Carved In Stone). A direct line between the IRA of and the PIRA unit is possible – some of the Northern Division went with Joe McKelvey, leader of the 3rd Division, to Dublin to support the anti-Treaty forces (WP) though most of the northern IRA accepted the assurance that the six counties would soon join the South. (For some guesstimates at the number of northerners who served pro-Treaty, see treasonfelony.)
But perhaps only an ideological heritage is intended, that the Black Mountain unit of 1921, and the D Coy of the Troubles, and the contemporary D Coy, alike aim at (Northern) Irish independence.
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Election posters urging people to vote unionist but without specifying the party. “Make an eXtra effort to vote this time” and “Lead by eXample – use your vote”.
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Saoradh (Fb) tarp in Ardoyne with scenes of protest, including a placard reading “Sinn Fein, SDLP, Catholic church silence”. The tarp is next to the plaque for IRA volunteer Larry Marley (shown below), whose protracted funeral meant scenes from Ardoyne being broadcast worldwide.
Previously with the same slogan: Falls Curfew (“oppression breeds resistance, resistance brings freedom”) and Gaza-Ireland solidarity.
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X04121 X04122 assassinated in his home at havana gardens by loyalists in collusion with british crown forces on the 2nd april 1987
Two final pieces from the #ae17 election campaign. Above, a somewhat menacing crocodile waits impatiently for an Irish-language act: “Meas do chách – Acht na Gaeılge anoıs!” (“Respect for all – Irish language act now!”) The white circle on red is the logo of An Dream Dearg, an Irish-language campaign (Irish News); the crocodile stems from DUP leader Arlene Foster’s response to Sınn Féın demands for an Act, when she said “If you feed a crocodile, they’re going to keep coming back and looking for more.” (BBC-NI | video at RTÉ) She later said she regretted the remarks as they allowed her to be demonised during the campaign (BelTel).
Below, Saoradh’s plea that “A vote for Stormont equals a vote for British rule – Don’t vote! Reject the quislings and Brit collaborators.” (See also: Stormont Must Go)
Previously: Previously from the 2017 Assembly Elections: Tapaıgh An Deıs | End The Age Of the Dinosaurs | Keep Belfast Clean | Hard Border | The Burning Issue
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Here, from left to right, are all of the metalworks in the memorial garden on Ascaıll Ard Na bhFeá by sculptor and painter Hugh Clawson.
On the stone (above) an IRA volunteer – with the emblem of the Easter lily on his beret – rests in the arms of Mother Ireland and her harp.
Then two featuring the lark as the ‘spirit of freedom’ (from The Lark And The Freedom Fighter). In the first, the lark breaks through the bars of a prison cell, and in the image below, it flies in front of an “H” made of bricks, carrying a bin lid. (For a lark carrying a rifle, see Lark Of War and Armed Resistance.) Clawson’s name can be seen on the bars.
In the second, a lark carries a binlid, used by locals to signal the presence of British Army troops. “In memory of all Irish martyrs who have died on hunger strike in the fight for Irish freedom. Their inspiration and courage will always be remembered by the republican movement and republican family (mid Falls).”
One female and one male volunteer stand with bowed heads.
A pair of hands joined in prayer in the Beechmount memorial garden: “in memory of those innocent people from this area who have died in this struggle for Irish freedom”.
Finally, a scene of protest, in front of the Free Ireland mural at the bottom of the street. “In memory of the all the unsung heroes off [sic] this area who’s [sic] hardship, sacrifice and support during this struggle for Irish freedom will never be forgotten by the Belfast Brigade óglaıgh na h-éıreann.” The plaque depicts the work of print-makers (“Smash H-Block Armagh”), marchers carrying portraits of hunger strikers (“Mid Falls supports the women of Armagh”), bin-lid rattlers, and muralists.
The tarp above reads “Cuımhníonn Lár na bhFál – Mid Falls remembers”
Out of picture to the right of the wide shot is Bobby Sands’s quote “Our revenge will be the laughter of our children.” See M04415.
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IRA commander Seán McCaughey spent five years on the blanket in Portlaoise prison and died (in 1946) after 23 days on hunger strike (including 13 days refusing liquids). He is commemorated in Ardoyne because he lived there from the age of five onward. (The Pensive Quill.)
“I have no prouder boast to say, I am Irish and have been privileged to fight for the Irish people for Ireland. If I have a duty, I will perform it to the full with the unshakable belief that we are a noble race and the chains and bonds have no part in us.” Óglach Francis Hughes 1981
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A proposed pipeline between North Dakota and southern Illinois would go under the Missouri river on the Standing Rock Reservation of the Sioux tribe, who have filed suit against the (US) Corps Of Engineers. Protests against the pipeline hit the mainstream news on September 3rd when security personnel used dogs to drive off protesters. The éirígí sheet shown above is hanging on the fencing below Divis tower.
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Since 1982 (and perhaps earlier) Beechmount Avenue in west Belfast has been known as “RPG Avenue”, after the rocket-propelled grenade launchers used by the IRA. The tarpaulins shown in the first two images (from a recent dedication at the memorial garden across the street) here recall the 80s, with images of armed volunteers and of the support for the blanket men and hunger strikers from “Beechmount/Iveagh H Block-Armagh Committee”.
The first (above) was previously used in 2001 – see J1054. The final image, taken in June of this year, shows that the street still retains its unofficial name and also gives the names of various volunteers from A Coy, 2nd Battalion, including Pat McGeown, a hunger striker whose family intervened when he lapsed into a coma, and who was elected to Belfast City Council in 1993 and died in 1996 of a heart attack.
For the murals in the background see Free Tony Taylor and Bilal Kayed.
See also: RPG west Belfast 1981 | PLO-IRA RPG 1982 | RPG with phoenix north Belfast 1986 | RPG with ‘Vote Adams’ 1987 | RPG with phoenix west Belfast 1989 | RPG south Belfast 2002 | also surface-to-air missile launcher and SAM-7 Avenue in Strabane.
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The four banners shown above are on the front of the Rebels’ Rest in west Belfast: “Cothaıgh meon na saoırse/Nurture the spirit of freedom”, “Decolonise your mind”, “Welcome to west Belfast, poverty capital of the six counties”, and (visible below) “PSNI/MI5/British Army not welcome in this area” (one of several of these boards placed in various republican areas – the one at the end of the International Wall is included below). For previous stencils from 2014, see The Rebel’s Rest.
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Seosamh Mac Coille Collection 